SDC Project : RAMPRADARSAT-1 Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP)

In 1997, the Canadian RADARSAT-1 satellite was rotated in orbit, so that its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) antenna looked south towards Antarctica. This permitted the first high-resolution mapping of the entire continent of Antarctica. In less than three weeks, the satellite acquired a complete coverage of radar image swaths as part of the first Antarctic Mapping Mission (AMM-1). Swath images have been assembled into an image mosaic depicting the entire continent at 25 m resolution. The mosaic provides a detailed look at ice sheet morphology, rock outcrops, research infrastructure, the coastline, and other features of Antarctica, as well as representing calibrated radar backscatter data which may provide insight into climate processes affecting the upper few meters of snow cover.

The collection includes images at a wide variety of resolutions, and images from both Versions 1 and 2 of the mosaic, which was updated in 2001 in order to correct a variety of errors.

Download selected mosaics through Vertex: ASF Subsetter