Bathymetric Surveys of Three Antarctic Lakes

Surveys conducted between May and July 2006 map the underwater topography of Ace, Ekho, and Pendant Lakes in Antarctica's Vestfold Hills. The dataset includes raw GPS survey data and derived bathymetric maps, collected by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre. It provides depth measurements and water surface elevations tied to specific benchmarks.

Use Cases

• Modeling lake volume and water storage capacity using depth measurements from the bathymetric surveys.
• Analyzing GPS positional error (reported as +/- 15m) in historical, uncorrected survey data from the Antarctic.
• Comparing water surface elevations (e.g., Ace Lake at 9.094 m, Ekho Lake at -1.649 m) relative to the Davis Mean Sea Level datum.
• Studying the relationship between lake bathymetry and local glacial geology using the georeferenced survey grid data.

Strengths

• Provides specific water surface elevation datums for each lake (e.g., Ace Lake: 9.094 m).
• Surveys cover three distinct Antarctic lakes over a defined period (May-July 2006).
• Includes both raw GPS survey data and processed visual map outputs.

Limitations

• GPS data has a stated positional error of +/- 15 meters due to lack of differential correction.
• Bathymetric maps are saved as low-fidelity screen captures (.jpg) from demo software, not original project files.
• Sample size is limited to only three lakes in a single region.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC), ASAC Project 2647.

Collection Method

Field surveys using handheld GPS to establish a grid, with depth measurements taken at grid points.

Time Range

May-July 2006.

Freshness

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Geography

Ace, Ekho, and Pendant Lakes in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica.