British scientists from Imperial College London, led by Dr. Martin Siegert, came to the conclusion that under a thick layer of the Antarctic shield there may be a huge lake with unique life forms inhabiting it.
This conclusion, scientists made on the basis of satellite images, which showed a number of deep grooves on the surface of the Earth Princess Elizabeth. Scientists believe that the furrows appeared during the outflow of water from the subglacial lake. Scientists observed the same grooves along the edges of the already known subglacial lakes and canals.
According to the scientist, the new lake is about 100 km long and 10 km wide. It looks more like a ribbon in shape, and long channels and canyons that emerge from it stretch for 1000 km along the eastern coast of Antarctica. “We saw these strange lines on the surface and from them suggested that there are massive channels 1000 km long, as well as a relatively large subglacial lake,” Sigert said at the European Union of Geophysical Research conference.
Photo: pixabay.com/CC0 Public Domain
Researchers believe that most of the channels are located between the Vestfold Hills and the West Ice Shelf. According to scientists, their discovery is of great interest for science, since unique forms of life that are resistant to cold can inhabit the subglacial lake. The main mysteries of Antarctica are hidden under the ice sheet, scientists say.
Other mysteries of Antarctica
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Antarctica is still quite little studied by specialists, so new discoveries are constantly being made on this continent. In total, over 140 subglacial lakes have been discovered in Antarctica. The largest of them is Lake Vostok, discovered in 1990 by Russian scientists. The east is 250 km long and 50 km wide. The lake is covered with a four-meter ice shell. Scientists are actively exploring this lake. During drilling, it was possible to take water samples, the analysis of which showed the presence of frost-resistant bacteria. Research is currently ongoing.
Lake Vostok well drilling scheme
Photo: Kimse / wikipedia.org / public domain
Thanks to satellite images, scientists were able to discover the largest canyon in the world in Antarctica earlier this year - its length is 1,000 kilometers. The canyon is underwater and is larger than the Grand Canyon in the United States. Until scientists figured out how the canyon was formed. Presumably, it was pierced by water in the ground. However, it is not yet clear whether the movement of the water was sub-ice, or whether the canyon arose before the formation of the ice sheet.
One of the most interesting and mysterious discoveries in Antarctica is a huge tunnel under the ice. The tunnel is over 100 km long and 250 meters high. It was discovered by radar scanning and satellite photography.
Antarctica from satellite
Photo: NASA
According to experts, the technical characteristics of the channel do not exclude its artificial origin. The tunnel has a clear outline, as if it was hollowed out with the help of any mechanisms. According to the researchers, it ends at the point where the mainland glacier gradually turns into the shelf. This is where long notches in the ocean floor begin.
Some researchers believe that the passage leads to an abandoned city under the ice of Antarctica, which is legendary. However, most scientists believe that the passages under the ice were washed by rivers under the ice. Be that as it may, Antarctica holds many more secrets to be revealed. Therefore, this territory has recently been the object of close research by scientists.