Ice-free geomorphometry of Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica: 4. Sør Rondane Mountains

Geomorphometric modeling and mapping of ice-free Antarctic areas can be applied for obtaining new quantitative knowledge about the topography of these unique landscapes and for the further use of morphometric information in Antarctic research. Within the framework of a project of creating a geomorphometric atlas of ice-free areas of Antarctica, we performed geomorphometric modeling and mapping of the Sør Rondane Mountains, a partly ice-free region of the eastern Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. As input data, we used a fragment of the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA). For the Sør Rondane Mountains, we derived models and maps of eleven, most scientifically important morphometric variables (i.e., slope, aspect, horizontal curvature, vertical curvature, minimal curvature, maximal curvature, catchment area, topographic wetness index, stream power index, total insolation, and wind exposition index). We produced 144 morphometric maps at a scale of 1:125,000. The obtained models and maps describe the ice-free topography of the Sør Rondane Mountains in a rigorous, quantitative, and reproducible manner. New morphometric data can be useful for further geological, geomorphological, glaciological, ecological, and hydrological studies of this region.