Bed Topography Digital Elevation Model of the Weddell Sea Sector, West Antarctica

West Antarctica's Weddell Sea sector, covering approximately 125,000 km², is represented by this 1-km resolution bed elevation digital elevation model. It was created by Hafeez Jeofry of Imperial College London, who subtracted an ice thickness DEM from a surface elevation DEM. The ice thickness data was compiled from radio-echo sounding surveys conducted by SPRI, BAS, and NASA's Operation IceBridge between the 1970s and 2016.

Use Cases

• Model ice flow dynamics based on the bed topography of the Institute, Möller, and Foundation ice streams.
• Assess grounding line stability and potential for marine ice sheet instability using the detailed bed elevation.
• Validate and calibrate ice sheet models based on the 1-km resolution gridded bed elevation data.
• Study subglacial hydrology and geology using the inferred bed topography beneath the ice.

Strengths

• Covers a total area of approximately 125,000 km².
• Integrates data from multiple authoritative sources, including SPRI, BAS, and NASA Operation IceBridge campaigns.
• Provides a uniform 1-km spatial resolution grid.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Imperial College London

Collection Method

Gridded from radio-echo sounding (RES) data using 'Topo to Raster' and Nearest Neighbour interpolation in ArcGIS, then subtracted from a satellite-derived surface elevation DEM.

Time Range

Data compiled from surveys conducted between the 1970s and 2016.

Geography

Weddell Sea sector, West Antarctica, covering the Institute, Möller, and Foundation ice streams and Bungenstock Ice Rise.