For decades, Antarctica's vast ice sheet has concealed what lies beneath it. Now, scientists have produced the most detailed map yet of the landscape hidden below the ice, revealing a surprisingly varied world of mountains, deep canyons, wide valleys and thousands of small hills.
Using high resolution satellite data and a technique that tracks how ice moves across the surface, researchers were able to reconstruct the shape of the land below, even in areas that had never been directly surveyed. The result is the first complete picture of the subglacial terrain across the entire continent.
This hidden landscape plays a key role in how Antarctica's ice behaves as the climate warms. Rough and uneven ground can slow the flow of ice towards the ocean, while smoother areas allow it to move faster. Knowing what lies beneath the ice helps scientists better predict how quickly melting ice could raise global sea levels.
The map identified more than 30,000 previously unknown hills, underscoring how little was known about Antarctica's foundations. The continent, which holds around 70% of the world's freshwater frozen into ice, is larger than Europe and shaped by dramatic geological forces stretching back millions of years. For reference, until now, parts of Antarctica beneath the ice were less well mapped than the surface of Mars...
For more, the study was just published in the journal Science.