This is a bed topography map of Antarctica presenting the continent as it would stand if stripped of its ice cover. Around the main map and on the reverse are numerous additional map panels and notes providing a fascinating insight on how the information used on this unusual map was gathered.
Based by the British Antarctic Survey on Bedmap 2 – a large collaborative international project involving around 60 scientists from 35 institutions in 14 countries – the map was produced in 2013 from various types of data used to calculate the thickness of Antarctica’s ice cover. The result, in bright colouring for the bed height above the sea level and the depth below it, presents a much altered picture from the one offered by conventional maps of the Antarctic. The map has latitude and longitude lines at 15º and also shows the lines of the four cross-section panels which accompany it.
Several more panels, photos and explanatory notes provide more information about the Bedmap 2 Project, plus full technical specifications including data sources and references.