High Definition Map of Antarctica
28.11.2007 - Logistics, Other
A new high definition map of Antarctica has been compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation and the British Antarctic Survey. A news report on BBC News asserts that the new map should provide invaluable support to logistics and researchers on the continent.
The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) provides a virtually cloudless view of Antarctica. It offers 10 times greater detail than before and the most geographically accurate, true-color, and high-resolution images of the frozen continent.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), about 1100 images were collected by the Landsat 7 platform between 1999 and 2001. Researchers used images from the Modis sensors on Nasa's Terra and Aqua satellites to fill in the gaps below 83 degrees South.
The end result is a picture made up of over 100 billion pixels, which can be discovered through a free-to-use and public-access website. The data will also be made available on "virtual globe" software, such as Google Earth.
Within the context of the International Polar Year (IPY), the current mosaic provides a snapshot of the continent that can later be compared with future images in order to assess detail changes, such as in ice shelves and glaciers. This true-colours high resolution mosaic image (down to 15 metres resolution) is also useful to researchers interpreting changes in land elevation and mapping continental rock formations and types. Pilots will also be consulting the images to help them with navigation and locating landing sites.
