Antarctica is Earth’s southernmost continent where the geographic South Pole is located. The frozen desert is home to some 1,000 scientists who live in the blistering conditions that reach -90C at times, as they attempt to understand more about the history of Earth and climate change. In 2013, a group of researchers embarked on the challenge of mapping-out exactly what hides beneath the thick ice.

NASA released a video on their YouTube channel revealing the surprising results.

It explained: “The Antarctic Ice Sheet covers 98 percent of the continent and contains more than half of the world’s fresh water.

“But it doesn’t just sit there like a giant ice cube – much of the ice is constantly flowing towards the sea under the force of its own weight.

“Measuring both the thickness of the Antarctica ice sheet – more than three kilometres (two miles) thick in some places – and mapping the typography of the underlying bedrock, helps us to understand how the ice flows and ultimately how much it might contribute to sea level rise.

It incorporates 25 million additional measurements

NASA

“An international consortium of scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey recently released an updated map of the bedrock that lies beneath the ice sheet.

“This map, named Bedmap2, builds on an earlier map that they released in 2001, but incorporates 25 million additional measurements taken over the past two decades from the ground, air and space.”

The video went on to describe how several sources of information created an incredible 3D image of the surface below Antarctica.

It added: “Including seven years of surface elevation readings from NASA’s ICESat satellite and three years of laser and ice-penetrating radar data from a NASA airborne mission called Operation IceBridge.

“IceBridge has flown over many areas of West Antarctica, including some never before surveyed, improving the coverage and accuracy of a portion of this important data set.

“Bedmap2 gives scientists a mpre accurate picture of the terrain that lies beneath the ice sheet, along with ice thickens and surface elevation data.

“Together, these measurements will improve scientists’ understanding of the evolving Antarctic ice sheet and its influence on the surrounding ocean and our global climate.”

It was previously revealed how the space agency was stunned when a “giant mysterious hole” emerged from the ice.

The Weddell Polynya, or Weddell Sea Polynya, is an irregular area of open water surrounded by sea ice in the Weddell Sea of the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica. 

This anomaly appeared every winter between 1974 and 1976, before disappearing into solid ice, seemingly forever. 

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But, scientists at NASA were stunned when the Earth Observatory picked it up once again four decades later.

Tech Insider explained on their YouTube channel in 2017: “There’s a giant mysterious hole in Antarctica, scientists aren’t sure how it got there, but this isn’t the first time it’s appeared.

“The hole is a type of polynya, a region of open water surrounded by sea ice.

“But the Weddell Polynya is unlike any other, while most polynyas form near the shore, this one is located hundreds of kilometres from the coast.

“Scientists first saw it in 1974, back then, the opening was as large as Oregon, but in 1976, the opening closed-up, seemingly for good.

“But, in 2016, NASA satellites spotted a small opening in the first sighting in over 40 years.”

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