NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

Antarctica is difficult to see on a world map. As an alternative, look at the new work being put out by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS). Their animations and images are the best way I’ve found to view Antarctica online. And as a companion site to the SVS, more animations, images and maps can be found in NASA’s Visible Earth Catalog.

The animation above zooms in to Don Juan Pond, a small body of water in the Dry Valleys named after Lt. Don Roe and Lt. John Hickey, two helicopter pilots who discovered it in 1961. As one of the saltiest, coldest bodies of water on Earth, Don Juan Pond is 18 times saltier than the ocean (10 times saltier than the Dead Sea), remaining in a liquid state even after air temperatures drop below 0°F.

The animation below is a longer, more detailed zoom to McMurdo Station, followed by a tour across McMurdo Sound and over the Dry Valleys. It opens in full-screen and looks incredible, but prepare yourself for a long load time. McMurdo Station, the largest base on the continent with a population over 1,000 in summer, is located on volcanic Ross Island, pinned between the shore of McMurdo Sound on the Southern Ocean and the wide, flat expanse of the Ross Ice Shelf.