Buzz
While it's well known that the South Pole is grounded on solid land and the North Pole is just a point in the Arctic Ocean, imagining either pole as something other than a vast icy landscape can be challenging.
If you've ever wondered what the land beneath Antarctica’s colossal ice sheet—the largest on Earth—actually looks like, both NASA and the British Antarctic Survey have the answer. By using satellite imagery, sensor data, and information from NASA’s Operation IceBridge, which surveys polar regions from the air, British researchers have compiled a remarkable map of the southern continent without its icy cover [PDF].
This map, named Bedmap2, offers scientists a detailed view of Antarctica’s ice-free geology. It also reveals previously unknown topographical features. According to a statement from the British Antarctic Survey, the deepest point beneath Byrd Glacier now measures an astonishing 9416 feet (2870 meters) below sea level—around 1300 feet (400 meters) deeper than the previous record. This is now the lowest point found on any continental plate on Earth.
Peter Fretwell, a cartographer at the British Antarctic Survey, stated, “Previously, we only had a broad overview of the topography. But with this new, much more detailed map, we can now see the landscape itself—a complex terrain of mountains, hills, and rolling plains, cut through by valleys, troughs, and deep gorges.”
