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The European Space Agency (ESA) has unveiled the effects of the extinct continents hidden under Antarctica for millions of years.
The new satellite images reveal a chronology of ancient lands buried 1.6 kilometers below the glacier.
The images were taken using the gravity field and the GOCE Ocean Explorer, which landed on Earth after fuel depletion in 2013.
The satellite remained out of orbit for five years, but scientists continued to collect data on gravitational attraction.
A team of scientists used "GOCE" readings to map tectonic plate movements of the Earth under Antarctica. The study made it possible to trace hidden tectonic transitions more than 200 million years ago, as well as new information on the formation of Antarctica.
"The images of gravity are revolutionizing our ability to study the continent's most mysterious continent: the Antarctic," said Fausto Veracioli, co-author of the British Exploration Study, the chief scientist for geology and geophysics in Antarctic.
"In East Antarctica, we see an exciting mosaic of geological features that reveal the similarities and fundamental differences between the Antarctic Earth's crust and the other continents it joined it to. 160 million years, "he said.
Scientists gathered between GOCE readings and seismic data to create three-dimensional maps of the rocky crust.
The rock cover includes crust and melt cover beneath the surface of the Earth, as well as mountain ranges, oceans and rocky areas called Kraton, remnants of the ancient continents engulfed under the continents we know today. 39; hui. The new data has highlighted the collapse of Gondwana, a "super continent" long gone from what is now called Antarctica.
While the land area was divided 130 million years ago, the map shows that Antarctica and Australia are still connected as they were 55 million ago. d & # 39; years.
The study also revealed that West Antarctica contained a finer crust than those in East Antarctica.
Scientists hope the results will be used to examine how Antarctic geology and continental structure affect melting ice.
Daily mail
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