TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Data and equipment developed by University of Kansas researchers helped scientists create the first comprehensive map of the Greenland ice sheet.

Prasad Gogineni, the director of a Kansas-based foundation, says the map is important because Greenland’s ice sheet has been losing mass in the last two decades and the losses are expected to continue.

Gogineni is a Kansas engineering professor and director of the National Science Foundation Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets. He says the data and ultra-sensitive radar equipment developed by the center documented deep and ancient channels of ice for the map.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports  an accurate history can help determine how fast the sea level will rise so coastlines and cities can anticipate higher water.