KOMPAS.com – The polar regions are known as cold areas covered with snow. However, what is actually under the snow if we dig deep enough?
Can there be mud, rock, water, more ice under the polar ice caps, or something else we didn’t expect?
Quoted from IFL Science, Tuesday (11/7/2023) the answer depends on which part we are exploring, whether the North or South Pole.
Under the Antarctic ice sheet
Antarctica is in the Southern Hemisphere and is a true continent. This means that under the ice lies ancient rocky landmass that has existed for millions of years.
According to the National Science Foundation, ice in Antarctica has a depth of 4,776 meters and an average thickness of 2,160 meters.
In total, Antarctica holds 27 million cubic kilometers of frozen water which, if melted, will result in a sea level rise of around 58 meters.
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Researchers have drilled a hole into the Antarctic ice sheet with a depth of more than 2000 meters. They have also placed cameras in some of the shallower boreholes.
But apparently, this depth can’t reveal more about what’s under the Antarctic ice.
Beneath the Arctic ice sheet
Meanwhile, the Arctic is in the Northern Hemisphere and is just a layer of ice covering the sea.
Arctic ice is not as deep as Antarctica. In fact, its thickness is only 3 to 4 meters.
Beneath the Arctic ice sheet one will find the waters of the Arctic Ocean, the shallowest of the world’s five major oceans. This ocean has an average depth of only 1,038 meters.
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But in 2013, scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory spent a significant amount of time exploring and gathering information about the world under the Arctic ice.
They sent cameras into the waters of the Arctic Ocean and collected video footage from the ocean floor.
Their research showed that in the Arctic Ocean there is a staggering amount of muddy seafloor covered with algae.
They even recorded isopods roaming the ocean floor, although they had no idea what species they were or how they lived.
“In the Arctic, we have life growing in the ice at below freezing temperatures,” said Andy Juhl, an aquatic ecologist and oceanographer.
Ice is not necessarily an inhospitable habitat, and on other planets where we see ice, it’s a place where we should probably be looking for signs of life.
Also read: What did humans leave behind when they landed on the moon?
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2023-07-12 04:00:00
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