The features of the ocean floor help determine how water masses and ocean currents move and how they affect our climate. Biodiversity is also influenced by seafloor landforms. Accordingly, having as precise information on the seafloor topography as possible is indispensable for oceanographic and climate research. With the second version of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO v2), an international group of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute recently presented the best and most detailed seafloor map of the Southern Ocean, which plays a pivotal role in the Earth system. The map and the complex methods used to create it were published in Scientific Data.
Click here for original story, New map shows seabed of the Southern Ocean in unprecedented detail
Source: Phys.org