An international group of researchers for the first time managed to draw up a detailed topographic map of the Gamburtsev Mountains - a mountain range that is located under the Antarctic ice sheet. The results of the expedition will be presented at a press conference in Geneva on February 25, 2009, and a summary is available in a press release on the website of the National Science Foundation, which partially funded the expedition
The main method for studying the mountain ridge located at a depth of more than four kilometers under the ice was radio sounding. As part of the expedition, scientists organized two camps, between which an aircraft flew with research equipment. During the expedition, he managed to fly more than 120 thousand kilometers - a distance almost three times the length of the equator.
The data collected surprised scientists. First, it turned out that the Gamburtsev mountains have a very rugged and uneven relief. According to modern concepts, this means that the mountains are young enough. However, the mountain range is located in an area where there has been no serious tectonic activity for the last 540 million years. In addition, scientists have not been able to detect magnetic anomalies, which are typical manifestations of recent (by geological standards) volcanic activity.
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Another mystery is the Antarctic ice sheet itself. According to modern concepts, it was formed as a result of the growth of embryonic glaciers, which, merging, covered the entire continent. The ice caps of the Gamburtsev mountains should have been one of these embryos. This process was supposed to smooth out the peaks of the mountains, which is also not observed. According to the researchers, in order to answer numerous questions regarding the age and origin of the Gamburtsev mountains, it is necessary to obtain soil samples.
The researchers also managed to find a large network of subglacial rivers and lakes that flow in the mountain valleys.
The Gamburtsev Mountains were discovered by the Soviet polar expedition in 1958. The length of the ridge is approximately 1,300 kilometers, and the height of individual peaks can reach over 3,000 meters. The mountains were named after the outstanding geophysicist, academician Grigory Alexandrovich Gamburtsev.