Cerritos College Department of Earth Science On-Line Tutorial Center

U.S. Geological Survey Satellite Images from Antarctica

This is a composite radar image of Antarctica using the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer.  This instrument records elevation and reflection data by bouncing radar waves off of the ground (or ice) surface.  Radar waves pass through clouds without distortion, and thus are ideal for studying areas with bad weather.

Test your knowledge of Anarctic geography.  See if you can identify the Antarctic Penninsula, the Ross Ice Shelf, the Trans Antarctic Mountains, the Ronne Ice Shelf and the Weddell Sea.  Click here to see the map of Antarctica provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

This image is a false-color contour map of elevations on Antarctica.  This map clearly shows the thickest ice in the middle of the continent (red tones) and the way in which the ice thins outward in all directions.  The zone of accumulation on a contiental glacier is thus in the center, while the zone of ablation rings the perifery.

Return to glacial landform identification.

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06/25/0313 Oct 2009 09:18:44 -0700