A RADARSAT Map of Antarctica
It's not easy to make a map of Antarctica.
Earth's southern most continent is so cold and
inhospitable that much of it remains unexplored.
From
space, though,
it is possible to map this entire region by
radar: by systematically noting how long it takes for
radio waves to reflect off the terrain.
The Canadian satellite
RADARSAT has been orbiting the Earth for the past five years making radar maps, and has recently released the
most detailed map of Antarctica ever created.
Above is a computer-generated map of
Antarctica at relatively low resolution.
From the
RADARSAT map, scientists have been able to
better study this
mysterious continent,
including information about how ancient
ice-shelves are crumbling.