Nature Geoscience, 11 July 2025
New radar measurements identify remarkably flat surfaces and deep troughs in the ground buried beneath a 3,500 km stretch of the East Antarctic coastline, showing how this topography influences the speed of present-day glaciers. This previously unmapped landscape formed over 80 million years ago when rivers carved across the continent, until it was engulfed in ice around 34 million years ago. Today, these deep troughs buried below the ice steer the movement of fast-flowing glaciers, while flat surfaces act as barriers and likely slow ice loss. Researchers found extensive flat surfaces beneath approximately 40% of the coastline between Princess Elizabeth Land and George V Land in East Antarctica. Mapping such hidden landscapes below the ice improves understandings of present-day ice stability along the edges of the ice sheet and helps improve predictions of future sea-level rise.
Full Paper | News Coverage by Newcastle University | British Antarctic Survey
ICIMOD, April 24, 2026 2026 marks the fourth consecutive year of below-average snow conditions in…
Ocean Science, 20 Apr 2026 Global warming and increased freshwater input from melting ice are…
Science, 23 Apr 2026 Specially-adapted species living in glacier regions face rapid snowpack and ice…
Science Advances, 24 Apr 2026 Observations from the grounding zone beneath the Ross Ice Shelf…
The Hindu Kush Himalaya faces rising climate extremes that threaten mountain communities, demanding a shift…
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 23 April 2026 Observations suggest we are currently tracking…