A new study of Antarctica has made sterling revelations which many people will surely be confounded when more details are released by scientists.
Scientists have uncovered loads of new information about Lake Whillans (Picture: Getty)
Scientists aren’t about to declare the discovery of an eighth continent, but there’s no doubt these are exciting times to study Antarctica.
The latest bit of research comes from a subglacial lake that sits 800 metres beneath its western ice sheet.
It was only discovered a decade ago some scientists have been busy uncovering a plethora of new information about it – including the revelation that it is similar to a wetland.
Researchers studying Lake Whillans have made a number of other exciting discoveries including that it is primarily fed by ice melt.
Interestingly, it also contains small amounts of seawater from ancient marine sediments on the lake bed.
The latest findings were uncovered in the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Helen Amanda Fricker, who initially discovered the lake in 2007, said: ‘It is amazing to think that we did not know that this lake even existed until a decade ago.
‘It is exciting to see such a rich dataset from the lake, and these new data are helping us understand how lakes function as part of the ice-sheet system.’
The latest research also showed that the lake’s waters periodically drain through channels to the ocean.
Researchers are hoping to use this information to help assess the contribution that subglacial lakes may have to the flow of water from the continent to the ocean, and therefore to sea-level rise.