Table of Contents

Antarctic mapping mission (AMM)

• What is AMM?
• Participants
• Science benefits and opportunities
• South pole images
• A guided tour of 2000 km in Antarctica

Click on the image for a larger (653 KB) version with areas linking to related images.

The above figure is a low-resolution version of the first seamless mosaic of Antarctica, which was compiled from RADARSAT SAR images acquired in September and October 1997. They were acquired as part of the RADARSAT Antarctic Mapping Project which is a collaboration between the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Canadian Space Agency to completely map the Antarctic with RADARSAT-1.

The mosaic was created at the Byrd Polar Research Center using a mapping system developed by Vexcel Corporation. The Alaska SAR Facility processed all of the raw signal data to images. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed the mission acquisition plan. In addition, the project received assistance from the National Science Foundation and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.

Final products will be distributed by the Alaska SAR Facility and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Further information about the mosaic can be obtained by writing to:

Kenneth C. Jezek, Professor
Byrd Polar Research Center
The Ohio State University
1090 Carmack Road
Columbus, OH 43210
Email: jezek.1@osu.edu

Several versions of the mosaic starting at 125-m pixel size are available on the ftp site iceberg.mps.ohio-state.edu

Login: (anonymous)
Password: (your name)(/pub/MOSAIC/)

Projection information and attributions are contained in the README file.

View the official press release on the new mosaic of Antarctica at ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-122.txt.

You can also find more information on the Byrd Polar Research Center website, and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio.

What is AMM ?

Antarctica, a region the size of Canada and Alaska combined, has never been fully mapped from space at high resolutions. The Antarctic Mapping Mission (AMM) is a mission aimed at completing this mapping. Such a coverage was not possible with existing or previous space borne high resolution sensors because of their orbit inclination and/or field of view capability.

The RADARSAT satellite was rotated 180 degrees in yaw to allow the radar to image to the left of the satellite track instead of to the right, and to steer the radar beam up to cover the South Pole. This manoeuvre was performed between September 9 and 11, 1997. The mapping of Antarctica with high resolution RADARSAT images began on September 26 and was completed October 14. Routine operations in the right-looking mode resumed November 4, 1997.

The AMM is a commitment with respect to RADARSAT, Canada's first Earth Observation satellite, that was negotiated and agreed to by the CSA in an International Memorandum of Understanding (IMOU) signed with NASA and NOAA on February 27, 1991. In exchange for the launch of the RADARSAT satellite by NASA, Canada agreed to provide the USA with access to a pro-rata share of RADARSAT's SAR on-time and to execute a "yaw" manoeuvre of the spacecraft twice during the mission to allow the mapping of the Antarctic Continental Ice Sheet.

Participants

Partners in the Antarctic Mapping Mission (AMM) include the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA. CSA support draws upon the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) and MDA Geospatial Services (MDA). NASA support draws upon its own facilities: Alaska SAR Facility (ASF), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), as well as the Byrd Polar Research Center of Ohio State University (OSU), Vexcel Corporation, the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.

Role of Canada

Canada, through the Canadian Space Agency, was responsible for the management of the AMM, calibration of the payload in each phase, execution of the AMM data acquisition plan (prepared by the USA) and for ensuring successful data downlinks to specified receiving stations, i.e. ASF being the main station, followed by the Canadian Gatineau (GSS) and Prince-Albert (PASS) stations. McMurdo, an American Antarctica receiving station, was also used to receive data directly from RADARSAT and retransmit them to ASF via the US's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The AMM data acquisition plan and strategy depended largely on RADARSAT's on-board tape recorders. The Fastscan system developped by Array Systems Computing of Toronto was also used to validate the data received at each station and make decisions about updating the data acquisition plan to ensure completeness of coverage of Antarctica.

Role of USA

The preparation of a digital mosaic of Antarctica was conducted under a NASA Pathfinder Project awarded to the Byrd Polar Research Center of Ohio State University (OSU). The Jet Propulsion Lab was responsible for the preparation of the AMM data acquisition plan, while OSU was responsible for the production of a complete mosaic of the Antarctic Continent within one and a half years of the completion of data acquisition. ASF processed data into images which were sent to OSU for compositing into map products using state-of-the art equipment designed by Vexcel Corporation of Boulder, Colorado. Final products will be distributed by the ASF and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The mosaics and ancillary information will be made available on a CD-ROM to the science community through NASA's Distributed Active Archive Centers.

Science benefits and opportunities

The RADARSAT Antarctic Mapping Mission (AMM) has important significance for the scientific community. Almost 70% of the Earth's fresh water is contained in the Antarctic region, and changes in this enormous reservoir directly influence world sea levels and climate. The new digital radar map will provide an unprecedented detailed portrayal of the surface form and features of the icesheet. This RADARSAT based map will help scientists to better understand the dynamic behaviour of the ice sheet and provide them with a greater insight into the effects of human activity on the Southern Continent.

The RADARSAT AMM data will also serve as a benchmark for testing the predicted effects of global warming on the interior ice sheet and the bounding ice shelves, some of which have recently under gone rapid retreat especially in the Antarctic Peninsula. Using the images taken by RADARSAT, scientists will be able to examine for the first time the effects of complex climatological, glaciological and geological processes on the Antarctic at high resolution and on a continental wide scale.

Glaciology:

The AMM will allow the study of the dynamics and variability of the Antarctic ice sheet, including regions such as the Wordie Ice Shelf and the Largen Ice Shelf which have recently experienced unexplained and nearly catastrophic retreat.

Other opportunities are related to:

• Ice sheet stream flow regimes (fast glacier flow, ancient features, outlet glaciers)
• Stability of West Antarctic Ice Sheet (grounding lines, surface velocities)
• Ice sheet mass balance (calving rates, ice sheet margins, topography)
• Surface melt regimes

Geology:

Geological applications will include large scale mapping of faults, volcanic features, and mountain building processes:

• Uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains (fault and lineament mapping)
• History of subduction beneath the Antarctic Peninsula
• Geologic mapping (Sirius formation)
• Vulcanology

Geomorphology:

History of glaciation (moraines, raised beaches)

Exploration:

The digital maps will provide an unprecedented opportunity to study many previously unexplored areas of the Southern continent.

Finally, the availability of this unique data set will be welcomed by scientists from many of the nations interested in the governance and protection of Antarctica in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty System.

South pole images

A guided tour of 2,000 km in Antarctica

Introduction

Get on board RADARSAT and prepare yourself for an exciting 2000 km guided tour from space in the heart of Antarctica.

Your guide for this tour is Dr. Ken Jezek, Director of the Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University. You are in good hands as Dr. Jezek has been studying this environment for many years and has been responsible for leading the efforts to produce the first high resolution satellite mosaic map of Antarctica based on RADARSAT data.

Dr. Jezek, the passenger is now in your hands.

Thank you, Mr. Webmaster.

Welcome aboard the RADARSAT satellite. Before we depart, I would like to set the stage for the extraordinary images you are about to see and to tell you the story of Antarctica's discovery and exploration.

In October 1911, the famous Norwegian Explorer Roald Amundsen set forth from his Ross Ice shelf base on his journey to the South Pole. By November, he reached the base of Axel Heiberg Glacier where he began an ascent up onto the polar plateau. On December 1911, he along with 3 companions became the first people to reach the Earth's South Pole - beating the ill-fated British explorer, Robert Falcon Scott, by only a few weeks.

In 1929, the American aviator Richard E. Byrd arrived at his base Little America. There he unloaded from his sail-masted ship a 3 engine aircraft. Flying along Amundsen's Route to Axel Heiberg Glacier he proceeded to become the first person to fly an aircraft to the South Pole.

Exactly 86 years since Amundsen fought his way to the pole with sleds and dogs, we can now study the whole of Antarctica with the remarkable Canadian satellite RADARSAT which has captured this stunning image of Axel Heiberg Glacier.

RADARSAT's aquisition of the very first radar image of the South Pole was made possible by two important technologies. First, RADARSAT's Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can operate during the long polar night and see through the persistent Antarctic cloud cover. Second, the advanced thermal protection on RADARSAT permitted a rotation of 180 degrees in orbit and for a brief period, it imaged the entire Antarctic continent before returning to normal observations.

We are now ready to depart. Make sure your safety belt is fastened, relax and get ready for this exciting trip from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole. Unlike Amundsen whose heroic exploit lasted for two months, RADARSAT can make the 2 000 km journey in less than 5 minutes !

Pictures

Mapping coverage status

The validation of the AMM data acquired and received is continuously monitored at the Fairbanks, Gatineau and Prince Albert receiving stations to ensure the completeness of coverage. In the event that some areas have been missed, the acquisition plan strategy is quickly updated to allow the re-imaging of the area at the earliest opportunity. This critical task to ensure the completeness of the coverage is made possible by using the Fastscan systems developed by Array Systems Computing of Toronto, Canada. The utilisation of the Fastscan system proved to be useful to the Mission Planning team to gain confidence about data being acquired and received, and make timely decisions about the need to replan data acquisition to ensure completeness of coverage of Antarctica (see preliminary mosaic used during the process).

In Canada, the AMM data are processed to RADARSAT products using the Canadian Data Processing Facility (CDPF) developed by MACDONALD DETTWILER (MDA) of Richmond British Columbia. The quality of the products generated by the processor exceed the specifications. The visual image quality of the products is monitored on a daily basis. The quantitative quality measurements on the data are also performed on a routine basis.

See status maps coverage below:

• September 26 to October 14, 1997
• September 19 to October 4, 1997
  (RADARSAT Fastscan Mosaic of Antarctica)
• September 19 to October 8, 1997
• September 19 to 26, 1997
• September 19 to 26, 1997
  (Pre-Antarctic Imaging Campaign)