Unearthing a Hidden Terrain: Explorations Reveal Earth's Lesser-Known Marvels

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Satellite data and aircraft equipped with ice-penetrating radar have unveiled an ancient landscape concealed beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet for a staggering 14 million years.

Using remote sensing techniques, scientists have mapped an area of land measuring 32,000 square kilometers (12,300 square miles), equivalent to the size of Belgium. A recent study published in Nature Communications reveals that this land, which would have resembled the hills and valleys of present-day North Wales, was formed by rivers prior to the formation of the East Antarctic ice sheet. The researchers aimed to study the history and evolution of the ice sheet, and understanding the pre-existing landscape is a crucial part of that narrative, as explained by Stewart Jamieson, the lead author of the study and a geography professor at the University of Durham.

Courtesy ZSL

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"The land underneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is less well known than the surface of Mars," Jamieson said in a statement.

"And that presents a challenge as the landscape plays a crucial role in influencing the flow of ice in Antarctica and its potential response to climate change throughout history," he emphasized.

The exceptional preservation of this landscape adds to its uniqueness. It is uncommon to encounter relatively untouched terrains beneath a continental ice sheet. Typically, the continual movement and changes in size of the ice would erode and wear away these remnants of the past, explained Jamieson.

The ancient landscape was discovered beneath the ice inland from Denman Glacier in East Antarctica pictured here.

NASA

What lies beneath the Antarctic ice

Understanding the reasons behind the preservation of this ancient landscape could aid scientists in predicting the future behavior of the East Antarctic ice sheet. This ice sheet holds the potential for an approximate sea level rise of 60 meters as global temperatures continue to rise. The study suggests that Earth's climate is projected to reach temperatures similar to those observed during the landscape's formation, which occurred 34 to 14 million years ago, and were between 3 degrees Celsius and 7 degrees Celsius higher than the current temperature.

The East Antarctic ice sheet originated approximately 34 million years ago and experienced changes in size over time, occasionally exposing the underlying land. This suggests that the temperatures at the base of the ice sheet were consistently frigid and stable, despite certain periods of climate warming.

Bering Sea snow crab support a valuable commercial fishery.

NOAA Fisheries

Billions of crabs in Alaska have disappeared, and scientists have finally discovered the reason behind their disappearance. The lack of liquid water in our specific location, unlike other regions where it helps in grinding substances, has partially contributed to the survival of these crabs for an extended period, as revealed by Jamieson during a phone interview.

The geophysical data collected by the scientists offered insights into the composition beneath the 2-kilometer-thick ice layer.

"The data accurately computes minuscule alterations in the ice surface's shape. Essentially, when we visualize this information, it resembles a network of interconnected valleys that are believed to exist beneath the ice sheet. Essentially, we are observing the remnants of that terrain from above," explained Jamieson.

The research team is unaware of the previous plant and wildlife species that may have existed in the area. However, the presence of flowing rivers indicates the presence of water, strongly implying that the landscape was covered in vegetation.