Scientists Discover Giant Hidden ‘Structure’ Beneath Antarctica That May Have Split Continent from Australia
by Frank Bergman
Scientists have discovered an enormous geological “structure” buried nearly two miles beneath Antarctica’s ice that may have played a major role in tearing the frozen continent away from Australia.
The never-before-reported formation consists of roughly 30 vast basins carved into the bedrock and linked together across an area covering as much as half of East Antarctica.
Researchers say the buried system spreads outward from a central point in a massive fan-like pattern, resembling a hand with its fingers stretched apart.
The discovery includes some of Antarctica’s most significant subglacial formations, including the Wilkes and Aurora basins, as well as the basin containing Lake Vostok, the largest known subglacial lake on Earth.
Scientists believe the structure formed hundreds of millions of years ago as sections of Earth’s crust gradually rotated around a central point.
That ancient movement may have dramatically reshaped Antarctica — and helped create the fracture that eventually separated it from Australia.
Ancient ‘Fan’ May Have Reshaped Antarctica
Researchers believe the giant underground fan dates back to before the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana.
“This fan may be the result of a rotational movement of Earth’s crust that occurred before the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana,” the scientists explain.
That movement may have transformed huge sections of the continent.
To the west, researchers believe it may have lifted the Gamburtsev Mountain Range.
To the east, the shifting crust may have rotated another mountain system into what became the Transantarctic Mountains.
And to the north, scientists say the same movement may have produced the fracture line that ultimately guided the separation of Antarctica from Australia.
The finding adds another major piece to the growing mystery surrounding the world hidden beneath Antarctica’s enormous ice sheet.
Hundreds of Mysterious Earthquakes Detected Deep Below the Ice
The discovery comes as scientists uncover increasingly strange geological activity beneath Antarctica.