A team of international scientists, led from the British Antarctic Survey, has unveiled the most detailed map yet of the landscape beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet. Known as Bedmap3, it incorporates more than six decades of survey data acquired by various methods, including planes, satellites, ships, and even dog-drawn sleds.
The map provides a clear view of Antarctica’s 27 million cubic kilometers of ice, revealing the locations of its tallest mountains and deepest canyons. A notable revision to the map shows that the thickest overlying ice is not in the Astrolabe Basin as previously thought, but rather in an unnamed canyon at 76.052°S, 118.378°E in Wilkes Land.
The ice in this area is 4,757 meters thick, or more than 15 times the height of the UK’s tallest skyscraper, the Shard. The new map will be essential for studying how Antarctica responds to a warming climate, as it enables scientists to study interactions between the ice sheet and its bed.
According to Dr. Hamish Pritchard, lead author on the study, “This is the fundamental information that underpins the computer models we use to investigate how the ice will flow across the continent as temperatures rise.” The map includes more than double the number of previous data points (82 million), rendered on a 500-meter grid spacing.
Recent surveys in East Antarctica have filled significant knowledge gaps, including around the South Pole and along the Antarctic Peninsula. The map also provides a comprehensive view of grounding lines – where ice meets the ocean and begins to float.
The study’s findings highlight that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is thicker than initially thought, with a larger volume of ice grounded on rock below sea level. This puts the ice at greater risk of melting due to warm ocean water encroaching on its edges.
This new map will be crucial for understanding Antarctica’s response to climate change and predicting potential global sea-level rise if all ice were to melt.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-03-landscape-beneath-antarctica-unveiled.html