CHINARE 26 to Complete First Land Cover Map of Antarctica
29.10.2009 - Logistics, Water & Oceans, Land & Geology, Ice & Snow, Other, Antarctic
The 26th Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE), which left Shanghai on October 11th, is expected to complete the first land-cover map of Antarctica by the end of this year. The new map will be the most precise map of Antarctica to date, with a precision of about 15 metres, about 20 times more precise than current maps of Antarctica. For the first time it will be possible to show key features of Antarctica such as sea ice, snow, blue ice, rocks, soil marshes, lakes and ice crevasses.
The map will also provide important data for detecting the changes in Antarctica land cover over time as well as create more accurate ground parameters for scientists to forecast global change or global warming with climate system models, according to Cheng Xiao, Deputy Dean of the College of Global Change and Earth System Science at Beijing Normal University.
