Scientists Take Pictures of Antarctic Mountain Range for the First Time

The Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica, named after Soviet geophysicist Grigoriy Gamburtsev, lie beneath a mile of solid ice. Scientists have known about their general location for a while, but only recently were able to take pictures of them:

The images are the result of radar technology, and reveal a dramatic landscape of rocky summits, deep river valleys, and liquid, not frozen, lakes, all hidden beneath the ice. The range itself rivals the Alps in size and cover an area that is roughly the size of New York State.

“What we’d shown before was an estimate based on gravity data — a little bit of a coarse resolution tool,” said Robin Bell, a senior research scientist at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York. “What we showed at this meeting was the radar data. It’s like going from using a big, fat sharpie to using a fine-tipped pencil.”

Link, Via: TigerHawk | Image: NewsDesk, Via: Neatorama

Shrimp Surprise

(YouTube link)

Life flourishes in the strangest places on earth. From the YouTube link:

At a depth of 600 feet beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet, a small shrimp-like creature managed to brighten up an otherwise gray polar day in late November 2009. This critter is a three-inch long Lyssianasid amphipod found beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, about 12.5 miles away from open water. NASA scientists were using a borehole camera to look back up towards the ice surface when they spotted this pinkish-orange creature swimming beneath the ice.

-Via: The Presurfer, Via: Neatorama

Boats Collide in Anti-whaling Clash in Antarctic

A violent clash between a conservation boat and a Japanese whaler has left the smaller boat badly damaged. Both sides are trading blame for the collision, which took place in Antarctic waters. (Jan 06) LINK: Youtube

Fly, Baby, Fly

Electric Oyster, a, interactive design company, created a simple but beautiful flash based 3D Flight Simulator.

Fly over the Antarctic with this simulator. It shows how Electric 3D engine can be used to render vast outdoor landscapes in high resolution at excellent framerates, without breaking a sweat. LINK: Presurfer