Seismic data has revealed a lost world of the Ice Age buried hundreds of meters beneath the Arctic Ocean.
According to Science Alert, scientists have employed a technique known as reflection seismology and discovered a stunning landscape referred to as “the tunnel valley”, dramatically carved by ancient glaciers.
Stunning landscape of the “lost world” – (Photo: British Antarctic Survey).
This Ice Age world existed on the Earth’s surface 21,000 years ago, but tectonic activity has caused a remarkable phenomenon: the vast landmass has sunk intact beneath the ocean.
According to geophysicist James Krikham from the British Antarctic Survey, a member of the research team, this discovery will help them unravel the past of Ice Age glaciers, revealing many surprising details about Earth’s dynamic processes.
The method used to uncover this “lost world”—reflection seismology—relies on vibrations that propagate underground to create a “3D map” of subsurface structures. Many strange structures of the planet have been identified by various research teams using this technique, but finding an entire intact ancient landscape is rare.
The lost world is also experiencing changes similar to those faced by the modern world: the melting of glaciers due to a warming climate. Thus, studying the “tunnel valley” could help us predict what will happen to the icy regions in the Arctic and Antarctic.
