NASA map shows what Antarctica would look like without ice

The Antarctic continent is a frozen landscape of snow and sleet, but a new map fromNASA exposes what the region would look like if all the ice were to disappear.

NASA released an animation this week revealing what lies beneath the planets largest ice sheet. Its based on new data compiled by scientists at the British Antarctic Survey over the last two decades, including surface elevation readings and ice thickness data measured with ice-penetrating radar.

The result is Bedmap2, an updated map of the continentusing 15 million additional measurementssince 2001.It provides a clearer picture of the terrain underneath the ice, including surface and sub-ice features that were too small to be seen in previous measurements.

• An animated view of Antarctica and Greenland's shrinking ice sheets

"Before we had a regional overview of the topography, but this new map, with its much higher resolution, shows the landscape itself; a complex landscape of mountains, hills and rolling plains, dissected by valleys troughs and deep gorges," Peter Fretwell, from the British Antarctic Survey, said in a release.

The study was recently published in the journal The Cryosphere.

The researchers discovered that Antarctica's average bedrock depth, deepest point and ice thickness are greater than previously thought.

The findings will give researchers a better understanding of the continent's landscape and ice sheet as well as the influenceit has on the climate and the surrounding oceans.