The Origins of the Antarctic Ice Sheet
08.06.2009 - Land & Geology, Other, Antarctic
A new survey conducted by the Polar Research Institute of China suggests that the Gamburtsev Mountains were the original starting point of the East Antarctic ice sheet, which formed 14 million years ago.
Buried under ice at Dome A, the Gamburtsev Mountains have maintained a lot of mystery concerning their topography ever since they were discovered. Conducted during the International Polar Year 2007-2008, the Chinese used a radar with high resolution imagery to determine the shape and features of the mountains.
The results were then analyzed by geologists from the University of Edinburgh, revealing a mountain range roughly the size of the Alps in Central Europe, with peaks, ridges, crests and valleys that have been carved by glaciers.
Because the mountain range shows many glacial features, such as corrie heads and U-shaped valleys, it is believed the mountains already existed when the ice sheet began to spread 14 million years ago. The topography and drainage patterns suggest that the first glaciers actually appeared on the mountain tops before expanding to glacial valleys. The glacier then grew from the ice accumulated on the surrounding peaks and flowed south, carving the majestic central valley which was detected by the radar survey.
