(ORDO NEWS) — While exploring Antarctica, scientists made an amazing discovery. They discovered a huge river 460 kilometers long under the icy continent.
According to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists have discovered a huge river under Antarctica.
This river significantly affects the flow and melting of the ice cover. It has the potential to accelerate ice loss as the climate warms.
A 460-kilometer-long river that collects water from the base of the Antarctic ice sheet has been discovered by scientists at Imperial College London.
The researchers found that the base of the ice sheet has a higher active water flow than previously thought. As a result, this makes it more susceptible to climate change.
When scientists first discovered the lakes under the Antarctic ice decades ago, they thought they were isolated from each other, said Prof Martin Sigert of Imperial College London, co-author of the paper.
Now scientists are beginning to understand that under the ice there are entire systems that are interconnected by rivers.
Experts estimate that ice in the region where this study is being conducted could raise global sea levels by 4.3 meters. A direct relationship has also been found between how slippery the base of the ice is and how much ice melts.
There are two main ways that water appears under ice sheets. One of them flows through deep cracks with surface melt water.
Another river is melting at its base due to the natural heat of the Earth and friction from the movement of ice over land. This new river system can have a strong impact on this process.
However, polar ice sheets have their own characteristics. During the summer months, the surface of Greenland melts rapidly.
This allows a huge amount of water to flow down through deep crevices. However, in Antarctica, summer temperatures are too cold to melt enough surface water to create fissures.
Now a new discovery completely refutes this belief. It showed that enough water could be produced from basal melt to form rivers under kilometers of ice.
The discovery of such a huge system shows how little we know about this continent, the researchers say. The team is now trying to collect more data to better understand how the change in Antarctica could affect the planet in the future.
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