Chinese Researchers Draw First-ever Land Cover Map of Antarctica
30.09.2010 - Logistics, Atmosphere & Space, Land & Geology, Antarctic
Chinese researchers from the College of Global Change and Earth System Science at Beijing Normal University have managed to draw a 1:100,000 scale land cover map of the entire Antarctic continent. The map, the world’s first land cover map of Antarctica, was drawn with the support of the Chinese National 863 Program.
After establishing a classification system of Antarctic land cover and sending members to Antarctica for field measurements, the team was able to obtain a more accurate and reliable database of Antarctic coastlines, islands and land cover. With the collected data, the research team made use of 1,100 multi-channel satellite images of Antarctica from between 1999 and 2003 to update the extensive satellite image data on the actual state of the land surface.
As explained by Mr. Chang Xiao, vice president of the College of Global Change and Earth System Science at Beijing Normal University, the new land cover map “better reflects the differences in Antarctic land cover classifications and is important for China's scientific research in the Polar Regions.” The new and improved map will also be used to supply more accurate surface parameters for climate system model predictions.
