The European Space Agency (ESA) has uncovered relics of lost continents that have hidden under Antarctica for millions of years.
Satellite images reveal a timeline of the ancient landmasses buried a mile (1.6 km) beneath the icy continent.
Scientists said the snaps shed new light on Antarctica, the ‘least understood continent on Earth’.
They used data from the long-dead Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), which plummeted into Earth after it ran out of fuel in 2013.
While the satellite has been out of action for five years, scientists are still pouring over reams of data it collected on Earth’s gravitational pull.
Their research allowed them to track hidden tectonic shifts over the last 200 million years, offering fresh insights into how Antarctica formed. Pictured left is the position of the tectonics 180 million years ago, while right shows the plates 10 million years ago
A team of scientists used GOCE readings to map out the movements of Earth’s tectonic plates under Antarctica.
Their research allowed them to track hidden tectonic shifts over the last 200 million years, offering fresh insights into how Antarctica formed.
‘These gravity images are revolutionising our ability to study the least understood continent on Earth: Antarctica,’ said co-author Fausto Ferraccioli, Science Leader of Geology and Geophysics at the British Antarctic Survey.
‘In East Antarctica, we see an exciting mosaic of geological features that reveal fundamental similarities and differences between the crust beneath Antarctica and other continents it was joined to until 160 million years ago.’
Scientists combined the GOCE readings with seismological data to create 3D maps of Earth’s lithosphere.
The lithosphere is made up of the crust and the molten mantle beneath Earth’s surface, and includes mountain ranges, ocean backs and rocky zones called cratons.

A team of scientists used GOCE readings to map out the movements of Earth’s tectonic plates under Antarctica
Cratons are the leftovers of ancient continents embedded in continents as we know them today.
The new readings shed light on the breakup of Gondwana, a long-gone ‘supercontinent’ that housed what is now Antarctica.
While the landmass split some 130 million years ago, the map shows that Antarctica and Australia remained linked as recently as 55 million years ago.
The study also revealed that West Antarctica has a thinner crust than East Antarctica, which has a ‘family likeness to Australia and India’.

The study revealed that West Antarctica (green) has a thinner crust than East Antarctica (blue), which has a ‘family likeness to Australia and India’
Scientists hope to use their findings to examine how Antarctica’s geology and continental structure is affecting the melting of its ice.
GOCE mission scientist Roger Haagmans said: ‘It is exciting to see that direct use of the gravity gradients, which were measured for the first time ever with GOCE, leads to a fresh independent look inside Earth – even below a thick sheet of ice.
‘It also provides context of how continents were possibly connected in the past before they drifted apart owing to plate motion.’

Space mission: GOCE was launched in 2009 to map variations in Earth’s gravity with unprecedented accuracy
Original Article:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6371355/Relics-lost-continents-hidden-Antarctica-revealed-satellite-images.html
Read More:Bizarre Particles Coming From Antarctica Could Break Physics- Say Scientists Scrambling For Answers
Read More:Researchers Have Discovered Something HUGE Under Antarctic Ice Shelf
Watch More:The Wilksland Gravity Anomaly: Strange Energy Flows From Antarctica
Read More:Scientists Discover Strange Sounds Coming From Antarctic Ice Shelf
Read More:Admiral Byrd, Operation HighJump, New Schwabenland, And The Wilksland Anomaly
1 Comment