How to find Antarctic crevasses | Polar Science

Researchers are using the technology to plan traverse routes through rift-laden territory.

Antarctic researchers and support staff can now more easily find and avoid dangerous crevasses on long traverses carrying supplies to remote camps and stations, thanks to the help of a German radar satellite.

An international team of scientists and engineers recently found that radar satellites can reliably detect crevasses in Antarctic ice even when they are hidden beneath feet of snow. They are now using the satellite data to map locations of crevasses along routes used for traverses, where fleets of tractors drive fuel and supplies over the ice for hundreds of miles to remote field camps and other parts of Antarctica.

The new tool helps make long, overland supply drives safer and faster, while also providing glaciologists with a new way to study the movements of ice sheets from afar, according to the authors of a recent study describing how to use the method.

To learn more, visit https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/4454/

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