Scientists Found the Deepest Land on Earth Hiding Beneath Antarctica's Ice (2024)

FAQs

What was found in Antarctica under the ice? ›

Initially, all they saw was blurry flecks that looked like detritus floating around. A quick camera-focusing showed that it was actually living crustaceans, reports Live Science.

The Antarctic continent lies on a large landmass. Underneath that smooth ice sheet there are mountains and valleys. The surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is up to 4000 m high, and in places the ice is 4000 m deep, but the Gamburtsev Mountain range is up to 2,700 m high and lies underneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

A “hidden world” discovered under the ice in Antarctica

He and other New Zealand scientists have just discovered an underwater ecosystem 500 metres under the Antarctic ice, in an estuary hundreds of kilometres from the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice barrier on the white continent.

At its thickest point the ice sheet is 4,776 meters deep. It averages 2,160 meters thick, making Antarctica the highest continent. This ice is 90 percent of all the world's ice and 70 percent of all the world's fresh water.

More than 98 percent of Antarctica is covered with ice, this contains about 70 percent of the world's fresh water. The thick ice cover makes it the highest of all continents, with an average elevation of about 2300 m (about 7500 ft).

They are the oldest human remains ever found in Antarctica. The bones were discovered on the beach in the 1980s. Chilean researchers found that they belonged to a woman who died when she was about 21 years old.

Yes, you can visit Antarctica!

Although Antarctica is the most remote continent on earth—more than 1,000 km from the nearest neighboring continent—you can actually visit it, and enjoy the voyage at your own pace and preference.

Antarctica is the only continent with no permanent human habitation. There are, however, permanent human settlements, where scientists and support staff live for part of the year on a rotating basis.

A few years ago, a giant hole opened up in the Antarctic sea ice, capturing attention around the world. Not since the 1970s had such a chasm appeared in the mid-ocean ice of the Weddell Sea. Scientists showed in previous research that ocean processes and cyclones contributed to the hole, called a polynya.

Why no one can go to Antarctica? ›

Due to harsh conditions, extreme weather and no permanent population on the continent there are no regular passenger flights to Antarctica. Most flights transport research personnel and supply the bases. The lack of infrastructure makes it difficult to recover a stranded aircraft in case of an emergency.

The rough weather conditions and low visibility make it extremely difficult to fly and land a plane over the continent. It is technically possible to fly to Antarctica, but there are very few flights that take the risk of going there.

Antarctica is losing ice mass (melting) at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year, and Greenland is losing about 280 billion tons per year, adding to sea level rise.

The deepest ice core records come from Antarctica and Greenland, where the very deepest ice cores extend to 3 kilometers (over two miles) in depth. The oldest continuous ice core records extend to 130,000 years in Greenland, and 800,000 years in Antarctica.

Antarctica hasn't always been covered with ice – the continent lay over the south pole without freezing over for almost 100 million years. Then, about 34 million years ago, a dramatic shift in climate happened at the boundary between the Eocene and Oligocene epochs.

13.66 million km²

Antarctica / Area

Antarctica is a cold desert, with snowfall equivalent to only 150mm of water each year. This snow builds up gradually and ice flows towards the coast as huge glaciers. In many places, these extend out over the sea as massive ice shelves. Only about 0.4% of the surface of Antarctica is free of snow and ice.

The two victims were Tony Beyer and Joe Stermer. Both of them required stitches. FBI agents from the United States were sent to McMurdo Station to investigate and make an arrest.

The people who travel to or live in Antarctica fall into two main groups, those who live and work on scientific research stations or bases, and tourists. No-one lives in Antarctica indefinitely in the way that they do in the rest of the world. It has no commercial industries, no towns or cities, no permanent residents.

The air is so cold that it's dangerous to breathe it directly. Instead, those who do brave the elements here often breathe through snorkels that pass through their jackets, allowing the body to warm the air. “The snow makes a tremendous amount of noise when you walk on it,” said Scambos.

What is 98% of Antarctica covered? ›

About 98% of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, a sheet of ice averaging at least 1.6 km thick. The continent has about 90% of the world's ice (and therefore about 70% of the world's fresh water). If all this ice were melted, sea levels would rise about 60 m.

Antarctica is the only place on the planet where the land isn't officially owned by anyone. A few countries have made land claims (for more about this, see the information box on the next page), but those claims aren't officially recognized and don't cover the entire continent.

You can get to Antarctica by boat or plane. Sailing the Drake Passage from the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula takes 48 hours. Flying to Antarctica takes 2 hours. Approximately 54,000 visitors make the journey each year, with around 50 expedition vessels sailing Antarctic waters each season.

Our experts share their inside knowledge and money-saving tips to help you answer the question “How much does it cost to go to Antarctica?” The average Antarctica cruise cost is about $8,000 per person. The least expensive trips to Antarctica start at under $5,000. Luxury voyages can exceed $15,000 per person.

However, in Antarctica, taking anything is banned. This includes rocks, feathers, bones, eggs and any kind of biological material including traces of soil. Taking anything man-made is also completely banned, as some might actually be research equipment.

You may wonder how, if there is no Antarctic laws, it is possible for people to commit crime in Antarctica. Whilst crime is pretty rare, it is still possible to break the law as, under the Antarctic Treaty, people in Antarctica are subject to the laws of their own country.

Eleven babies have been born in Antarctica, and none of them died as infants. Antarctica therefore has the lowest infant mortality rate of any continent: 0%. What's crazier is why the babies were born there in the first place. These weren't unplanned births.

There is no official flag of Antarctica since it is not a country nor governed by any authority. However, there is a caveat to that as Antarctica is a de facto condominium, governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status.

The most commonly spoken language of Antarctica is Russian, which happens to be the official language of Bellingsgauzenia, New Devon, and Ognia. English is also one of the most widespread languages spoken. You can find English spoken in the Balleny Islands, New South Greenland, Eduarda, etc.

Ice core drilling in Antarctica to discover environment evolution over the last 1,5 million years. The first ice core drilling campaign of Beyond Epica-Oldest Ice has been successfully completed at the remote Little Dome C site in Antarctica – one of the most extreme places on Earth.

Who is buried in Antarctica? ›

While Sir Ernest Shackleton is often heralded as the hero of polar exploration, he had many contemporaries, among them British naval captain Robert Falcon Scott, who along with four of his men is still buried under the snows of the Antarctic.

In the Antarctic region, while the Madrid Protocol (Environmental Protocol) bans all mining and drilling for petroleum in the area south of 60° South latitude, there has been some hydrocarbon exploration in offshore areas further north that are still affected by icebergs.

For US citizens you will need to complete a DS-4131 ADVANCE NOTIFICATION FORM – TOURIST AND OTHER NON-GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES IN THE ANTARCTIC TREATY AREA and then submit this to the Department of State's Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs. You will need to do this at least 3 months in advance of your intended visit.

These magnetic fields interfere with aircraft magnetic navigational tools. Antarctica's isolated nature further makes it difficult for planes to communicate with Air Traffic Control (ATC), further rendering navigation difficult.

Due to its remoteness, inhospitable weather conditions and lack of natural land bridges connecting it to other continents, Antarctica has spent the last 35 million years in relative silence and seclusion. Prior to its discovery in 1820, no humans had ever set eyes on this icy continent.

Hurricanes differ from thunderstorms in that they often occur much closer to the ground. For this reason, planes are sometimes able to fly over hurricanes rather than being redirected around them. While it is possible for planes to fly through the eye of a hurricane, this is only ever done for scientific research.

Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are very cold because they get very little direct sunlight. The Sun is always low on the horizon, even in the middle of summer. In winter, the Sun is so far below the horizon that it doesn't come up at all for months at a time.

If all the ice covering Antarctica , Greenland, and in mountain glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about 70 meters (230 feet). The ocean would cover all the coastal cities. And land area would shrink significantly. But many cities, such as Denver, would survive.

Since today's Earth has a continent over the South Pole and an almost land-locked ocean over the North Pole, geologists believe that Earth will continue to experience glacial periods in the geologically near future.

Is ice blue older? ›

When glacial ice first freezes, it is filled with air bubbles. As that ice gets buried and squashed underneath younger ice on top, the older ice starts to take on a blue tinge. As the ice grows denser, the bubbles become smaller and smaller.

But Antarctica is a natural treasure that can still be saved. This white continent is a paradise for scientists and wildlife, but its harsh conditions make it uninhabitable for humans. However, not even the most remote place on earth has been spared from man-made damage.

It is Earth's fifth-largest tectonic plate. The Antarctic Plate's movement is estimated to be at least 1 cm (0.4 in) per year towards the Atlantic Ocean.

If all the Antarctic ice melted it would raise the average sea level by about 70 m (230 feet) worldwide. This would change the map of the world as we know it as all coastlines would flood including the loss of all coastal cities in the world.

The deepest point on continental Earth has been identified in East Antarctica, under Denman Glacier. This ice-filled canyon reaches 3.5km (11,500ft) below sea level.

The Antarctic Ice Sheet began as a series of small glaciers, much like the ones we see in high alpine regions today. It started to form between 34 and 35 million years ago. At that time, South America and Tasmania, which had been connected to the Antarctica landmass for millions of years, started drifting to the north.

Glacier ice is blue because the red (long wavelengths) part of white light is absorbed by ice and the blue (short wavelengths) light is transmitted and scattered. The longer the path light travels in ice, the more blue it appears.

There were not only live microbes, but also the bodies of dead crustaceans and a tardigrade. "It's the first time anything like that's been seen," Priscu said. "The first things we did see were bacteria, a full living ecosystem," Priscu said.

What is the oldest ice in Antarctica? ›

In June 2022, an underwater ecosystem was discovered in a river beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf in Antarctica. This discovery was made by New Zealand scientists when they drilled through the shelf and filmed the icy water below. The video footage revealed shrimp-like creatures swimming about in their underwater habitat.

February 26, 2007

An expedition to an area of seabed recently exposed by melting ice in Antarctica has discovered several previously unknown species of marine life, including deep sea lilies, gelatinous sea squirts, glass sponges, amphipod crustaceans, and orange starfish.

One of these terra incognita is the land beneath Antarctica's ice sheets. Buried under kilometres of ice is a fascinating realm of canyons, waterways and lakes, which is only now being mapped in detail. There are more than 400 known lakes in this harsh environment, and more are being discovered as technology advances.

The subglacial lake that feeds Blood Falls is trapped beneath a quarter mile of ice. But in addition to being cut off from the rest of the continent, the water that feeds Blood Falls is completely cut off from the atmosphere—it has never seen sunlight and is completely devoid of oxygen.

Known as the Blood Falls, this unique phenomenon was first discovered by scientists as a frozen waterfall in 1911. Scientists had noticed that a part of the cliff had been stained dark red and the reason was unknown. They then believed that the discolouring of water was due to the presence of algae.

Animal fossils

Dinosaurs lived in Antarctica and are well known from the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, although few have been described formally. They include ankylosaurs (the armoured dinosaurs), mosasaurs and plesiosaurs (both marine reptilian groups).