Curiosmos
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists
No Result
View All Result
Like us on Facebook
Curiosmos
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists
No Result
View All Result
Curiosmos
No Result
View All Result

This Stunning Map Reveals Hidden Features Beneath Antarctica

Ivan PetricevicbyIvan Petricevic
December 13, 2019 - Updated on January 21, 2024
in Editor's Picks
An image showing what Antarctica looks like without snow and ice. Image Credit: Mathieu Morlighem / UCI.

An image showing what Antarctica looks like without snow and ice. Image Credit: Mathieu Morlighem / UCI.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A new map made of data from radar, imaging, and predictions has revealed Antarctica’s unprecedented view.

Not only has the new map revealed what Antarctica looks like beneath the ice, but experts have also discovered the deepest point on land.

A team of glaciologists led by Irvine, from the University of California, in the United States, has revealed the most accurate portrait of the contours of the landmass below the Antarctic ice sheet, and in doing so, they have helped identify which regions of the continent will be more or less vulnerable to future climate warming. Antarctica’s topographic map, dubbed ‘BedMachine,’ was published in the journal ‘Nature Geoscience.’

Among the most surprising results of the ‘BedMachine’ project are the discovery of stabilizing ridges that protect the ice that flows through the Transantarctic mountains; a bed geometry that increases the risk of rapid ice melting in the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers sector of West Antarctica, and a bed under the glaciers of the Support Force Glacier that is hundreds of meters deeper than previously thought, making those ice sheets more susceptible to withdrawal, and the deepest land canyon in the world beneath the Denman glacier, in Eastern Antarctica.

Related Posts

An image of the Moai statues at Rapa Nui.

Massive Fire Irreparably Damages 177 Moai Statues

November 12, 2022 - Updated on January 20, 2024
Nostradamus' predictions for 2025

Nostradamus’ Predictions for 2025: Did the Legendary Seer Foresee Anything?

February 10, 2025
Antarctica as it would appear from space. Image Credit: NASA
Antarctica. Image Credit: NASA

The experts have revealed that the new data has unveiled many surprises in Antarctica, especially in regions that have previously not been mapped in great detail.

The new Antarctic map was composed using ice thickness data from 19 research institutes dating back to 1967, covering almost one million miles of radar probes.

To get even better readings, the scientists behind the ‘BedMachine’ project used measurements of the bathymetry of the ice shelf of the NASAs Operation IceBridge campaigns and the data of the speed of the ice flow and the seismic information, where it was available.

These same data sets have been used in other topography mapping projects, producing similar results when viewed broadly.

Scientists have revealed that BedMachine data allows experts to understand particular parts of Antarctica better. The new map of Antarctica has allowed experts to discover the deepest point on land.

Previous mapping methods in Antarctica that rely on radar surveys have been usually effective, with some restrictions. While the airplanes fly in a straight line over a region, the radar systems mounted on the wings emit a signal that penetrates the glaciers and the ice sheets and bounces from the point where the ice meets the mainland.

Glaciologists then use interpolation techniques to fill the areas between the runways, but this has proven to be an incomplete approach, especially with rapidly flowing glaciers.

In other words, in an ever-changing environment such as Antarctica, this technique can’t be relied upon.

This is where BedMachine is a game-changer.

‘BedMachine’ relies on a fundamental physics-based method of mass conservation to discern what is located between radar survey lines, using highly detailed information on the movement of the ice flow that dictates how ice moves around varied contours of the bed.

This technique was instrumental in the research team’s conclusion regarding the true depth of the Denman channel, for example.

This is a new map of Antarctica without ice. Image Credit: Mathieu Morlighem / UCI.
This is a new map of Antarctica without ice. Image Credit: Mathieu Morlighem / UCI.

Previous maps showed a canyon thought to be far less deep, but this was wrong.

With conservation of the mass, by combining the existing radar study and the ice movement data, scientists were able to find out how much ice the canyon fills, which, according to calculations, is 3,500 meters below sea level, the deepest point on land. Since it is relatively narrow, it must be deep to allow so much ice mass to reach the coast.

By basing its results on the ice surface speed in addition to the ice thickness data of the radar surveys, ‘BedMachine’ can present a more accurate and high-resolution representation of the topography.

“The same method has been successfully used in Greenland in recent years, transforming the understanding of ice dynamics, ocean circulation, and the mechanisms of glacier retreat,”  revealed Professor Mathieu Morlighem, the lead author of the study.

Scientists hope that using BedMachine will allow them to reduce the uncertainty in sea level rise projections and understand the continent in ways previously impossible.


Join the discussion and participate in awesome giveaways in our mobile Telegram group. Join Curiosmos on Telegram Today. t.me/Curiosmos

Share1782Tweet98Share27ShareSend
Ivan Petricevic

Ivan Petricevic

I've been writing passionately about ancient civilizations, history, alien life, and various other subjects for more than eight years. You may have seen me appear on Discovery Channel's What On Earth series, History Channel's Ancient Aliens, and Gaia's Ancient Civilizations among others.

Related Posts

The James Webb Space Telescope has found a galactic question mark
Editor's Picks

Why Is the Universe 93 Billion Light-Years Across If It’s Only 13.7 Billion Years Old?

November 27, 2024
The surface of Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa. NASA/JPL-CALTECH/KEVIN M. GILL.
Editor's Picks

Leading Astronomer Says “Higher Forms” of Alien Life on Jupiter’s Moon Europa

February 9, 2020 - Updated on January 21, 2024
An artists rendering showing an asteroid entering Earth's atmosphere. Shutterstock.
Editor's Picks

Global Reset 12,800 Years Ago: Evidence of Mass Extinction by Asteroid?

October 3, 2019 - Updated on May 3, 2023
Doggerland the lost land beneath the North Sea. Curiosmos.
Editor's Picks

Doggerland the lost land beneath the North Sea that vanished 8000 years ago

December 5, 2018 - Updated on April 16, 2025
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is the staple of science as we know it today. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Editor's Picks

Darwin’s Life, Lessons, and Thoughts Resumed in 10 Key Facts

April 19, 2022 - Updated on January 21, 2024
Meta Title: The mystery of the dinosaur with neck spines
Editor's Picks

Meta Title: The mystery of the dinosaur with neck spines

February 6, 2019 - Updated on April 17, 2025
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Fair Use Notice
  • DMCA / Removal
  • Impressum
  • Contact
  • Fact-Checking Policy
  • Ethics Policy
  • Ownership and Funding Information
  • Impressum
CURIOSMOS.COM

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists