Scientists just discovered massive landforms, called eskers, underneath the ice in Antarctica that could be helping carve up the polar ice.
Researchers from Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in Germany found large ridge-like protrusions jutting into the ice flow under Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica.
The findings, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, suggest the landforms under the Baudouin Ice Shelf could have major implications for the South Pole’s stability.
Some eskers as tall as the Eiffel Tower, according to the study, which was released on Science Alert.
Scientists have known for some time that landforms could develop underneath ice sheet through a cycle evaporation and sediment precipitation.
The Scandinavian Ice Sheet, believed to be one of the largest glaciers on the planet when it existed 2.5 million years ago, created large eskers that can be seen in Sweden today. Researchers say the landforms are five times that size of those formed by the Scandinavian Ice Sheet.
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