Earth's deepest point found under Antarctica's ice-sheet

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Earth's deepest point found under Antarctica's ice-sheet
Earth's deepest point found under Antarctica's ice-sheet

New Delhi : It's been decades since when the scientists have been trying to find out what is under the Antarctica's ice sheet. The new findings have revealed the mysteries below it.

Scientists have developed a high-precision map of Antarctica which has revealed that the deepest point on land on Earth lies under the ice sheets of the South Pole.

A team of glaciologists from the University of California, Irvine have published the new findings in the journal Nature Geoscience on Thursday.



The team developed an Antarctica bed topography map called BedMachine, the most accurate map yet.

The lowest exposed point on land is located at the Dead Sea shore which is 413 meters (about 1,355ft) below sea level. At about 3500 meters ( about 11500 feet) below sea-level, the world's deepest canyon on land was found beneath Denman Glacier in East Antarctica.

Researchers found new features in the bedrock, beneath the White Continent. The study found protective stabilizing ridges around the glaciers flowing across the Transantarctic Mountains and retrograde slopes along glaciers in the marine basin of Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. They also found stabilizing slopes underneath Moscow University, Totten and Lambert glacier system.

Mathieu Morlighem from the University of California, Irvine explained, “Ultimately, BedMachine Antarctica presents a mixed picture: Ice streams in some areas are relatively well-protected by their underlying ground features, while others on retrograde beds are shown to be more at risk from potential marine ice sheet instability.”