Alien planet at the bottom of the map

The era of great geographical discoveries really "discovered" Antarctica, but only in the sense that we learned that there, "below", there is a land covered with ice. Ripping out each new secret of the continent required dedication, time, great expense and perseverance. And we haven't torn them off yet...

We know that under the miles of ice there is real land (Latin "unknown land"). In recent times, we also know that conditions in ice oases, lakes and rivers are completely different from those on the frosty surface of an ice cap. There is no shortage in life. In addition, we are beginning to discover its hitherto unknown forms. Maybe it's an alien? Shall we not feel what Koziolek Matolek, who “searched in the wide world for what is very close”?

Geophysicists, using complex mathematical algorithms, are able to recreate a three-dimensional image of the surface under the ice cover. In the case of Antarctica, this is difficult, as the acoustic signal must penetrate miles of chaotic ice, causing significant noise in the image. Difficult does not mean impossible, and we have already learned a lot about this unknown land below.

Cold, windy, dry and… green and green

Antarctica is windiest land on Earth is off the coast of Adélie Land, winds blow 340 days a year, and hurricane gusts can exceed 320 km/h. it's the same highest continent - its average height is 2040 m above sea level (some sources speak of 2290). The second highest continent in the world, i.e. Asia, reaches an average of 990 m above sea level. Antarctica is also the driest: inland, the annual rainfall ranges from 30 to 50 mm / m.². The area known as the Dry Valley is home to McMurdo. driest place on earth - there was no snow and precipitation for almost ... 2 million years! There is also no significant ice cover in the area. Conditions in the area — low temperatures, very low air humidity, and strong winds — make it possible to study an environment similar to the surface of Mars today.

Antarctica also remains the most mysterious - this is due to the fact that it was discovered at the latest time. Its shore was first seen by a Russian sailor in January 1820. Fabian Bellingshausen (according to other sources, it was Edward Bransfield or Nathaniel Palmer). The first person to land in Antarctica was Henrik Johan Bullwho landed at Cape Adare, Victoria Land on 24 January 1895 (although there are reports of earlier landings). In 1898, Bull wrote his memoirs of the expedition in his book "Antarctica's Cruise to the South Polar Regions".

It is interesting, however, that although Antarctica is considered the largest desert, it receives more and more green. According to scientists, its outskirts are attacked by alien plants and small animals. The seeds are found on the clothes and shoes of people returning from this continent. In 2007/2008, scientists collected them from tourists and researchers of those places. It turned out that on average each visitor to the continent imported 9,5 grains. Where did they come from? Based on a counting method called extrapolation, it has been estimated that 70 people visit Antarctica every year. seeds. Most of them come from South America - brought by the wind or unknowingly tourists.

Although it is known that Antarctica coldest continent, is still not clear how much. Many people remember from antiquity and atlases that the Russian (Soviet) Antarctic station Vostok was traditionally considered the coldest point on Earth, where -89,2° C. However, we now have a new cold record: -93,2° C - observed several hundred kilometers from the East, along the line between the peaks of Argus Dome (Dome A) and Fuji Dome (Dome F). These are the formations of small valleys and depressions in which thick cold air settles.

This temperature was recorded on August 10, 2010. However, only recently, when detailed analyzes of data from the Aqua and Landsat 8 satellites were carried out, it became known that a frost record was set at that time. However, since this reading did not come from a ground-based thermometer on the surface of an icy continent, but from devices orbiting in space, it is not recognized as a record by the World Meteorological Organization. Meanwhile, scientists say that this is preliminary data and that when thermal sensors are improved, they will likely detect even colder temperatures on Earth…

What's below?

In April 2017, researchers reported that they had created the most accurate 2010D map of the ice cap destroying Antarctica to date. This is the result of seven years of observations from orbit around the Earth. In 2016-700, the European CryoSat satellite from an altitude of almost 250 km made about 200 million radar measurements of the thickness of the Antarctic glaciers. Scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) boast that their satellite, designed to study the ice, is closer than any other to the polar regions - thanks to which it is able to observe what is happening even within a radius of XNUMX km from both the south and north poles. .

From another map developed by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, we, in turn, know what is under the ice. Also, with the help of radar, they created a beautiful map of Antarctica without ice. It shows the geological relief of the mainland, compressed by ice. High mountains, deep valleys and lots and lots of water. Antarctica without ice would probably be an archipelago or a lake district, but accurately predicting its final shape is difficult, because once the ice mass has been shed, the land mass would have risen significantly—even a kilometer to the top.

It is also subject to more and more intense research. sea ​​waters under the ice shelf. A number of programs have been undertaken in which divers explore the seafloor under the ice, and perhaps the best known of these is the ongoing work of Finnish scientists. In these dangerous and challenging diving expeditions, people are starting to cherish drones. Paul G. Allen Philanthropies has invested $1,8 million to test robots in treacherous Antarctic waters. Four Argo drones built at the University of Washington are to collect data and immediately transmit it to Seattle. They will work under the ice until sea currents carry them into open water.

Antarctic volcano Erebus

Excellent heating under big ice

Antarctica is a land of ice, but beneath its surface is hot lava. Currently, the most active volcano on this continent is Erebus, known since 1841. Until now, we were aware of the existence of about forty Antarctic volcanoes, but in August last year, researchers from the University of Edinburgh discovered another ninety-one under the ice sheet, some of which are more than 3800 meters high. . It turns out that Antarctica can be most volcanically active area on earth. The authors of the article on this topic - Maximilian van Wyck de Vries, Robert G. Bingham and Andrew Hine - studied a digital elevation model called Bedmap 2 DEM obtained using radar imagery in search of volcanic structures.

As dense as in Antarctica, volcanoes are located only around the Great Eastern Rift, stretching from Tanzania to the Arabian Peninsula. This is another clue that will probably be huge, intense heat source. The team from Edinburgh explains that shrinking ice sheets could increase volcanic activity, which is what is happening in Iceland.

geologist Robert Bingham told theguardian.com.

Standing on a layer of ice with an average thickness of about 2 km, and a maximum of even 4,7 km, it is hard to believe that there is a massive heat source under it, similar to that hidden in Yellowstone. According to calculation models, the amount of heat radiated from the lower side of Antarctica is about 150 mW/m.² (mW - milliwatt; 1 watt = 1 mW). However, this energy does not prevent the growth of ice layers. For comparison, the average heat flux from the Earth is 40-60 mW/m.², and in Yellowstone National Park reaches an average of 200 mW / m².

The main driving force behind volcanic activity in Antarctica appears to be the influence of the Earth's mantle, Mary Bird. Geologists believe that the mantle heat patch formed 50-110 million years ago, when Antarctica was not yet covered with ice.

Well in the ice of Antarctica

Antarctic Alps

In 2009, scientists from an international team led by Dr. Fausta Ferraccioligo They from the British Antarctic Survey spent two and a half months in East Antarctica, battling temperatures as low as -40°C. They scanned from an airplane a radar, a gravimeter (a device for measuring the difference in free-fall accelerations) and a magnetometer (measuring the magnetic field) - and on the surface of the earth with a seismograph - an area in which, deep, at a depth of up to 3 km, 1,3 thousand glaciers are hidden under the glacier. km Gamburtseva mountain range.

These peaks, covered with a layer of ice and snow, have been known to science since the Soviet Antarctic expeditions, conducted during the so-called International Geophysical Year 1957-1958 (the one on the occasion of which the satellite flew into orbit). Even then, scientists were amazed that real mountains grow from what, in their opinion, should be flat, like a table. Later, researchers from China, Japan and the UK published their first article about them in the journal Nature. Based on radar observations from the air, they drew a three-dimensional map of the mountains, noting that the Antarctic peaks resembled the European Alps. They have the same sharp ridges and deep valleys, through which streams flowed in ancient times, and today in them here and there subglacial mountain lakes. Scientists have calculated that the ice cap covering the central part of the Gamburtsev mountains has a thickness of 1649 to 3135 meters. The highest peak of the ridge is 2434 meters above sea level (the Ferraccioli team corrected this figure to 3 thousand meters).

Scientists combed the entire Gamburtsev Ridge with their instruments, including a huge rift in the earth's crust - a rift valley resembling the Great African Rift. It is 2,5 thousand km long and stretches from East Antarctica across the ocean towards India. Here are the largest Antarctic subglacial lakes, incl. the famous Lake Vostok, located next to the previously mentioned scientific station of the same name. Experts say that the most mysterious mountains in the world of Gamburtsev began to appear a billion years ago. Then there were neither plants nor animals on Earth, but the continents were already nomadic. When they collided, mountains rose in what is now Antarctica.

Interior of a warm cave under the Erebus Glacier

drilling

John Goodge, professor of biological sciences at the University of Minnesota Duluth, arrived on the world's coldest continent to begin testing a specially designed drillThis will allow drilling deeper into the Antarctic ice sheet than anyone else.

Why is drilling to the bottom and under the ice sheet so important? Each field of science offers its own answer to this question. For example, biologists hope that microorganisms, including previously unknown species, live in ancient ice or under the ice. Climatologists will look for ice cores to learn more about Earth's climate history and create better scientific models of future climate change. And for geologists like Gooj, a rock under the ice could help explain how Antarctica interacted with other continents today to form the mighty supercontinents of the past. The drilling will also shed light on the stability of the ice sheet.

Guja project called RAID started in 2012. In November 2015, scientists sent a drill to Antarctica. He got to McMurdo Station. Using various imaging technologies, such as ice-scanning radar, researchers are now pointing to potential drilling sites. Primary testing continues. prof. Goodge hopes to receive the first samples for research at the end of 2019.

Age limit during previous drilling projects a million years Antarctic ice samples were taken back in 2010. At the time, it was the oldest ice core ever discovered. In August 2017, Science reported that Paul Woosin's team had drilled into ancient ice as deep as anyone before and discovered an ice core using 2,7 million years. Arctic and Antarctic ice cores tell a lot about the climate and atmosphere of bygone eras, mostly due to air bubbles that are close in composition to the atmosphere when the bubbles formed.

Studies of life under the ice of Antarctica:

Discovery of life under the ice of Antarctica

Life known and unknown

The most famous lake hidden under the ice of Antarctica is Lake Vostok. It is also the largest known subglacial lake in Antarctica, hidden under ice at a depth of more than 3,7 km. Cut off from light and contact with the atmosphere, it remains one of the most extreme conditions on Earth.

In area and volume, Vostok rivals Lake Ontario in North America. Length 250 km, width 50 km, depth up to 800 m. It is located near the South Pole in East Antarctica. The presence of a large ice-covered lake was first suggested in the 60s by a Russian geographer/pilot who spotted a large smooth patch of ice from the air. Aeroradar experiments conducted by British and Russian researchers in 1996 confirmed the discovery of an unusual reservoir at this location.

says Brent Christner, a biologist at Louisiana State University, in a press release announcing the results of a study of ice samples collected over the reservoir.

Christner claims that the lake's only source of water is meltwater from the ice sheet.

- He speaks.

Scientists believe that the geothermal heat of the Earth maintains the temperature of the water in the lake at -3 ° C. The liquid state provides the pressure of the overlying ice.

Analysis of lifeforms suggests that the lake may have a unique chemical-based stony ecosystem that has existed in isolation and without exposure to the sun for hundreds of thousands of years.

Christner says.

Recent studies of the genetic material of the East Ice Sheet have revealed DNA fragments from many organisms related to single-celled organisms found in lakes, oceans and streams from other parts of the world. In addition to fungi and two archaic species (single-celled organisms that live in extreme environments), scientists have identified thousands of bacteria, including some commonly found in the digestive systems of fish, crustaceans and worms. They found cryophiles (organisms that live at extremely low temperatures) and thermophiles, suggesting the presence of hydrothermal vents in the lake. According to scientists, the presence of both marine and freshwater species supports the theory that the lake was once connected to the ocean.

Exploring the waters under the Antarctic ice:

First Dive Completed - Science Under the Ice | Helsinki University

In another Antarctic ice lake - Villansa “Weird new micro-organisms have also been discovered that the researchers say “eat rocks,” meaning they extract mineral nutrients from them. Many of these organisms are probably chemolithotrophs based on inorganic compounds of iron, sulfur and other elements.

Under the Antarctic ice, scientists have also discovered a mysterious warm oasis that is home to perhaps even more interesting species. Joel Bensing of the Australian National University published photographs of an ice cave on the tongue of the Erebus Glacier on Ross Land in September 2017. Although the average annual temperature in the area is around -17°C, temperatures in cave systems under the glaciers can reach 25° C. The caves, located near and under the active volcano Erebus, were gouged out as a result of years of water vapor flows through their corridors.

As you can see, humanity's adventure with a true and deep understanding of Antarctica is just beginning. A continent about which we know as much or little more than an alien planet is waiting for its great explorers.

NASA video of the coldest place on Earth:

Antarctica is the coldest place in the world (-93°): NASA video