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| BEDMAP | |
|---|---|
| Name | BEDMAP |
| Subject | Antarctic ice thickness and bed topography |
| Region | Antarctica |
| Discipline | Glaciology |
| Initiated | 2001 |
| Produced by | British Antarctic Survey, National Ice and Snow Data Center, BAS |
BEDMAP
BEDMAP is a consolidated digital compilation describing Antarctic ice thickness, subglacial topography, and bathymetry. It synthesizes airborne, shipborne, and satellite surveys to produce continent-scale maps used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, British Antarctic Survey, and other polar research organizations. The product informs studies ranging from ice-sheet dynamics to sea-level projections and underpins models run by climate research centers such as Met Office, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
BEDMAP provides gridded representations of the Antarctic bed, ice thickness, and surface elevation compiled into contiguous continental datasets. Its outputs are widely used by research groups at institutions like University of Cambridge, University of Washington, Columbia University, University of Colorado Boulder, and national polar programs including the United States Antarctic Program and Australian Antarctic Division. The dataset integrates measurements from campaigns led by platforms such as IceBridge, research vessels like RV Polarstern, and polar aircraft operated by agencies including British Antarctic Survey and National Science Foundation.
The core methodology combines radio-echo sounding, satellite altimetry, gravimetry, and seismic profiles to infer ice thickness and bed elevation. Radio-echo sounding surveys conducted by groups such as Scott Polar Research Institute and Alfred Wegener Institute yield direct two-way travel time returns, which are converted to thickness using firn and ice sound speed assumptions informed by studies from Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and Ohio State University. Satellite altimetry from missions like ICESat, CryoSat-2, and ERS-1 provides surface elevation constraints that are fused with airborne laser altimetry from programs such as Operation IceBridge. Where radar coverage is sparse, gravimetric inversions using datasets from GRACE and shipborne surveys aboard vessels like RV Nathaniel B. Palmer supplement bed inference. Interpolation and gridding employ geostatistical techniques developed at centers including British Antarctic Survey, University of Edinburgh, and California Institute of Technology, and use digital elevation models aligned to geodetic references from International GNSS Service and conventions by International Association of Geodesy.
Initial continental compilations were released in the early 2000s and have seen iterative updates driven by new survey data and methodological advances. Major releases incorporate contributions from national programs including National Science Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council, European Commission-funded consortia, and international collaborations involving institutions such as Scott Polar Research Institute and National Oceanography Centre. Subsequent versions have integrated high-resolution campaigns from teams at University of Minnesota, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and University of Tasmania, and have harmonized metrics with global products such as those from Global Cryosphere Watch and International Polar Year initiatives. Community-driven updates often follow large field efforts by polar projects like East Antarctic Ice Sheet surveys and coordinated airborne campaigns such as those run by NASA IceBridge.
Researchers use the dataset to initialize ice-sheet and ice-flow models developed at groups including University of Oslo, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and National Center for Atmospheric Research. Outputs inform assessments by multinational bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and influence projections by climate modeling centers like Met Office Hadley Centre. Glaciologists apply the maps to study grounding-line migration in regions investigated by campaigns around Pine Island Glacier, Thwaites Glacier, and Ross Ice Shelf. Oceanographers and marine geologists from institutions like Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory use bathymetric constraints to model circumpolar current pathways and past ice-sheet retreat recorded at sites studied by expeditions aboard RV Polarstern. The dataset also supports logistical planning by polar operations groups such as United States Antarctic Program and Scott Base.
Coverage gaps remain where airborne and shipborne surveys are sparse, notably in portions of East Antarctica surveyed by limited campaigns from centers like Universiti Sains Malaysia and some national programs. Radar interpretations can be affected by complex basal conditions, englacial layering, and variable dielectric properties investigated by researchers at University of Oslo and University of Copenhagen. Gravimetric inversions carry non-uniqueness and smoothing that have been explored in method papers from Columbia University and University of British Columbia. Uncertainties propagate into ice-sheet model sensitivity studies by groups such as Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and National Center for Atmospheric Research, and into sea-level projections cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Development and maintenance have drawn on contributions from multiple institutions, including British Antarctic Survey, National Snow and Ice Data Center, Scott Polar Research Institute, Alfred Wegener Institute, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, and Columbia University. Funding and logistical support have come from agencies such as Natural Environment Research Council, National Science Foundation, European Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, and national polar programs including Australian Antarctic Division and National Institute of Polar Research. Collaborative frameworks built during initiatives like International Polar Year and programs supported by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have facilitated data sharing and coordinated field campaigns.