Covered by glaciers that make up 70% of the world’s fresh water this continent is actually of great importance to all of humanity. Because it’s very hard to imagine what will happen to us when these ice caps melt.

Is there such a danger? What is hidden in this region that has not yet been fully explored?

According to scientific research conducted in recent years, a river exactly 460 kilometers long has been found under the glaciers in the Wenddell Sea in Antarctica. So how did this river originate?

Water that accumulates under the ice sheets, making the floor slippery in fact, it contributes to the rapid mixing of these glaciers with the oceans. At this point, one of the most important details that determines the fate of Antarctica’s glaciers is discovering what goes on beneath the glaciers.

Puddles that accumulate under glaciers can form in two different ways.

First; the waters created by surface melting, It occurs when it flows through crevasses in glaciers. For example, in the glaciers in Greenland, the waters that melt during the summer months form crevices called “muoulin” and flow into the depths.

Another way is the friction between the ice moving over the land and spreading over the earth. is the heat released. But when it comes to Antarctica, the rate of melting on the glaciers is of little concern.

Because summers that occur in Antarctica, such as in Greenland, It doesn’t deal with temperatures that cause mouldings in glaciers. So it is possible to say that water can only accumulate under the glaciers due to the friction and heat emitted by the earth.

It was even predicted that there was enough water to form a lake under the Antarctic glaciers, but until a few years ago it was confusing whether or not these waters were connected.

However, in an article citing a group of researchers as a result of their recent work, Complex stream networks beneath Antarctic glaciers stated that.

According to this study, which the researchers conducted using radar data, the arms under the glacier in the Weddell Sea area resemble tree limbs, There is a river with an average length of 460 kilometers. However, this does not bode well for the Antarctic glaciers.

This water, which tends to flow to the ocean from under a floating glacier extending from the land to the sea, gradually melts the lower parts of the glaciers, in fact, this indicates the gradual disappearance of the glaciers.

In summary, in studies on the impact of climate change on glaciers, this It is very important to consider subglacial rivers. On the other hand, this river discovery, which is very important for glaciers, shows us that there is much more to learn and discover about Antarctica.