{"id":687382,"date":"2026-06-06T05:29:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687382\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T05:29:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:29:20","slug":"in-antarctica-scientists-just-discovered-a-massive-hidden-structure-deep-below-the-frozen-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687382\/","title":{"rendered":"In Antarctica, Scientists Just Discovered a Massive Hidden Structure Deep Below the Frozen Surface"},"content":{"rendered":"

A massive, semi-continent-sized subsurface structure has been discovered by scientists beneath Antarctica\u2019s frozen surface<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The discovery, reported by an international team of scientists, reveals the presence of an unusually shaped feature<\/a> which researchers with Durham University\u2019s Department of Geography characterize as a \u201cvast geological structure hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discovery was recently detailed in a study featured in Nature Geoscience.<\/p>\n

A Massive Fan-Shaped Structure <\/p>\n

Composed of several gigantic basins located beneath more than three kilometers<\/a> of the southern continent\u2019s icy exterior, the unusual structure has been dubbed the \u201cEast Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province.\u201d<\/p>\n

The massive feature is large enough to be considered continental in scale all by itself and incorporates some of the best-known subglacial features<\/a> in the region, which include the famous Wilkes and Aurora basins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fan-shaped geological megas-structure also features the basin, which comprises Antarctica\u2019s Lake Vostok, which is recognized as the largest subglacial lacustrine feature<\/a> anywhere on the planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe propose that the fan-like landscape is the product of distributed intraplate rotational extension before the breakup of Gondwana, with three continental-scale consequences,\u201d the team writes in their study.<\/p>\n

While the individual basins have all been characterized in past work, the international team reports that the new research marks the first time they have been studied in connection to a singular structure, which they believe was formed through the geological process of distributed rotational extension.<\/p>\n

Origins of a Giant Subglacial Structure<\/p>\n

At some point in Antarctica\u2019s deep geological history<\/a>, the continent\u2019s subglacial crust spread out from a central point, resulting in the distinctive fan-shaped appearance it possesses today.<\/p>\n

Likening the feature to an open hand, with each of the basins representing gaps between fingers, the research team says it is possible that the newly-characterized East Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province \u201ccould be one of the largest examples of rotational extension ever seen in continental crust.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question of how it formed remains a mystery, although there are several possible explanations.<\/p>\n

One involves its formation over the course of several tectonic phases, which researchers believe may be linked to the formation of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. According to this theory, the present-day Antarctic land mass\u2019s eventual separation from modern Australia may have played a key role in the breakup that formed the structure in question.<\/p>\n

However, remaining questions about the age of the unusual feature also raise possibilities about other geological processes that could have led to its creation.<\/p>\n

Today, the structure plays a crucial role in the movement of ice, whereby the distribution of subglacial lakes and basins is primarily governed by its shape. Researchers think this could be important because it would mean the fan-shaped feature may significantly impact the stability of regions of Antarctica that are susceptible to the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n

Investigating a Subglacial Mega-Structure<\/p>\n

By combining subglacial topographical studies with examinations of geological data, the researchers have tentatively concluded that deep tectonic processes within the continent\u2019s lithosphere, comprising the Earth\u2019s crust and upper mantle, likely played a major role in shaping the structure.<\/p>\n

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The team combined these data with observations of seismic data, gravity measurements<\/a>, and magnetic readings as well to help shape the crustal and lithospheric models used as the basis for their study.<\/p>\n

According to Durham University researchers, the orientation and elevation of the subglacial topography was calculated based on what the researchers characterize as \u201crebounded topography,\u201d in which the elevation of land surfaces in East Antarctica were calculated based on how the terrain would respond if none of the ice that currently weights it down were present.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaterally, to the west, it caused compression and the consequent uplift of the Gamburtsev Mountains,\u201d the team reports, while to the east, \u201cthe northernmost Transantarctic Mountains segment was rotated clockwise by ~20\u00b0, overriding the West Antarctic Rift System\u2019s hot lithosphere,\u201d which segmented the mountains into three distinct blocks.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, to the north, the team says the \u201ctranscurrent edge of the fan formed the lithospheric weakness that controlled the breakup of Gondwana by driving the propagation of Antarctica\u2013Australia separation and shaping the resulting semi-circular passive continental margins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese processes have influenced the present-day East Antarctica sub-ice landscape and the evolution of the overlying ice sheet,\u201d the researchers say, which includes \u201cthe development of glacial troughs and outlet glaciers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s recent study<\/a>, \u201cA fan-shaped subglacial basin province in East Antarctica formed by rotational extension,\u201d was published in Nature Geoscience on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at\u00a0micah@thedebrief.org<\/a>. Follow him on X\u00a0@MicahHanks<\/a>, and at\u00a0micahhanks.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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