What lies beneath: Giant trench under Antarctic Ice, deeper than Grand Canyon

What lies beneath: Giant trench under Antarctic Ice, deeper than Grand Canyon

Jan. 14, 2014 — A massive ancient subglacial trough -- deeper than the Grand Canyon -- has been discovered by a team of UK experts.

---

Share This:

The research involved scientists from Newcastle University, the University of Bristol's Glaciology Centre, the British Antarctic Survey and the universities of Edinburgh, Exeter, and York. They charted the Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands -- an ancient mountain range buried beneath several kilometres of Antarctic ice -- by combining data from satellites and ice-penetrating radars towed behind snowmobiles and on-board small aircraft.

The researchers spent three seasons investigating and mapping the region in West Antarctica, uncovering a massive subglacial valley up to 3 kilometres deep, more than 300 kilometres long and up to 25 kilometres across. In places, the floor of this valley is more than 2000 metres below sea level.

The mountain range and deep valley were carved millions of years ago by a small icefield similar to those of the present-day Antarctic Peninsula, or those of Arctic Canada and Alaska.

The team's analysis has provided an unprecedented insight into the extent, thickness and behaviour of this ancient icefield, and the configuration and behaviour of the early West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The subglacial landscape shows where and how the West Antarctic Ice Sheet originated and grew. It also provides important clues about the size and shape of the ice sheet in West Antarctica in a warmer global climate.

The findings are published in the latest edition of the Geological Society of America Bulletin. The paper's lead author Dr Neil Ross from Newcastle University said: "The discovery of this huge trough, and the characterisation of the surrounding mountainous landscape, was incredibly serendipitous.

The lecturer in Physical Geography added: We had acquired ice penetrating radar data from both ends of this huge hidden valley, but we had no information to tell us what was in between. Satellite data was used to fill the gap, because despite being covered beneath several kilometres of ice, the valley is so vast that it can be seen from space.

"To me, this just goes to demonstrate how little we still know about the surface of our own planet. The discovery and exploration of hidden, previously-unknown landscapes is still possible and incredibly exciting, even now."

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.

SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

AVX Resistors ON Transistors Dialight LED HARRIS IC Fast Recovery Diodes SANYO IC FAIRCHILD diodes Cypress IC Renesas parts IC Transistors TI IC Atmel IC Freescale Semiconductor Fairchild Semiconductor Transistors Thick Film Resistors PANASONIC Resistors Switching Diodes Fleld Effect Transistors Metal Can Packages Transistors NXP Transistors Current Sensors Resistors NEC Diodes Ligitek LED Capacitor Bipolar Transistors YAGEO Resistors Industrial IC INTERSIL IC Infineon Technologies Transistors TOSHIBA Transistors LITTELFUSE Diodes ON Diodes INFLNEON Diodes NXP Diodes Discrete Semiconductor Transistors Diodes ST Transistors ELPIDA IC LED part High Precision Resistors
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/9112.aspx