Buried 2 miles beneath Antarctica's ice, a colossal hidden structure may rewrite its history

Beneath roughly two miles of Antarctic ice, scientists have identified an enormous buried geologic feature that could change how researchers interpret the continent's history and what may happen to it next.

As reported by Futurism, the finding could also aid studies beyond the continent by giving researchers better insight into how massive ice sheets respond as global temperatures rise.

What happened?

Scientists uncovered the existence of the enormous hidden structure below the surface of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and published their results in a study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience. 

The researchers' finding represents one of the largest formations of its kind on Earth under Antarctica's ice. The team of scientists has named it the East Antarctic Fan-Shaped Basin Province, which now links several sub-glacial features previously known to scientists, including the world's largest sub-glacial lake, Lake Vostok.

The other components of this geological structure include the Wilkes and Aurora subglacial basins, alongside Lake Vostok. According to a press release for the new Nature paper, the formations hadn't been considered to be components of the same structure. 

To map the province, researchers combined several datasets, including geological observations, gravity readings, magnetic information, and models of the crust.

Taken together, the evidence suggests the buried formation likely developed through "distributed rotational extension," which Futurism described as a process of continental crust gradually stretching outward over millions of years.

Why does it matter?

Because the province extends over a large part of East Antarctica, it may affect the way overlying ice shifts, melts, and responds to the terrain below.

As Antarctica's ice sheets play a major role in sea levels, better knowledge of the geology guiding ice flow could improve forecasts of future sea-level rise. 

Plus, as rising temperatures destabilize ice, uncertainty can slow preparation efforts and make it harder for communities to protect homes, roads, drinking water systems, and local economies from worsening flood risks.

Essentially, what lies beneath Antarctica could shape how one of Earth's largest ice masses changes above it and how well the rest of the world can prepare for what follows.

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