Latest news with #EastAntarctic
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Science
- Washington Post
Ancient river landscapes under Antarctica may may stabilize ice sheet
Landscapes left behind by ancient rivers and buried beneath the Antarctic ice may affect the rate of ice loss, researchers report in Nature Geoscience. The team used radio echo sounding, a technique that measures ice thickness using radar, to study the East Antarctic Ice Sheet between Princess Elizabeth Land and George V Land in Antarctica. Parts of the ice sheet are thought to be particularly susceptible to climate change because the land beneath it contains huge troughs that let warming ocean water reach the ice, causing rapid shrinking.
India Today
11-07-2025
- Science
- India Today
Remains of ancient world found buried beneath Antarctica
Remains of ancient world found buried beneath Antarctica 10 Jul, 2025 Credit: AFP, Durham University Scientists have discovered extensive flat landscapes buried beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, formed by ancient rivers after East Antarctica and Australia separated around 80 million years ago and before ice covered the continent about 34 million years ago. These flat surfaces, once connected, are now hidden beneath the ice and separated by deep troughs, which channel fast-flowing glaciers, while the ice above the flat surfaces moves much more slowly. The preserved landscapes act as barriers to ice flow and may currently regulate the rate of ice loss from East Antarctica, which is crucial as ice loss from the continent is increasing. If all of East Antarctica's ice melted, it could raise global sea levels by up to 52 meters, highlighting the significance of understanding how these buried landscapes influence ice sheet stability. Including the effects of these newly discovered surfaces in ice-sheet models could refine predictions of future ice loss and sea level rise, especially under climate change scenarios. The discovery reveals that parts of the East Antarctic landscape have remained largely unchanged for over 30 million years, indicating minimal erosion and exceptional preservation beneath the ice. Researchers emphasise the need for further exploration, including drilling to sample rocks from these surfaces, to better understand when they were last ice-free and improve predictions of the ice sheet's response to future warming
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Scientists make surprising discovery about what lies beneath the Antarctica Ice Sheet
It's been covered in ice for 34 million years. But scientists are finally uncovering what Antarctica's landscape really looks like – and it's not what they expected. It's well known that much of the surface underneath the smooth ice sheet consists of mountains, valleys and deep troughs. Now, a new study using radio-echo sounding reveals there are vast areas of 'remarkably' flat surfaces along the 3,500km stretch of East Antarctic coastline. These previously unmapped surfaces were once connected and it is believed were formed by large rivers after East Antarctica and Australia broke apart around 80 million years ago. The flat areas – now hidden beneath the ice sheet – are separated by deep trenches which fast-moving glaciers are steered through. Lead author Dr Guy Paxman, from Durham University, said: 'The landscape hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of the most mysterious not just on Earth, but on any terrestrial planet in the solar system. 'When we were examining the radar images of the sub-ice topography in this region, these remarkably flat surfaces started to pop out almost everywhere we looked.' The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, also revealed the ice above these flat surfaces is moving much more slowly. Ice loss from Antarctica is increasing – boosted by global warming – but the flat areas appear to act as a barrier to ice flow and may currently be regulating the rate of ice loss, the team said. This finding is significant, as East Antarctica has the potential to raise global sea levels by 52 metres if it were to melt completely. Adding the flat surface effects into models of future ice sheet behaviour could help refine projections of how the ice sheet might react to climate change, the researchers said. 'The flat surfaces we have found have managed to survive relatively intact for over 30 million years, indicating that parts of the ice sheet have preserved rather than eroded the landscape,' Dr Paxman said. 'Information such as the shape and geology of the newly mapped surfaces will help improve our understanding of how ice flows at the edge of East Antarctica. 'This in turn will help make it easier to predict how the East Antarctic Ice Sheet could affect sea levels under different levels of climate warming in the future.' The extensive flat surfaces were found beneath approximately 40 per cent of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet's 3,500km-long coastline between Princess Elizabeth Land and George V Land. The preservation of these enigmatic surfaces over tens of millions of years indicates a lack of intense, selective erosion of these areas throughout Antarctica's glacial history. Research co-author Professor Neil Ross, from Newcastle University, said: 'We've long been intrigued and puzzled about fragments of evidence for 'flat' landscapes beneath the Antarctic ice sheets. 'This study brings the jigsaw pieces of data together, to reveal the big picture: how these ancient surfaces formed, their role in determining the present-day flow of the ice, and their possible influence on how the East Antarctic Ice Sheet will evolve in a warming world.' The team emphasised the need to further explore the influence of these flat surfaces on ice sheet movement during past warmer climates. This would include drilling through the ice to retrieve rock from the flat surfaces to understand when they were last free from ice cover. This will help improve predictions for how the ice around this large section of the East Antarctic margin will respond as the climate and ocean warms. A separate team of researchers recently revealed there are mysterious radio signals emerging from deep within Antarctica's ice. The strange radio pulses were detected by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA), an array of instruments designed to detect elusive particles called neutrinos. Rather than detecting these cosmic particles, the researchers were baffled to find signals emerging from the ice at seemingly impossible angles. Worryingly, they have no idea what could be causing them. In a paper, published in Physical Review Letters, an international team of researchers explained that these findings cannot be explained by the current understanding of particle physics. This might mean there are entirely new forms of particles and interactions at play or that these unusual signals are the product of mysterious dark matter. Dr Stephanie Wissel, an astrophysicist from The Pennsylvania State University who worked on the ANITA team, says: 'The radio waves that we detected were at really steep angles, like 30 degrees below the surface of the ice. 'It's an interesting problem because we still don't actually have an explanation for what those anomalies are.' Antarctica's ice sheets contain 70% of world's fresh water - and sea levels would rise by 180ft if it melts Antarctica holds a huge amount of water. The three ice sheets that cover the continent contain around 70 per cent of our planet's fresh water - and these are all to warming air and oceans. If all the ice sheets were to melt due to global warming, Antarctica would raise global sea levels by at least 183ft (56m). Given their size, even small losses in the ice sheets could have global consequences. In addition to rising sea levels, meltwater would slow down the world's ocean circulation, while changing wind belts may affect the climate in the southern hemisphere. In February 2018, Nasa revealed El Niño events cause the Antarctic ice shelf to melt by up to ten inches (25 centimetres) every year. El Niño and La Niña are separate events that alter the water temperature of the Pacific ocean. The ocean periodically oscillates between warmer than average during El Niños and cooler than average during La Niñas. Using Nasa satellite imaging, researchers found that the oceanic phenomena cause Antarctic ice shelves to melt while also increasing snowfall. In March 2018, it was revealed that more of a giant France-sized glacier in Antarctica is floating on the ocean than previously thought. This has raised fears it could melt faster as the climate warms and have a dramatic impact on rising sea-levels.
Daily Record
16-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Ancient 'lost world' discovered under mile of ice in Antarctica after 34 million years
The ancient landscape was discovered in Wilkes Land, a remote inland part of East Antarctica, and spanned more than 12,000 square miles A mysterious ancient world which has been shielded from view out in the open for over 34 million years has recently been uncovered by scientists. It lies beneath a vast layer of ice in Antarctica, which has uncovered a raft of evidence. Employing a combination of satellite imagery and ground-penetrating radar technology, experts have exposed evidence of prehistoric river systems that once meandered through what is now an ice-covered wilderness. Scientists have determined that the hidden expanse, situated beneath the surface in Wilkes Land of East Antarctica, covers an area exceeding 12,000 square miles. Durham University's Stewart Jamieson, the lead researcher in this intriguing study, described the finding as akin to "uncovering a time capsule", commenting further: "The land underneath the East Antarctic ice sheet is less well-known than the surface of Mars." The research team uncovered geological features indicating an ancient terrain dotted with significant ridges and deep-cut valleys, as reported in the Express. They discovered three separate elevated areas stretching from 75 to 105 miles in length and up to 53 miles across, divided by extensive valleys plunging nearly 3,900ft and stretching up to 25 miles wide. What sets this East Antarctic ice sheet apart from other glacial bodies is its classification as a "cold-based" glacier according to scientists, it remains frozen to its base, advancing at a sluggish rate and thereby inflicting little erosive impact on the terrain below. Remarkably stationary, shifting less than 16 feet annually, this sheet has done an exceptional job at preserving the topography beneath. Professor Jamieson elaborated on the significance of the discovery: "What we find is an ancient land surface that has not been eroded by the ice sheet, and instead it looks like it was created by rivers before the ice came along." "It is remarkable that this landscape, hidden in plain sight for many years, can tell us so much about the early and long-term history of the East Antarctic ice sheet," Neil Ross, professor of environmental geophysics at Newcastle University and co-author of the study, acknowledged. Around 180 million years in the past, Antarctica was integral to the supercontinent Gondwana, but its eventual breakup set Antarctica adrift towards its current polar setting, becoming distinct from South America and Australia in the process. This shift instigated the creation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, a system that flows clockwise around Antarctica, which cut off the continent and contributed to significant coolin. This resulted in the extensive ice sheets that have become discoverable today. Even in later warm periods, like the mid-Pliocene approximately three million years ago, the now-uncovered region stayed beneath ice. Researchers are optimistic that these findings will shed light on how Antarctica may transform with looming climate change scenarios.
Hindustan Times
16-06-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
34 million-year-old ancient landscape discovered beneath Antarctic ice: ‘Like opening a time capsule'
Scientists have discovered an ancient landscape beneath a mile of ice in Antarctica, a place that was likely once home to rivers and forests. This area, which has remained untouched for over 34 million years, spans about 12,000 square miles and is located in a remote part of East Antarctica known as Wilkes Land. 'This is like opening a time capsule,' said Professor Stewart Jamieson, a geologist from Durham University and lead author of the study. Jamieson and his team began investigating the region in 2017, using satellite data and ice-penetrating radar. They found towering ridges and deep valleys, which suggest that rivers and forests once thrived there. Millions of years ago, Antarctica drifted toward the South Pole, where ocean currents cut it off from warmer waters, leading to the formation of massive ice sheets. Normally, glaciers erode the land beneath them as they move, but the ice in this region is so cold that it moves very slowly, causing minimal erosion and allowing the landscape to be preserved in incredible detail. The team identified three large blocks of elevated land, each between 75 and 105 miles long and up to 53 miles wide. These blocks are separated by valleys as wide as 25 miles and nearly 3,900 feet deep. "The land under the East Antarctic ice sheet is less understood than the surface of Mars," Jamieson said, according to the MailOnline.
