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ESSD, 9, 267–279, 2017
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Articles | Volume 9, issue 1
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 267–279, 2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-267-2017
Brief communication 05 May 2017
Brief communication | 05 May 2017
A high-resolution synthetic bed elevation grid of the Antarctic continent
Felicity S. Graham1, Jason L. Roberts2,3, Ben K. Galton-Fenzi2,3, Duncan Young4, Donald Blankenship4, and Martin J. Siegert5 Felicity S. Graham et al. Felicity S. Graham1, Jason L. Roberts2,3, Ben K. Galton-Fenzi2,3, Duncan Young4, Donald Blankenship4, and Martin J. Siegert5
1Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 129, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
2Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia
3Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Private Bag 80, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
4Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78758, USA
5Grantham Institute and Department of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Correspondence: Felicity S. Graham (felicity.graham@utas.edu.au)
Received: 13 May 2016 – Discussion started: 04 Jul 2016 – Revised: 05 Apr 2017 – Accepted: 07 Apr 2017 – Published: 05 May 2017
Abstract. Digital elevation models of Antarctic bed topography are smoothed and interpolated onto low-resolution ( > 1 km) grids as current observed topography data are generally sparsely and unevenly sampled. This issue has potential implications for numerical simulations of ice-sheet dynamics, especially in regions prone to instability where detailed knowledge of the topography, including fine-scale roughness, is required. Here, we present a high-resolution (100 m) synthetic bed elevation terrain for Antarctica, encompassing the continent, continental shelf, and seas south of 60° S. Although not identically matching observations, the synthetic bed surface – denoted as HRES – preserves topographic roughness characteristics of airborne and ground-based ice-penetrating radar data measured by the ICECAP (Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate) consortium or used to create the Bedmap1 compilation. Broad-scale ( > 5 km resolution) features of the Antarctic landscape are incorporated using a low-pass filter of the Bedmap2 bed elevation data. HRES has applicability in high-resolution ice-sheet modelling studies, including investigations of the interaction between topography, ice-sheet dynamics, and hydrology, where processes are highly sensitive to bed elevations and fine-scale roughness. The data are available for download from the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (doi:10.4225/15/57464ADE22F50).
Article (PDF, 14909 KB)
Article (14909 KB)
How to cite. Graham, F. S., Roberts, J. L., Galton-Fenzi, B. K., Young, D., Blankenship, D., and Siegert, M. J.: A high-resolution synthetic bed elevation grid of the Antarctic continent, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 267–279, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-267-2017, 2017.
Antarctic bed topography datasets are interpolated onto low-resolution grids because our observed topography data are sparsely sampled. This has implications for ice-sheet model simulations, especially in regions prone to instability, such as grounding lines, where detailed knowledge of the topography is required. Here, we constructed a high-resolution synthetic bed elevation dataset using observed covariance properties to assess the dependence of simulated ice-sheet dynamics on grid resolution.
Antarctic bed topography datasets are interpolated onto low-resolution grids because our...
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