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News Release 11-111

New Map Reveals Giant Fjords Beneath East Antarctic Ice Sheet

Duncan Young, research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin.
View video

Duncan Young discusses research in the Aurora Subglacial Basin.


June 2, 2011

View a video with Duncan Young, research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin.

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

Scientists from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have used ice-penetrating radar to create the first high-resolution topographic map of one of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora Subglacial Basin, an immense ice-buried lowland larger than Texas in East Antarctica.

The map reveals some of the largest fjords or ice cut channels on Earth, providing important insights into the history of ice in Antarctica.

Data from the study will help computer modelers improve their simulations of the Antarctic ice sheet and its potential impact on global sea level.

Because the basin lies kilometers below sea level, seawater could penetrate beneath the ice, causing portions of the ice sheet to collapse and float off to sea. Indeed, this work shows that the ice sheet has been significantly smaller in the past.

Funding for this research is provided by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Natural Environment Research Council (U.K.), the Australian Antarctic Division, the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation (U.S.), the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (Aus.) and the University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences.

For more information regarding this discovery, view the video sound bites of Duncan Young, research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin's Institute for Geophysics and lead author on the study, which appears today in the journal Nature.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Deborah Wing, NSF, (703) 292-5344, email: dwing@nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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