Led by Robert Bindschadler of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the collaborators used data and images from multiple sources-including images from Landsat 7 and the LIMA mosaic, precise elevation data from ICESat, and grounding line estimates from earlier studies-to create the most detailed map yet produced. The new map is the result of an international effort called the Antarctic Surface Accumulation and Ice Discharge (ASAID) project. The ice edge is overlaid on a natural-color image from the Landsat satellite captured on January 29, 2010. The colored lines show the ice edge/grounding line based on the latest analysis (red) as well as the previous best estimate (gray line), which was based on the Mosaic of Antarctica ( MOA). In places where ice extends beyond the edge of the continent, the map shows the grounding line-the point where the ice sheet separates from land and begins to float on the ocean. This image includes a tiny portion of a new map of the Antarctic ice edge it shows the area around Law Promontory, which juts out from East Antarctica’s coastline near Stefansson Bay. To keep track of Antarctic ice losses and gains, scientists need an accurate picture of the ice perimeter. The imbalance means that Antarctic ice loss is contributing to rising sea level. At present, ice is slipping into the sea from the continent’s icy edge more quickly than snowfall is accumulating in the high-altitude interior. Antarctica is covered by the world’s largest ice sheet, and it is losing mass.
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