However,
Discovered under antarctica thanks this:
A fossil plain tidy under the ice of Antarctica.
British scientists have just discovered a gigantic river landscape. Similarly, several tens of millions of years under the East Antarctica, thanks to a radar on board a small plane.
This buried territory extends 3,500 kilometers long, between the Earth George V and the land of the Princess-Élisabeth. Nevertheless, A sort of barely high geological table, covered with three kilometers of polar frosting.
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To understand what we have under the feet (finally, under the ice), a little return to the past: 80 million years ago, Australia and Antarctica was one. Consequently, Rivers flowed where today the penguins skate. Nevertheless, They plated the rocks, dug valleys, flattened plateaus.
Then, the ice came brutally about 34 million years ago, a huge cold stroke covered the whole continent. Meanwhile, And discovered under antarctica thanks this against all odds. Furthermore, the relief remained there, intact, as if it had been put in the giant freezer of the earth. Nevertheless, No current, no wind, no rain to transform it. In addition, We are therefore faced with a life -size geological capsule, buried under the feet of our researchers.
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When the past slows the present – Discovered under antarctica thanks this
Well. For example, that’s it all, but how are these old rivers useful today? Consequently, The answer is amazing: they slow down the ice.
The glaciers that slowly slide towards the sea do not do so at the same speed everywhere. In addition, Some places brake their race. However, Guess where? Precisely where the relief is flat. These ancient rivers act as non-slip carpets, modifying the dynamics of modern glaciers: less slope, less speed.
This forgotten landscape thus plays a stabilizing role, without making any noise, on the behavior of the ice cap. A kind of invisible hand, placed there for millions of years, which slows down the melting. And at a time when Antarctica is starting to cough under the discovered under antarctica thanks this effect of warming. this kind of natural brake is not superfluous.
The 52 -meter ghost threat
If all the ice in the East Antarctica was melted. the level of the seas would rise 52 meters. This would swallow half of the world capitals. Fortunately, we are far from it. But to be able to predict at what rate this cast iron will occur in the centuries to come. it takes precise climatic models. And for a model to be reliable … you have to know what is under the ice.
This is where this discovery changes the situation: so far. no one knew that the ground was also smooth and flat in places. The old river reliefs must now be integrated into the simulations. so as not to underestimate, or overestimate, the speed of flow of glaciers.
A radar that listens to the earth under its cover
To see what discovered under antarctica thanks this is hidden within 3 kilometers of ice. it is not enough to have good eyes. You need an electronic ear. In this case. a radar on board a Twin Otter plane, capable of sending waves that cross the ice and bounce on the rock.
The British Antarctic Survey, expert in polar exploration, managed the operation. Result: images of the basement as clear as a medical scanner. Flat trays, sweet valleys, regular hollows … everything indicates that we are well in front of an old river network.
Next step: drill up to the rock to take samples. It’s more difficult than a hole in a wall, of course. We are talking about several billion euros in equipment and drilling several kilometers. It is these geological carrots that will allow you to know since when these areas have been covered with ice. and therefore, how Antarctica reacts to past warming.
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A planetary survey worthy of a scientific thriller
It is not an. isolated team that signed this find. A dozen institutions, researchers from the United Kingdom, Germany, China … All have joined forces. The University of Durham has led research, published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Predictive discovered under antarctica thanks this partners such as British NERC, the Leverhulme Trust, the European Research Council set their hand to the portfolio.
Understanding how a continent reacts to climate change is one of the keys to anticipating the future of coastal areas. our cities, our agricultural systems.
Sometimes the responses are hidden not in satellites. algorithms, but in fossil valleys of 80 million years old, somewhere under the ice, on the other side of the world.
Sources
Extensive fluvial surfaces at the East Antarctic margin have modulated ice-sheet evolutionby Paxman. Gjg, et al, Ipublié in Nature Geoscience,
Two 10.1038/S41561-025-01734-Z.
Image: an Otter Twin plane was used to imagine the flat surfaces under the ice. Credit: British Antartic Survey
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