By Adele Rackley for Planet Earth Online
The newest images of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM) were presented at the International Polar Year conference in Oslo this week, showing the features of this enigmatic mountain range in unprecedented detail.
Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) were part of the seven-nation Antarctica’s Gamburtsev Province project (AGAP), one of the most ambitious Antarctic missions of the International Polar Year.
The team used sophisticated radar, magnetic and gravity sensors to complete an airborne survey of 20% of this previously unexplored and incredibly inhospitable area.
The GSM was the birthplace of the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), which now covers the main peaks to a depth of up to 3km. The EAIS covers 10 million km2 so understanding how this remote region is likely to respond to climate change and contribute to sea-level rise is very important.
First identified by Soviet scientists in 1958, the GSM lie under the highest part of the EAIS, known as Dome A. The survey images clearly show the high-relief, alpine-style landscape of the GSM and the network of valleys branching across them. The profiles show that the valleys were carved by fluvial (river) as well as glacial activity.
‘It’s likely that the valleys were initially eroded by rivers, which points to the fact that the mountains were there long before the ice began to form, about 35 million years ago,’ says Dr Kathryn Rose of BAS. ‘As temperatures fell, glaciers formed on the highest peaks and followed the path of the existing drainage system,’ she adds.
Read article….pictures and graphics here
Visit Planet Earth Online
No related posts.