1. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL The BEDMAP Project An example of re-using shared data to make globally relevant predictions

2. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Antarctica. The questions addressed. The process undertaken. The products. Why the project succeeded. –And thus what lessons can be learnt.

3. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Antarctica 13M km 2. Over 58 times the size of the UK, the highest, coldest and windiest continent. Icecap contains almost 70% of the world's freshwater and 90% of the world's ice. British Antarctic Survey. A wholly owned NERC Research Centre. –Undertakes the majority of Britain's scientific research on and around the Antarctic continent.

4. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Questions What is the shape of the land beneath the ice sheet? How much ice is there in the ice sheet? –And thus its potential contribution to sea level rise.

5. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Process BEDMAP consortium: 12 countries under the auspices of SCAR. Protocol: data remain under control of contributors so some access restrictions. Production of database of ice thickness measurements. –2.5M direct measurements; –Estimate 90% of all data existing (2000); –10% not included: old data now lost & recent surveys not released by PIs.

6. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Process

7. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Product Ice thickness model (5km grid)

8. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Product Sub-ice topography

9. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Product Sub-ice topography

10. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Product Coordinated database and gridded data sets

11. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Product New estimate for volume of Antarctic ice sheet: 25.4 x 10 6 km 3. –Close to early estimates, but 15% less than widely quoted 30.1 x 10 6 km 3 from 1983. New estimate for amount of sea level equivalent of the ice volume: 57m. –Lower than other estimates: 73m (1986) and 61m (2000).

12. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Success Antarctic Treaty, Article III-1-c. –scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available. Antarctic science is international – expectation of cooperation. A project of the scientific community.

13. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Success Data were known: information available on what data exists and the specifics of the data. –Metadata not always formally documented, PIs had their own detailed knowledge. Funds available to do the work. Defined goal to the project. Good staff: Understood the science and the data issues.

14. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Further information NERC: www.nerc.ac.ukwww.nerc.ac.uk BAS: www.antarctica.ac.ukwww.antarctica.ac.uk BEDMAP: www.antarctica.ac.uk/aedc/bedmap www.antarctica.ac.uk/aedc/bedmap SCAR: www.scar.orgwww.scar.org Reference: Lythe, M.B. & Vaughan, D.G. BEDMAP: A new ice thickness and subglacial topographic model of Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res., 106 B6, 11,335 – 11,351, 2001.