Previous Alaska maps were not satisfying for researchers
(Mirror Daily, United States) Researchers have recently announced that the Arctic mapping project has good results. The project was initiated by President Barack Obama one year ago, and now researchers are pleased with the outcome. Although it has been a challenging task, the new Alaska maps are more accurate than ever.
Various institutions were a part of the topographical project: the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Science Foundation, University of Minnesota, and Cornell University among them.
The new Alaska maps are accurate thanks to the high technology satellites which provided the researchers with images. Measurements and calculations made on the field by specialists were also included. The clear images were provided by special instruments and devices, which are more proper for the job than the ones that specialists used before.
What you can see now on the new Arctic maps are specific details of mountains, slopes, river valleys and any other particular terrain structure. The data used for the proper mapping has been gathered throughout the years, although that project is only one year old. This information also helps researchers study the climate and environmental changes which took place over the years.
Although these Alaska maps are better than the previous ones, specialists will never cease their efforts of improving the maps.The proper mapping of Alaska is only a step of a greater plan, that of protecting the region against global warming.
What the team of researchers is going to do next is to map the rest of the Arctic. The first results are only valid for Alaska. Specialists hope that the other plans will be finished by the end of the next year.
Paul Morin (University of Minnesota) is the director of the Polar Geospatial Center is aware of how important this accomplishment is for the entire scientific community, as he declared the following:
“This changes how science will be done in the Arctic. It’s a biologist’s dream, a geologist’s dream, a geographer’s dream. Anybody who deals with the surface of the Earth needs these data.”
Specialists are pleased with the results because it has been a challenging task, as Alaska is one of the remote corners of the Earth. They also say that the old Alaska maps were poorer than the topographical maps of celestial bodies, like Mars or the Moon.
If you are curious about how the new Alaska maps look like, you can find the results online.
Image courtesy of: Wikipedia