From above, Antarctica may seem a cold, flat and sorry landscape – and this is certainly the case. But under the ice cap is a whole hidden world: Scientists have discovered various biomes,, Rivers and hidden lakes,, Mountains and valleys,, primordial bacteriaAnd even the remains of ancient ecosystems.
Almost 90% of Antarctica lands are covered with a thick layer of ice – around 1.3 miles (2.2 kilometers) deepon average – and that’s how it About 34 million years. However, the researchers only scraped the surface of what is under the mysterious continent.
“It’s so exciting to dive into these past worlds and understand how this continent has evolved over time, and what it means”, ” Johann KlagesA sedimentologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany which studies the history of the climate in Antarctica, told Live science. “What does he tell us about our own existence on this planet?”
In his research, for example, Klages discovered the First amber fossil never found in Antarctica – A vestige of the old temperate tropical forest that covered the continent over 90 million years ago. Klages thinks there are probably more amber in future expeditions too.
Antarctica also houses more 400 sub-glacial lakes. The biggest, Lake Vostokis less than 2.5 miles (4 km) of ice near the Russian Vostok station. “And what is it? Probably microbes,” said Klages. “But also,” because of the immense pressure of the ice, “probably life that is nowhere else on earth.”
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A complex system of rivers surrounds water in and out of these lakes, according to a research led by Christine DowGlaciologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada who used radar imaging to see what is below the surface of the ice.
If you find it hard to imagine a whole body of water under a glacial cap, think of a river that you would see flowing in a lake and towards the ocean – “but then you simply add 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of ice on the top,” said Dow. This ice means that the water behaves a little strangely. “You can really have rolling water Under Antarctic ice, “she told Live Science.” It is not also defined by gravity. “”
However, a large part of what is under the ice is not as exciting. “The vast majority of what is under the ice is just a rock,” said Klages. “It’s just a crystalline rocky substratum, a crystalline basement, granite.”
One of the most important elements is the very large sediment plans under certain parts of the ice, Dow said. “These are the areas that flow very quickly in the ocean, because essentially the ice floats just on this suspension of wet sediments,” she said. “It’s not as aesthetic as mountains and valleys, but it is very important to understand how ice behaves.”
According to Dow and Klages.
There are whole areas of Antarctica, like a large part of the west of Antarctica, which are below sea level due to the thickness of the ice cap. “There is no ocean there right now, because the ice is taking all the space,” said Dow.
If you imagine that the ice is in a bowl, it is currently on the rim. But once the ice is starting to withdraw, it will come back in the bowl. And because the ice is less dense than water, it will become more dynamic. At this point, the ice “floated like a giant ice cube,” said Dow.
Once the whole area under sea level is filled with the ocean, the ice is more unstable and is breaking, contributing even more to elevation of sea level. “So, the moment when this ice is starting to withdraw from the edge is really critical,” said Dow. “And we are at this time right now.
“It’s a fairly unstable place, Antarctica,” she added. “It’s beautiful, it’s vast, it’s mysterious – but it’s also really dangerous.”
Antarctic quiz: Test your knowledge on the frozen continent of the earth