A Hidden World Beneath the Ice: Antarctica’s Landscape Revealed

Email: online@newsofbahrain.com

Antarctica: Researchers have produced the most detailed map to date of the terrain hidden beneath Antarctica’s massive ice sheet, uncovering a previously unseen world of mountains, valleys, plains and tens of thousands of hills buried under miles of ice, according to newly published scientific findings.

 The international team utilised advanced satellite observations and a novel technique called ice-flow perturbation analysis, which uses ice movement and surface data to infer the shape of the bedrock below. This approach enabled scientists to chart features more precisely than earlier radar surveys, including over 30,000 previously uncharted hills and rugged subglacial valleys across the continent.

 Experts say the newly uncovered topography plays a significant role in how ice flows toward the sea and responds to warming conditions, providing crucial data to improve climate models and projections of sea-level rise. The map also offers fresh insights into Antarctica’s geological history, revealing landscapes that may date back to periods before the continental ice sheet formed.

 The work represents a major advance in understanding one of Earth’s least explored environments a region that until now was mapped with less precision than even some planetary surfaces in the Solar System. Scientists hope the data will guide future research and help policymakers assess risks related to global climate change.