Using echo-sounding equipment to create images and maps of areas below the ocean floor, researchers have begun to unravel a new story about the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Images of areas below the Eastern Ross Sea, next to West Antarctica, provide evidence that the subcontinent was involved in the general growth of the Antarctic Ice Sheet as it formed many millions of years ago, according to scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The National Science Foundation provided funding for the project.
Changes in Antarctica, an area that contains approximately 90 percent of the world’s ice, are particularly important for understanding some implications of global warming. For example, melting of ice sheets –– due to warming of the atmosphere and oceans –– has emerged as a key factor in the modeling of climate scenarios. And as ice melts, habitat for penguins and other marine animals also decreases.
The penguins in the foreground are the region's natural inhabitants. In the lower photo, researchers aboard the ship prepare their equipment for data-collection work beneath the ocean floor. Credit: Photos by Bruce Luyendyk