Scientists have discovered a deeper than the Grand Canyon Trough in the ancient Antarctic ice. It is part of an ancient mountain range. Scientists With specially developed to detect radar and found it hidden under the ice a few kilometers.
This huge mountain range in western Antarctica, covered with the most up to 7 km thick ice.
Ice under the radar images help researchers pinpoint the location of this huge valley.
7 km under the Antarctic ice discovered huge Trough: deeper than the Grand Canyon
Trough are too large, it can even be seen from space
According to foreign media reports, the scientists found that a deeper than the Grand Canyon Trough in the ancient Antarctic ice. It is part of an ancient mountain range. Scientists With specially developed to detect radar and found it hidden under the ice a few kilometers.
This huge glacier valley below the deepest three kilometers, over 300 km long, 25 km widest. At the same time, in some places, more than 2000 meters below sea bottom. The researchers said that although buried but because too much can even see it from space at 7 km under the ice.
Newcastle University, UK, Glacier Research Centre, University of Bristol, the British Antarctic Survey scientists at Edinburgh University, the University of Exeter and York University to carry out the study.They put the satellite data, ground ice in snowmobile drag under the radar work and the collection of small aircraft combine to draw out the next Ellsworth Glacier Heights map. This ancient mountain range buried under Antarctic ice several kilometers deep in places.
The researchers used three seasons at West Antarctica to investigate and draw maps. They pointed out that millions of years ago, similar to the one now on the Antarctic Peninsula, Alaska, the Canadian Arctic ice or small ice carved up this mountain and this very deep valley.
Professor of Earth Science, University of Bristol Martin – Xi Jite said: “Although for decades scientists have been on the West Antarctic ice sheet growth and the controversial idea of a recession in the past few million years, but do not know from which ice growth When entering a recession period and the period through exploration ice radar echo detection, but also combines satellite imagery, we observed the terrain under the ice sheet, has found a U-shaped valleys and cirques and other typical glacial landforms areas it might just be the one This situation is similar to the formation of small ice caps today’s Canadian and Russian Arctic high latitudes appear, so we found this region is the origin of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet place. ”
The results of this research group is the ancient ice sheet size, thickness and the West Antarctic ice sheet behavior and early structure and behavior of unprecedented scientific data. Under this glacier ice from the West Antarctic landscape indicate where and its growth process, but also for the West Antarctic ice sheet to global warming when the size and shape provide important clues. The latest issue of the magazine “Journal of the Geological Society of America,” published these findings.
The first author of the research paper is also the Neil Newcastle University scientists – Dr. Ross said: “We are in a great chance to discover this trough and the surrounding mountain landscape of the valley we get this huge ice Penetrating Radar. data at both ends, but we are now in the middle of both ends of the situation was unknown. satellite data can fill this gap, because although buried under several kilometers of ice, but it is very large, so you can see it from space in my It seems that this is just to prove that we still know little about the Earth’s surface. Even now, we still have to discover and explore possible hidden in the ground, previously unknown landscape, this so exciting. “This research was supported by the United Kingdom Natural Environment Research Council funding.