Groundwater could be an important influence on how Antarctica reacts to a warmer world.
Vast quantities of water have been detected in sediments that underlie a part of the West Antarctic ice sheet.The water was detected below the Whillans Ice Stream, but its presence is likely replicated elsewhere across the White Continent.this week.The transfer of water into or out of this deep reservoir has the potential therefore to either slow down or speed up ice flow.The detection was made by a team led by Dr Chloe Gustafson from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, US.
"For comparison, the Empire State Building is about 440m tall. So at the shallowest, this water would go halfway up the Empire State Building, and at the deepest it would almost submerge two Empire State Buildings," the postdoctoral researcher told BBC News. The technique she deployed is called magnetotellurics. This records variations in the the Earth’s natural electric and magnetic fields to determine the properties of deeply buried materials, be that rock, sediments, ice or water.
"People had long suspected this groundwater was there, but this is the first time we've really been able to measure it."
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
The richest Emmerdale stars in the show - including a huge £6.2m net worthGiven that Emmerdale is one of the most beloved soaps on our screens, let’s take a look at the net worths of some of the show’s most famous faces from past and present
Consulte Mais informação »
Strictly stars on Bafta and huge sign language stepStrictly stars Rose Ayling-Ellis 💃 and Giovanni Pernice 🕺 say a 'huge step' for British Sign Language is happening. 👂
Consulte Mais informação »
Love Island bosses make HUGE change in the villaLove Island bosses have announced they're expanding one part of the villa for the new series of the show, hitting our screens next month. Read more on heatworld.
Consulte Mais informação »
Extreme examples of lower-league teams in huge stadiums and vice versa | The KnowledgePlus: which team has been promoted the most to the English top flight; teams playing each other twice in May (and August); and baseball connections
Consulte Mais informação »