[ad_1]
The Antarctic Reference Elevation Model (REMA) shows the continent with astonishing details.
Credit: National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
A new map of the surface of Antarctica is so detailed that it would seem that if you put your hand on it, you could trace the bumps in the ice ridges that curved in the Antarctic Peninsula.
The researchers compiled the stunning topographic map from high-resolution photos collected over six years by a group of satellites orbiting hundreds of kilometers above the Earth. According to a statement from the University of Minnesota, millions of images have been processed by one of the world's largest supercomputers, the REMA (Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica).
Older maps of the icy continent have been produced at a resolution of more than 1,000 meters (3,000 feet), but the new map offers an amazing resolution of about 8 meters and covers 5.4 million square kilometers. making it the most accurate map of Antarctica to date. [Images of Melt: Earth’s Vanishing Ice]
"Until now, we had a better map of Mars than Antarctica," said Ian Howat, one of the project's researchers and director of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at 39. Ohio State University. in the declaration.
"Now, it's the best-mapped continent on Earth," said Howat.
The researchers used one of the fastest supercomputers in the world to process millions of images and create the new map.
Credit: National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
The height of all ice cliffs and rocky outcrops in Antarctica is now within scientists' reach and is just a few meters away, the statement said.
"At this resolution, you can see almost everything," said Howat. "We will see changes in the snow cover, changes in the movement of the ice, we will be able to monitor the flow of the river, the floods and the volcanoes, we will be able to see the glacial glare."
With the data in hand – and there are many, the map file being 150 terabytes – scientists will now be able to better visualize the impact of global warming on the landscape of the world. Antarctica, said Mr. Morin.
"Now we will be able to see the melting and deposition changes better than ever before," he said. "This will help us understand the impact of climate change and sea level rise. We will be able to see it before our eyes."
The map was published online Sept. 4 by the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota.
Original article on live science.
[ad_2]
Source link
