New Antarctica Discovery

Scientists recently mapped a region of land, known as bedrock, beneath Antarctic ice that has never been exposed to sunlight.

The big discovery began when scientists observed that many buried basins in East Antarctica seem to originate from the same point. A team of experts worked to identify the landscape and geology beneath the ice, along with magnetic and seismic data. They found numerous V-shaped basins radiating from a central point near the South Pole and named the area the East Antarctic Fan-Shaped Basin Province. While the discovery itself is interesting, what it could tell scientists may be even more fascinating. 

The land may hold clues about how Antarctica was formed during the breakup of Gondwana, an ancient supercontinent dating back to around 600 million years ago. Gondwana comprised present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica. The supercontinent began breaking up about 180 million years ago.

Antarctica itself was not confirmed as a continent until 1840, as it was initially suspected to be a series of islands and was extremely difficult to explore. It is the world’s fifth largest continent and is almost 1.5 times the size of the United States. Like much of our home state, Antarctica is in fact a desert!

Antarctica is the coldest, highest, driest, and windiest continent on Earth. Ninety-nine percent of the rocky landscape is covered in ice, and in some spots the ice is nearly three miles deep! That ice sheet contains approximately 90 percent of the world’s total surface fresh water. 

It certainly isn’t the most comfortable place to live. In fact, Antarctica doesn’t have a native population of humans—though it is home to about 5 million penguins! Thousands of scientists from 18 countries live there during the summer, and some tourists visit as well. About 1,000 scientists stay for the winter. Imagine the winter weather gear they must have to pack!

Antarctica Facts:

• Gondwana formed: 600 million years ago
• Antarctica ice depth: up to 3 miles
• Penguins living in Antarctica: 5 million