2023-10-31 07:55:02
News JVTech There are still places on Earth that we know less well than the surface of Mars, but which are just as important
Published on 10/31/2023 at 08:55
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By wanting to explore space quickly, we come to forget the mysteries still to be discovered on our dear planet Earth. Here is something quite surprising found in Antarctica.
A surprise under the ice
If for many, Antarctica is just a vast expanse of soulless ice, for scientists it is an area full of history. An ancient topography, buried beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet for at least 14 million years, was revealed using satellite data and aircraft equipped with radars that can see through the ice.
With these technologies, researchers have succeeded in mapping a total area of 32,000 square kilometers, the same size as Belgium. The results are in : a landscape composed of rivers that were present before the formation of the East Antarctic ice sheet, with a resemblance to the hills and valleys of modern-day North Wales, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.
The researchers’ objective was to reconstruct the history and evolution of the ice cap. As we are told Stewart Jamieson, lead author of the study and Professor in the Department of Geography, University of Durham:
Understanding what the land looked like before it was covered with ice is a key step in this reconstruction. (…) The preservation of this landscape is exceptional. It is rare to find minimally altered landscapes under a continental ice sheet – usually the movement of the ice as it changes size and moves erodes the ancient landscape
The land beneath East Antarctica is less known than parts of the surface of Mars. This is a problem because this landscape influences how ice in Antarctica circulates, and how it might respond to past, present and future climate changes. It is therefore crucial to know more.
Very important clues
Understanding why this specific ancient landscape has remained largely intact could help scientists predict the future evolution of the East Antarctic ice sheet, which contains the equivalent of around 60 meters of potential sea level rise, as the planet warms.
According to the study in question, the Earth’s climate is on track to reach temperatures similar to those of 34 to 14 million years ago – which were between 3 and 7 degrees Celsius warmer than today – when this completely different landscape from today would have appeared.
Geophysical data has provided clues about what lies beneath the ice up to 2 kilometers thick. The research team has no information on flora and fauna that may have inhabited the area in the past, but river traces suggest that running water was present, which probably indicates abundant vegetation, slightly different from what we experience in 2023.
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