Unfavourable atmospheric conditions make it challenging to observe
Antarctica from space. Nevertheless, while visualisations have portrayed the frosty continent as seemingly endless expanses of white ice, a new study has revealed that this is merely a facade for what lies beneath the surface.
Antarctica might be a vast
ice sheet today, but it wasn't always so. Portions of the southern continent once featured expansive trees, forests, and even animals. However, approximately 30 million years ago, shifting climate conditions encased the region in ice, leaving the landscape suspended in time.
Comparing historical
radar data of the area with satellite images unveiled an ancient hidden paradise, located over two kilometres beneath the current surface. It includes extensive lakes and rugged river-carved hills and valleys. Stewart Jamieson, the principal author of the study, likened the 32,000-square-kilometre terrain to the Snowdonia region in northern Wales.
The researchers estimate that this submerged land hasn't seen daylight for at least 14 million years, and a wealth of ancient landscapes remains to be unearthed. At present, this enigmatic subterranean landscape is even less familiar than the surface of Mars, as Jamieson points out.
Despite remaining undiscovered for so long,
climate change also poses a threat to this vast, Kerala-sized
snow globe world. However, the fact that it lies hundreds of kilometres inland from Antarctica's icy periphery and has remained untouched by previous warming events provides some hope.
"We are now headed towards developing atmospheric conditions akin to those that prevailed between 14 to 34 million years ago when it was three to seven degrees Celsius warmer," the study cautions. Nevertheless, pinpointing the "tipping point" beyond which we will lose control over the thawing process is challenging.
Comprehending the concealed landscape will enable researchers to fathom how ice behaves in Antarctica, providing us with more insights into how the continent might respond to future climate change. With melting rates in the region accelerating over recent decades, this knowledge is unquestionably valuable.
The findings of this study have been published in
Nature Communications and can be accessed
here.
