A view of the sea
Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Scientists Discover 34 Million Year Old Hidden River World Buried Under 2 Km

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Hidden River World Beneath Antarctica Scientists uncover a 34‑million‑year‑old river landscape buried under 2 km of ice

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Ancient Landscape Frozen in Time This fluvial terrain dates to the Eocene epoch, when Antarctica was green and warm

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Deep beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, in Wilkes Land’s Aurora‑Schmidt basins

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Using RADARSAT satellite data and ice-penetrating radar from aircraft

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Researchers mapped valleys, ridges, channels—classical river erosion marks, untouched by glaciers

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Sediment pollen suggests a climate like Patagonia-or even tropical-supporting lush forests

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

Understanding this buried landscape helps refine models of ice sheet history and future sea-level rise

Dotted Diamond
Dotted Diamond
Thick Brush Stroke

If Earth warms by 3–7 °C, East Antarctic ice could retreat into this region for the first time in 14 M years

Read More