Huge Trench Beneath Antarctic Ice Deeper Than Grand Canyon

Scientists recently discovered a trench beneath the ice in West Antarctica.The largest, the Ellsworth Trough, plunges 2,000 meters (6,561 feet) below sea level.

In fact, it sheds light on the origin as well as the behavior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. It’s huge up to 3 kilometers deep, more than 300 kilometers long and up to 25 kilometers across.

Perhaps it provides an important clue on climate change over the earth, particularly a series of winter storm with below-freezing temperatures gripped many cities across the northern U.S past few weeks. While many attribute the cold weather to a "polar vortex" surrounding the Northern hemisphere, scientists say it can be due to climate change in Antarctica.

The ice sheet covering the sea may have formed when the growing glaciers from the highlands reached the sea, similarly to the modern-day Antarctic Peninsula. Now, these highlands may serve as anchors for the glaciers and ice sheets as the planet continues to warm.

Bu Haber için yorum yapabilirsiniz 20.01.2014 21:21:02 204.236.235.245

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