Scientists Uncover 3-Km-Deep East Antarctic Basin Province Beneath Ice
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Jun 5
Scientists Uncover 3-Km-Deep East Antarctic Basin Province Beneath Ice
1 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Jun 5
Summary
A continent-scale fan-shaped network of buried basins has been identified under East Antarctica, linking the Wilkes and Aurora basins and the basin holding Lake Vostok into one newly named geological province.
More than 3 kilometers of ice had concealed the structure, which researchers mapped by combining topography, gravity, magnetic, seismic and crustal-model data, plus reconstructions of land rebound of up to 1 kilometer.
The team said the province likely formed through rotational extension—continental crust stretching outward over multiple tectonic episodes tied to Gondwana’s evolution and possibly Antarctica’s split from Australia.
That buried bedrock matters today because it helps steer ice flow, shapes subglacial lakes and basins, and may influence the stability of Antarctic ice-sheet regions vulnerable to climate change.
What colossal ancient force created the fan-shaped structure hidden beneath Antarctica's ice?
Does this discovery mean Antarctica's ice is far more vulnerable than our climate models assumed?
Discovery of the East Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province: Unveiling a Continent-Scale Subglacial Tectonic System and Its Impact on Ice Sheet Stability
Overview
A major geological discovery has revealed a vast, continent-scale structure beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, known as the East Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province (EAFBP). This province is made up of unique V-shaped subglacial basins that radiate outward from a central point near the South Pole, forming a distinctive fan-shaped pattern. Previously, features like the Wilkes and Aurora basins and Lake Vostok were seen as separate, but are now understood as parts of a single, interconnected system. This new perspective marks a significant shift in understanding Antarctica’s subsurface geology and provides a better framework for studying its geological evolution.