The data it collects will be processed at the British Antarctic Survey headquarters in Cambridge. Scientist Tom Jordan explains that some of it will feed into a model of the continent called BEDMAP2 that shows the complex shape of the land under the ice. IMAGE SOURCE,CARL ROBINSON Image caption, Tom Jordan will collect data in Antarctica with the new drone Drawing a question mark over parts of the map, he explains that large areas of Antarctica are still unmapped because no-one has ever been able to get there. "You can see the mountain ridge under the ice here and here. Does that continue across? Are parts under sea level? I don't know," he says.

IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY "This survey work is really exciting because it's a proper blank in the map." Antarctica's vast ice covers huge mountains ranges some the size of the European Alps and trenches and valleys. Some areas are below sea level. It is vital that scientists understand this topography because it determines how quickly the ice will melt. An ice sheet exposed to warming waters will probably melt more quickly. But if complex mountains block its path, it will decline slower, Tom says. In its first experiment, radar on the drone will fire radio waves at an ice sheet called Fuchs Piedmont. Some will go into the ice sheet, hit the ground at the base and bounce back. The drone will listen for those reflections and use them to draw the shape of the land. "It builds up this picture going line by line. This is another thing that drones are great for doing things that are really boring," he explains. Current models of global sea-level rise from melting ice

s topography, Tom says scientists can make more accurate predictions.

"That will help us plan the future," he says. The first flights will be in the next few weeks. Other experiments include surveys of marine life like krill, which are a vital part of the food chain, and surveys of environmentally sensitive areas.