Scientists Found A Massive River Under Antarctica

The discovery's researchers combined water flow modelling with aircraft radar measurements that can see through the ice. The vast area being studied consists of ice from the Antarctic's east and west ice sheets, with water flowing into the Weddell Sea.

Water has been known to flow beneath ice sheets for a very long time. Geothermal heat and friction can melt ice sheets from beneath glaciers, and deep crevasses called moulins can direct meltwater from the surface down to the glacier's base. In the Arctic and Greenland, where there is significant seasonal variation in ice thickness, the latter tends to occur much more frequently.

According to the latest study, there is enough melting taking place at the base of the ice sheets in Antarctica for rivers to form. As the glacier base becomes less stable at the point where it meets the sea, these pathways of high-pressure, fresh water may in turn speed up the melting of the ice.

As per the researchers, if melting rates in the Antarctic continue to rise and summers become warm enough to produce surface melt and moulins, this could have a considerable effect on the already-existing hidden rivers and possibly make the ice sheet here more seasonal, like it is in Greenland.

Furthermore, all of these variables may result in feedback loops where more melting leads to faster rates of ice loss. One way for this to happen is through deep water flows, which speed up the ice's motion over dry land and increase friction and melting.