An ancient continent discovered under the ice of Antarctica

The icecaps of Antarctica could hide the remains of a continent long lost, according to satellite data collected by the European Space Agency (ESA). Research published in Nature Scientific Reports used the information gathered by GOCE (Gravity Field) and Ocean Circulation Explorer, a four-year satellite project to measure the gravitational pull of gravity. Earth, which gravitated around the planet from March 2009 to November 2013.

The researchers are still exploring all the data produced by the GOCE mission. This is how the team from the University of Kiel in Germany and the British Antarctic Survey were able to detect forms under the Antarctic ice. They combined the GOCE data with seismological data to create a 3D map of the crust beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Using data on gravity gradients, they could look under the thick layer of ice that covers the Antarctic and see the Earth's crust beneath.

They found fractured layers of the Earth's crust around Antarctica, which resemble the crust near the coasts of other parts of the world, suggesting that these coasts were similar. It is believed that the cratons, which are an ancient part of the earth's crust, were previously connected to other continents as part of the supercontinent Pangea. In East Antarctica, the gravity data show a similarity between the crust there and the Australian and Indian crust, indicating that these areas were previously connected. In contrast, West Antarctica has a finer crust without cratons, suggesting that it had to be connected elsewhere.

These discoveries are interesting not only for geologists, but also for our understanding of the history of the planet as a whole. The continents of our planet have probably been grouped into a single continent, Pangea, 160 million years ago, when they began to fragment and form the continents we know today. The results are also of current relevance as they provide a better understanding of ice sheet behavior and how Antarctic regions will respond to rising sea temperatures and ice melt.

You can see a visualization of the formation of plate tectonics in the Antarctic region and the Antarctic separation of Australia and India in the video below: