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Full catalog/NSIDC-0756
NSIDC-0756·v4·dataset

Map of bedrock and ice thickness under Antarctica (BedMachine)

MEaSUREs BedMachine Antarctica V003
ocean NASA NSIDC_CPRD Level 4 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. A map of the bedrock and seafloor hidden beneath Antarctica's ice, plus the resulting ice thickness. It reveals the shape of the land under the ice sheet.

How it's made. Calculated by subtracting ice thickness from surface elevation and using flow-analysis and other methods, drawing on a high-resolution elevation model of Antarctica.

How & where you'd use it. Essential for modeling how Antarctica's ice might flow and melt in the future, since the shape of the underlying bed strongly influences ice behavior and sea-level projections.

What's measured

OCEANS › BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY › BATHYMETRYLAND SURFACE › TOPOGRAPHY › TERRAIN ELEVATION › BED ELEVATIONCRYOSPHERE › GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS › FIRN › FIRN AIR CONTENTCLIMATE INDICATORS › CRYOSPHERIC INDICATORS › GLACIAL MEASUREMENTS › GLACIER/ICE SHEET THICKNESSLAND SURFACE › TOPOGRAPHY › TERRAIN ELEVATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1970-01-01 → 2019-10-01
  • Measured byMODELS (NOT APPLICABLE)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, -53
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Watch sea-surface temperature and marine heatwaves
  • Spot algal blooms and ocean-colour shifts
  • Support fisheries and coastal monitoring
Official description

This data set, part of the NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) program, contains a bed topography and bathymetry map of Antarctica. Bed topography is deduced by subtracting ice thickness from the surface elevation; using Ice Flow Perturbation Analysis (IFPA); and by other methods. Surface elevations are obtained from the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) and high-resolution satellite maps.

Get the data

nsidc-0756_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="NSIDC-0756",
    version="4",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from NSIDC_CPRD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.