Contents

Executive Summary

1Introduction;

2.Previous bed elevation mapping

3.Scientific benefits

4.Requirements for ice sheet modelling

5.Status of Ice thickness measurement

6.Geographic framework

7.Digital Elevation Models

8.Project schedule

8.1 Phase - 1 Data collection and storage (10/96-10/97)

8.2 Phase - 2 Data compilation (10/97 - 10/98)

8.3 Phase - 3 Product generation (10/98 onwards)

9.Project management

10. Recognised obstacles

11. Funding

12. Final products

13. Conclusion

14. Acknowledgements

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1. The SCAR recommendation

APPENDIX 2. Note of support from Dr David Drewry, co-author of the SPRI Geophysical Folio compilation of Antarctic Ice Sheet Thickness

APPENDIX 3. Program of 1st BEDMAP Workshop 21-22/10/96

APPENDIX 4. Protocol concerning the use of data within BEDMAP

APPENDIX 5. Participants at the first Workshop

APPENDIX 6. Other workers who have expressed an interest in BEDMAP

APPENDIX 7. List of abbreviations and acronyms

APPENDIX 8. Specification for the supply of data to the BEDMAP databases

APPENDIX 9.References

APPENDIX 10. Catalogue of Antarctic ice thickness datasets

Executive Summary

On 21 & 22nd of October 1996, a working group of 21 scientists from eight countries met in the Arundel House Hotel, Cambridge, UK, under the joint sponsorship of the European Ice Sheet Modelling Initiative (EISMINT) and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). They met to consider the desirability and feasibility of establishing an international database of ice thickness measurements over Antarctica and from this producing a new topographic model of the bed beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the seabed of the surrounding continental shelf. The workshop achieved consensus on the following points:

Adequate topographic data is of fundamental importance to many scientific disciplines active in Antarctica, including, ice sheet modelling, geoid interpretation, magnetic anomaly mapping, tectonic interpretation, ice core interpretation, oceanography, global isostasy and sea level prediction

An outstanding step forward for Antarctic science would be achieved in many disciplines of Antarctic science by the production of a new topographic model for Antarctica

At present this can only be achieved by bringing together existing data from researchers across the world

We will endeavour to compile such a database of ice thickness measurements and then this will be compiled to give a variety of digital and map products of value to scientists

The work will be done under the banner of BEDMAP within the SCAR/GLOCHANT framework. All nations and researchers with appropriate data to contribute will be encouraged to join the BEDMAP Consortium

A steering committee will direct the project through its three phases, databasing, compilation of data and generation of products

The products of the BEDMAP project will be published jointly by the BEDMAP Consortium giving due acknowledgement to all participants, with copyright residing with SCAR.

1.Introduction

Antarctica covers an area of some 13 million sq. km, an area rather larger than that of the USA (BAS, 1993). In only around 0.4% of this area is the rock exposed (Fox and Cooper, 1994), the rest being covered by a permanent ice sheet that is in places more that 4500 m thick. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is a major control on world sea level and contains enough water to raise sea level by perhaps 65 m.

In the last ten years mapping the topography of the surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet has been advanced considerably through field surveying, satellite imagery and satellite altimetry. While mapping is, in places, still limited to scales smaller than 1: 10 000 000 digital maps are now available over the entire continent. Mapping of the true surface of the continent beneath the ice sheet has not, however, kept pace. Whereas present and planned satellites can give an almost complete description of the surface of the ice sheet, neither present nor planned satellites will be able to look through the ice sheet. For the foreseeable future, we are restricted to terrestrial methods of measurement, primarily radar and seismic sounding. The high logistic costs of working in Antarctica have prevented any one nation from attempting to sound the entire continent. Rather, we have seen a largely uncoordinated and patchy coverage develop as many nations produced regional surveys to support their other scientific activities. We are now arriving in a position where no one individual or institute has a complete knowledge of where data have been collected and which areas remain to be visited. Furthermore, bed elevation collected in aid of other scientific disciplines are beginning to be lost as researchers leave the community, and in a short time this will become too difficult to recover.

The BEDMAP project was conceived as an attempt to rationalise the coverage of ice thickness measurements over Antarctica, collect the data together and produce a new topographic model of the bed of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, to provide a new basis for all aspects of Antarctic geoscience.

2. Previous bed elevation mapping

Since 1983, one map of bed elevation in Antarctica has been widely adopted. This is Sheet 3 in the SPRI Glaciological and Geophysical Folio Series by Drewry and Jordan (1983). The contours were drawn from ice thickness data collected on sparse surface traverses and by airborne surveys, including a major airborne campaign involving Scott Polar Research Institute, National Science Foundation and Technical University of Denmark, which covered about one third of the continent at 100 km line-spacing. Contours of bed elevation were drawn over the entire continent although in many areas there were more than 500 km between measurements. Figure 1 shows the coverage of data that were used in this compilation in terms of the number of measurements available in each 100 km grid cell.

Despite its limitations and well-known shortcomings, the SPRI Folio Sheet 3 is still a commonly cited publication in papers from a wide variety of scientific disciplines. This is a clear indication that there is a major requirement for bed elevation data within the scientific community. While the SPRI compilation could be considered as the state-of-the-art in 1983, it is no longer adequate and is no longer the best we can achieve. Considerable advances in data and technology will now allow us to make big improvements in the coverage and accuracy of the product.

!new ice-thickness data have now been collected by many nations, covering many of the sectors not visited before 1983.

!Satellite altimetry has almost entirely removed the need to rely on inaccurate barometric altimetry

!Mapping has been refined so that areas that are classified as ice-free can now be easily incorporated into a bed elevation compilation

!Coastal bathymetry has been much improved and can be easily merged with continental bed elevation

!Advanced GIS systems now allow incorporation of many types of subsidiary data into a single determination of bed elevation

3. Scientific benefits

Perhaps the most immediate benefit of BEDMAP will be in the field of ice sheet modelling. Numerical modelling of the ice sheet covering Antarctica is the goal of many researchers and our politicians and taxpayers are expecting these modellers to provide concrete answers to difficult questions about the future ice sheet and sea level. The models are beginning to include far more realistic treatments of the physics involved, but mapping is not keeping pace. And while field workers are collecting new data each year, the modellers often find these too difficult to obtain and too time consuming to handle, with the result that the models are based on old and substandard base data. Indeed, a recent report produced by EISMINT identified lack of adequate bed elevation data as a major inhibitor of progress in ice sheet modelling. BEDMAP will fill this gap and present the modelling community with a variety of easily used maps and gridded data, reducing a major limitation on the models, namely the lack of a realistic map of bed elevation on which the models rest.

The benefits of an improved topography for the continent will not end with ice sheet modelling: as there are a wide range of other scientific disciplines for which it will be a major benefit.

Geologyimproved tectonic and structural interpretation

Gravityimproved interpretation of gravity/geoid anomalies.

Magneticsimproved interpretation of magnetic anomalies especially the continent-wide magnetic anomaly map, ADMAP.

Geophysicsimproved models of isostasy and sea level

Ice cores improved interpretation of the flow characteristics upstream of ice core drilling sites leading to improved dating of ice cores.

4. Requirements for ice sheet modelling

The Antarctic Ice Sheet is a complex non-linear system, and it is well known that its overall development can be strongly controlled by local basal conditions. For example, around 90% of ice discharge from the continent passes through a series of ice streams. Some of these lie in geological depressions while others do not appear to be structurally controlled. Ice streams are a major control on how the Antarctic Ice Sheet evolves in time and yet there is evidence (Retzlaff and Bentley, 1993) these ice streams can be Aswitched on@ or Aswitched off@ in only a few tens of years by subtle changes in sub-ice drainage patterns. Similarly, the evolution of ice shelves is strongly dependent on the distribution of seabed shoals that might act as nucleation sites for ice rises. To mimic reality ice-sheet models should use bed elevation data that takes account of such features wherever possible. Sadly, many of the models presently running are based on bed elevation maps derived from datasets which contained data-holes covering hundreds of thousands of square km. It is likely that entire mountains and basins were overlooked in these early maps.

Contemporary ice sheet modelling can be broadly classified into two types, fine resolution models dealing with local areas and concentrating on process studies, and whole continent models that attempt to reproduce past behaviour of the ice sheet and give indications about what might happen under future climates. Over most of the ice sheet, the stress driving ice movement in both types of models is approximately

where (rho sub i )is the density of ice, g is acceleration due to gravity, h is the ice thickness and a is the surface slope of the ice sheet averaged over a length of about 10 km (Paterson, 1994). Clearly the ice sheet thickness has a linear effect on the driving stress, but the response of the ice sheet to this driving stress is non-linear, so that in some areas the local ice flux is proportional to the fifth power of ice sheet thickness. Under these conditions even a small error in bed elevation in the models would result in major errors in ice flux and lead to spurious predictions or ice sheet evolution.

The present generation of whole continent models requires a variety of gridded datasets of ice sheet bed / sea bed elevation that cover both the continent and the continental shelf of Antarctica. It seems likely that for most of these models a grid resolution of 5 km will be adequate for the near future.

Fine resolution models require more detailed bed elevation data. It seems unlikely that any single product that could be designed by BEDMAP would be adequate for all these models. What would be of greater value would be for modellers to eventually have access to the original data, in the form of point measurements and digitized profiles. This would allow the generation of bespoke datasets in collaboration with the BEDMAP Consortium

For all models the most crucial areas are close to the grounding line, at the margins where slopes are greatest and ice flow most rapid, in mountain ranges which dam the ice flow from the interior of the continent and on the major outlet glaciers and ice streams through which most of the ice will eventually pass. It is also clear that to prevent logical inconsistencies bed elevation data should satisfy the following requirements that until now have not been achieved:

!Include both ice thickness and sea bed elevation in areas covered by ice shelves

!Extend to the edge of the continent shelf at constant resolution

!Be self consistent regarding the three parameters, surface elevation, bed elevation and ice thickness

!Correctly predict the ice to be at the flotation limit near the mapped grounding line.

5. Status of Ice thickness measurement

Many countries and institutes now have the capability to measure ice sheet thickness, both by radar and seismic sounding and many are actively engaged in collecting new data on a yearly basis. BEDMAP should serve two specific functions, a. to prevent duplication of effort by directing fieldwork towards areas not previously covered, and b. provide a framework for the cross matching of overlapping datasets.

A poll conducted at this workshop showed that as of 1996 only a small part of Antarctica is lacking basic, reconnaissance level ice thickness data. Appendix 10 contains a catalogue of known datasets collected during the workshop.

It was noted that, while there are an increasing number of seismic and radar sounding measurements, these do not represent the full state of knowledge and at the compilation stage BEDMAP should consider all sources of useful data

Ice sheet thickness

- Airborne radar sounding

- Oversnow radar sounding

- Oversnow seismic sounding

- Rock outcrop data

- Borehole data

- Gravity measurements

!Ice sheet surface elevation

- ERS-1 altimetry

- Airborne and oversnow altimetry

- Map/survey data for the mountainous regions

!Sub-ice shelf seabed

P>- Oversnow seismic data

!Bathymetry over continental shelf

P>- New compilations of bathymetry

6. Geographic framework

There now exists a good geographic framework on which to base the BEDMAP project, this is the Antarctic Digital Database (BAS, SPRI & WCMC, 1993), which is available to the entire Antarctic community on CDROM through the SCAR Secretariat, Cambridge.

One of the major problems during the compilation of ice-thickness data will result from navigational inconsistencies. Although most data collected since the mid-1980s have used GPS and so are relatively well fixed with respect to an ellipsoidal reference frame (usually WGS84), data collected before this was not so well fixed. Many methods of navigation were employed, including astronomical fixes, dead reckoning, inertial avionics and Doppler avionics, where each technique has its own sources and propagation routes for error. In addition, many of the ice thickness data were fixed to maps that are now known to have inaccurate control. During the compilation phase a major effort will be needed to evaluate and where possible correct these data.

In addition, to providing a framework for the compilation the ADD map data contains feature types that are more directly relevant to BEDMAP. Areas of rock outcrop define areas of zero ice sheet thickness and so can be included in the compilation of ice thickness. Where map contour lines cross exposed rock, the elevation of these contours should be taken directly as the ice sheet bed elevation.

7. Digital Elevation Models

Before the introduction of satellite positioning systems and satellite surface altimetry the surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet was mapped using barometric techniques. These techniques are notoriously prone to error and during the compilation of the SPRI Glaciological and Geophysical Folio it was recognised that the surface elevation data contained significant errors. Now that field observations are fixed using satellite positioning systems and satellite altimeters can provide orthometric heights over most of the continent where surface slopes are low, it is possible for us to discard those unreliable surface elevation measurements in favour of a revised digital elevation model.

Several DEMs derived from satellite altimetry are presently available, but it seems likely that once in the compilation phase BEDMAP will need to use the best available DEM derived from several sources

!ERS-1 Satellite altimetry in areas of low slope

!Airborne measurements south of the orbital limit of ERS-1

!Map data in rugged areas

There will be a discussion at the second BEDMAP workshop as to whether any existing DEM is adequate for the compilation or whether a new DEM will have to be commissioned.

8. Project schedule

Discussion during the workshop led to the BEDMAP project being divided into 3 phases:

8.1Phase - 1 Data collection and storage (10/96-10/97)

It was decided that during Phase 1 of the project, data would be collected together from the institutes involved and stored together with their metadata. Only digitised/interpreted data would be collected, either as isolated soundings or tracks with soundings along them. Transfer to data storage sites would be through FTP, floppy disks or DAT tapes, with files written in ASCII format.

Initially, data will be collected and stored at two centres, BAS and CRC. At some later date it may become neccessary to split the data into geographic areas to facilitate compilation, but this will be avoided if possible.

The IHO (Monaco) and AUSLIG have already begun to collaborate within the BEDMAP framework on a new compilation of bathymetry on the Antarctic continental shelf and this will be pursued in parallel during Phase 1, with a view to it being ready for incorporation with the other data in Phase 2.

Specific activities are to include

! Report of first BEDMAP workshop

! Specification of metadata required to characterise ice thickness data

! Collection of ice thickness data by BAS and CRC to be completed before 1/6/96

! Preparation of a poster for the symposium on Antarctica in Global Change (Hobart 1997)

! Identification of other datasets (eg. Borehole data, seismic data, gravity data)

! Make a general plea for other data to be brought to the attention of BEDMAP

! Investigate ways to Arescue@ the original data for surveys that are likely to be lost in the near future

! Consider sources of funding for Phases 2 & 3

! Organise second BEDMAP workshop

! Compile bathymetry on Antarctic continental shelf (IHO & AUSLIG)

8.2Phase - 2 Data compilation (10/97 - 10/98)

Evaluation and compilation of the data will be the most time consuming and labour intensive part of the programme. Where this activity will take place has not yet been decided and may indeed happen at more than one institute.

! Evaluation of ice thickness data (cross over analysis and re-fixing)

! Evaluation and acquisition of best available coastline data

! Produce surface elevation DEM from satellite altimetry, map data

! Evaluation of geoid model and acquisition of the best available

! Produce grid of ice sheet bed elevation across Antarctica and continental shelf

!Consideration should be made at this stage for maintaining BEDMAP as a long-term database

8.3Phase - 3 Product generation (10/98 onwards)

Specification and generation of the final BEDMAP products will be a fairly routine once phase 2 is completed. It may, however, require the acquisition of specific funds to complete.

!Production of gridded datasets

! Production of hardcopy map

! Publication of keystone paper by the BEDMAP Consortium

9. Project management

To implement the plan described in this document the group decided that a BEDMAP Steering Group should be formed comprising, David Vaughan, Janet Thomson, Ian Goodwin and Sergei Popov. The steering group will report regularly to the rest of the BEDMAP Consortium on progress in the project. An offer by the CRC to establish a BEDMAP homepage and contact point on the World Wide Web under the GLOCHANT entry, was warmly accepted by the workshop.

To be a truly valuable exercise, BEDMAP should aim to include as much data as possible. The project will stand or fall depending on the breadth of participants that it attracts and to encourage cooperation, preferential access to the final products will be given to the participating workers. Although local surveys are of little value in terms of broad-scale mapping, taken with other data they can make a significant contribution to the larger picture. BEDMAP will thus encourage participation from any researcher or institute with appropriate data to contribute.

10. Recognised obstacles

It was anticipated that problems may arise for BEDMAP, and some of these were discussed at the workshop.

It was recognised that since new data are being collected on a yearly basis BEDMAP can never be entirely complete. BEDMAP should simply collect all the data on offer and at an appropriate time generate its products. Updated versions of the products could then be generated as new data became available.

It was recognised that some institutes would need to publish their data under their own name before they could be made available to be included in BEDMAP. In order to speed this process and thus make data available as early as possible assistance may be sought from other BEDMAP partners to aid in the publication process.

11. Funding

Since BEDMAP proposes to collect no new data the only requirement for funding would be towards the direct costs of collaboration, data manipulation, publication and dissemination. It is anticipated that no dedicated funding would be required to complete Phase 1 (databasing), but it is likely that some funding will be neccessary to support Phases 2 and 3. At present it is not clear what level of funding would be required to support these activities, or even at which Institute the work will be done. During Phase 1 the steering group will investigate suitable sources. In the meantime an application would be made to EISMINT to fund a second BEDMAP workshop in late-1997. The purpose of this workshop would be to assess the progress made on Phase 1 of BEDMAP and establish the way forward for Phase 2.

A number of funding bodies have, however, already be identified.

!EISMINT

! European Union - Framework V

! US NSF

! European Centre for Earth Observation

! SCAR

! European human mobility fund

In an ideal world, adequate international funding would be available to support BEDMAP, but this is not the case and it is likely that the project will have to proceed by the enthusiasm of the participating researchers. However, there was no objection to individual workers using participation in BEDMAP as the basis for funding proposals. Indeed, BEDMAP will provide letters of support where these proposals are scientifically sound.

12. Final products

There are a variety of possible forms for the final products:

!Hardcopy map to be published by BEDMAP consortium and/or SCAR

!Gridded dataset at various resolutions for modelling

!Internet accessible flight line database

!Publication in quality journal or cornerstone paper by BEDMAP Consortium

! CD-ROM

The exact choice of products has not yet been made but will be reconsidered at the second workshop.

13. Conclusion

The primary outcome of the workshop was consensus that BEDMAP is a worthwhile and feasible goal that should be pursued. All present at the workshop expressed a wish to be involved in BEDMAP at some level, contributing data in one form or another and then participating in the compilation and product generation. A program which includes several concrete goals has been set out for the next year and agreed. A commitment to meet again has been made.

14. Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the SCAR Working Group on Glaciology for their spiritual support in making recommendation Glac-XXIV-2, and the European Ice Sheet Modelling Initiative for their concrete support in funding the first BEDMAP workshop. Phillipa Pirra of the European Science Foundation and Kathy Salisbury of British Antarctic Survey played a large part in organising this workshop.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1. The SCAR recommendation

At the XXIV Meeting of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Working Group on Glaciology made the following recommendation (Glac-XXIV-2)

Noting:

1.that numerical ice sheet models with realistically proscribed bedrock elevation and other boundary conditions are required to interpret and predict ice sheet changes; and

2.That many National Committees have operated regional, and wider-scale, programmes of measurement of ice sheet thickness and bedrock elevation,

the Working Group recommends that National Committees

recover and collate historic measurements of ice sheet thickness, and contribute these to the coordinated data compilation and bedrock mapping project, BEDMAP, which will update the existing SPRI bedrock data set.

APPENDIX 3. Program of 1st BEDMAP Workshop 21-22/10/96

Carlyle Room, Arundel House Hotel, Cambridge, UK

Monday, October 21st, 1996

Dr David Vaughan British Antarctic Survey09:15

Subject: Welcome and overview of the proposal BEDMAP

Dr Ian Goodwin Antarctic CRC10:00

Subject:The role of BEDMAP within SCAR GLOCHANT

Modelling requirements

Dr Richard Hindmarsh British Antarctic Survey11:00

Subject:Incorporating real bed elevation data into ice sheet models

Dr Philippe Huybrechts Alfred-Wegener-Institut für11:25

Subject:A modeller=s specification for an Antarctic bed elevation map

Experiences

Mr Paul Cooper British Antarctic Survey12:00

Subject:Experiences with compilation of the SPRI folio series

Mrs Janet Thomson British Antarctic Survey12:25

Subject:Present state of feature mapping in Antarctica & lessons from Antarctic Digital Database

Thickness data holdings -1

Dr Hans Oerter &Astrid Lambrecht Alfred-Wegener-Institut14:00

SubjectOverview of the AWI RES data holdings

Dr Christopher Doake British Antarctic Survey14:25

Subject:Overview of archival BAS RES data

Hugh Corr British Antarctic Survey14:50

Subject:Overview of recent BAS RES data holdings

Dr Ian Allison Antarctic CRC15:15

Subject:Overview of the Australian RES data holdings

Thickness data holdings - 2

Dr. Charlie Bentley University of Wisconsin-Madison16:00

Subject:Overview of the US RES/Seismic data holdings

Prof. Manfred Lange Westf. Wilhelms-Universität Münster16:25

Subject:Overview of University of Münster RES data holdings

Sergei Popov Polar Marine Geological Research Expedition (PMGRE)16:50

Subject:Overview of Russian RES data holdings

Tuesday, October, 22nd, 1996

Thickness data holdings - 3

Dr Fumihiko Nishio Hokkaido University of Education, Japan09:00

Subject:Overview of Japanese RES/Seismic data holdings

Prof. I Tabacco University of Milano, Italy09:25

Subject:Overview of Italian RES/Seismic data holdings

Dr Per Holmlund Stockholm University, Sweden09:50

Subject:Overview of Swedish RES data holdings

Surface elevation data holdings

Dr Frederique Remy CNRS France10:35

Subject:Overview of satellite derived Antarctic digital elevation model

Dr Jonathon Bamber University of Bristol, UK11:00

Subject:Overview of satellite derived Antarctic digital elevation model

Mr Ashley Johnson British Antarctic Survey11:25

Subject: Recent experiences with Antarctic Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map

Summary & Open discussion

Dr David Vaughan British Antarctic Survey11:50

Subject: Summary of resources required and a possible route forward

Open discussion

 

APPENDIX 4. Protocol concerning the use of data within BEDMAP

To foster a sense of cooperation it is important that BEDMAP has a well defined and inclusive data and publication policy that encourages scientific use of the products, but safeguards and offers significant reward to participants.

The following protocols were generally agreed by the participants as providing adequate safeguards for data-collectors, whilst allowing other BEDMAP partners and, eventually, the wider community the opportunity to use BEDMAP data for research purposes. The guidelines adopted would be broadly similar to those adopted by the ADMAP consortium for magnetic anomaly data (ADMAP, 1995).

! At least until the next BEDMAP workshop any data deposited with the BEDMAP data managers would be considered to be for the sole use of BEDMAP and would not be released to any third party for other purposes.

! All gridded datasets and contour maps produced by BEDMAP will be freely available to all bone fide researchers

! Certain restrictions will apply for access to the individual measurements of ice thickness deposited with BEDMAP. For 3 years after collection data are considered to be the sole property of the originators. For the subsequent 3 years the data will be made available for use by other BEDMAP researchers, provided that this transfer is considered as a collaboration between the originator and recipient, and authorship of resulting publications should acknowledge that collaboration.

! For existing datasets the same restrictions will apply but with the date of publication of this report being considered as the beginning of the process.

! A companion paper will be prepared as an accompaniment to the final bed elevation map. This will be published with an authorship reflecting the entire BEDMAP consortium.

! The copyright of the final product of BEDMAP will be vested with SCAR.

APPENDIX 5. Participants at the first Workshop

Dr Ian Allison

i.allison@antcrc.utas.edu.au

Dr Jonathon Bamber

j.l.bamber@bristol.ac.uk

Dr Charlie Bentley

bentley@geology.wisc.edu

Mr Paul Cooper

paul.cooper@bas.ac.uk

Mr Hugh Corr

h.corr@bas.ac.uk

Dr Christopher Doake

c.doake@bas.ac.uk

Dr Ian Goodwin

ian.goodwin@antcrc.utas.edu.au

Dr Richard Hindmarsh

r.hindmarsh@bas.ac.uk

Dr Per Holmlund

pelle@natgeo.su.sc

Dr Philippe Huybrechts

phuybrec@vab.ac.be

Mr Ashley Johnson

a.johnson@bas.ac.uk

Ms Astrid Lambrecht

aslambre@AWI-Bremerhaven.de

Prof. Manfred Lange

mlange@vnwz01.uni-muenster.de

Dr Fumihiko Nishio

Dr Hans Oerter (Co-convener)

hoerter@awi-bremerhaven.de

Dr Sergei Popov

ice@polarex.spb.ru

Dr Frederique Remy

remy@pontos.cst.cnes.fr

sievers@p9.ifag.de

Prof. I Tabacco

tabacco@imiucca.csi.unimi.it

Mrs Janet Thomson

j.thomson@bas.ac.uk

Dr David Vaughan (Co-convener)

d.vaughan@bas.ac.uk

APPENDIX 6. Other workers who have expressed an interest in BEDMAP

Removed to protect the almost innocent

APPENDIX 7. List of abbreviations

ADD Antarctic Digital Database

ADMAP Antarctic Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map

AUSLIG Australian Survey and Land Information Group

BASBritish Antarctic Survey

CRCCooperative Research Centre

EISMINT European Ice Sheet Modelling Initiative

GISGeographic Information System

GLOCHANTGlobal Change in Antarctica

IHOInternational Hydrographic Office

NERCNatural Environment Research Council

NSFNational Science Foundation

SCAR Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

SPRIScott Polar Research Institute

TUD Technical University of Denmark

APPENDIX 8. Specification for the supply of data to the BEDMAP databases

Two BEDMAP databases will be in operation during the next year, one at BAS and the other at the CRC. Data will be accepted at either of the BEDMAP data centres and will be automatically copied to the other. At this stage the data will remain the property of the contributing institute or researcher and they will only be used within the framework of BEDMAP.

After the first BEDMAP workshop the following specification for data and metadata to be submitted to the BEDMAP database has been drawn up by Ian Allison, Hugh Corr, Janet Thomson and David Vaughan. It was decided that only final interpreted versions of the data should be submitted to the databases. Data will be accepted in ASCII format or a number of proprietary formats. Each data file should contain measurements in column format.

 

RECORD ID

Unique record number referring to measurement of ice thickness

(format described in metadata file)

LATITUDE

Latitude of measurement, decimal degrees, +ve North

LONGITUDE

Longitude of measurement, decimal degrees, +ve East

ICE THICKNESS

Calculated ice thickness / m

SURFACE ELEVATION

Calculated surface elevation / m

More Columns

Add more columns as required

(Eg. Date, if a single date of acquisition is not applicable)

Each data file should be accompanied by a file of metadata describing the data in the data file.

 

Meta data Field

Metadata sub-field

Type

Description

BEDMAP ID

 

 

TXT

Reference ID assigned by BEDMAP project

Region

 

 

TXT

Geographical area

Data type

 

 

KW

Keyword (Airborne RES / Ground-based RES / Seismic / Gravity / Borehole)

Mission

Mission ID

TXT

Description of project / mission

Record Id. Description

TXT

Description of the physical meaning of the RECORD ID used to distinguish each measurement point

Platform

TXT

Description of platform from which measurements were made

Ice Thickness

Method

KW

Method used to obtain ice thickness

(Seismic, RES, Gravity, Borehole)

Processing

TXT

Description of algorithm used to calculate ice thickness

(Including numeric constants)

Logging

TXT

Description of data logging methods

(Media etc.)

Accuracy

NR

Estimated accuracy of ice thickness measurement / m

Navigation

Method

KW

Keyword ( local fix / DR / Astro / Inertial / Doppler / GPS/ < other > )

Terrain clearance

TXT

Aircraft height about ground / m

(Const. pressure, const. terrain clearance, etc.)

Logging

TXT

Description of navigation logging methods

Accuracy

NR

Estimated accuracy of navigation / m

Horizontal fixing

TXT

Map sheet used in fixing etc.

Datum

TXT

Ellipsoid to which data is fixed

Surface elevation

Method

TXT

Description of instrumentation, algorithms, etc.

Orthometric or ellipsoidal

Logging

TXT

Description of logging methods

Accuracy

NR

Estimated accuracy of surface elevation measurements / m

Data

Format

KW

Keyword ( Track / Point )

Volume

TXT

Volume of data

Location of primary data

TXT

Institute and person holding the original data or best contact.

References

Funding agency

TXT

Agency(s) responsible for funding project

Responsible person

TXT

Details of a currently active researcher who can give further details

Reference

TXT

References to publications that have discussed this data

Availability

TXT

Current availability of data and restrictions placed upon it

TXT - free text, KW - Keyword, NR - Number

In addition, to these fields it is desirable that some system parameters are recorded for each measuring system. These might include: bandwidth, sampling rate, antenna gain, etc.

This specification is offered as a guide to contributors. At this stage data will not be rejected simply on the grounds of incorrect formatting or inadequate metadata.

APPENDIX 9. References

ADMAP, 1995. Report of the SCAR/IAGA Working Group on the Antarctic Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map. Cambridge, 18-19 September, 1995.

British Antarctic Survey, 1993. Antarctica - a topographic database, 1:10 000 000 scale map, BAS (Misc) 7. Cambridge, British Antarctic Survey.

BAS, SPRI and WCMC, 1993. Antarctic Digital Database (CD-ROM). Cambridge, Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Drewry, D.J. and S.R. Jordan, 1983. Sheet 3: The bedrock surface of Antarctica. Glaciological and Geophysical Folio Series. Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge.

Fox, A.J. and A.P.R. Cooper, 1994. Measured properties of the Antarctic Ice Sheet derived from the SCAR Antarctic digital database. Polar Record, 30 (174), 201-206.

Paterson, WSB, 1994. The Physics of Glaciers. Pergamon

Retzlaf, R. And C.R. Bentley, 1993.. Timing of stagnation of Ice Stream C, West Antarctica, from short-pulse radar studies of buried surface crevasses. J. Glaciol., 39 (133) 553-561.

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