A new digital map configured by British and Australian scientists has revealed astonishing new geological facts about Antarctica, not known till now.



BEDMAP2 is a detailed digital map of the bedrock of Antactica and is a close-up of the continent minus ice. It has been configured out of more than 27 million pieces of data acquired by airplanes, satellites, ships and dog-drawn sleds.

One important fact that the map shows is Antarctica's ice sheet sitting atop steep peaks and deep vales -- this particular geological feature has been revealed for the first time.

The map also reveals deep troughs within the interior of the continent, where the bedrock is far below sea level, and rugged mountain ranges peaking at 3,000 metres, as high as the European Alps, but hidden below a kilometre of ice.

The Australian Antarctic Division and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) played a key role in collecting some of this data through aerial radar surveys in 2008-09.

Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey, who produced the map, say it provides critical information for understanding how Antarctica might respond to climate change.

"These improvements are central to more accurate predictions of how Antarctica will respond to climate change and what that means for future sea level," said Australian scientist Roland Warner

Warner and his colleagues Jason Roberts, Tas van Ommen and Glenn Hyland, were part of the survey team based at Casey base in Antarctica, between 2008 and 2011, which used radar on a Basler DC3 aircraft to map bedrock topography around the Totten and Denman glaciers, the Aurora Subglacial Basin and Law Dome, in East Antarctica.

IANS