GOCE satellite reveals surface structure under the Antarctic ice cover

Despite completing its orbit over six years ago, the European Space Agency's GOCE satellite, ESA, continues to bring new insights to our planet.

Sketch the structure of the Earth's crust under the Antarctic ice sheet.

Thanks to this extraordinary satellite, scientists now have a clearer view of the secrets deep beneath one of the most remote places in the world: Antarctica. And while the vast white band above can appear relatively even, it is a very different story beneath its rock bed.

Antarctica has a layer of ice up to 4km thick, the wind and cold temperatures can drop to -60 ^° C making it one of the harshest environments on earth. These obstacles combined with the distant geographical distance make this vast ice continent very difficult and costly to do scientific research, especially about what lies beneath. Thankfully, the data gathered from space can provide information that field experiments cannot perform.

GOCE satellite.

An article published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth , describes how scientists use gravity data from GOCE satellites along with seismic models to reveal insights. unprecedented coloration of the crust and mantle , or lithosphere, beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.

Dr Pappa, Kiel University in Germany, said: 'We can now draw conclusions about things like the depth of transition from crust to mantle and these measurements vary significantly from above. area of ​​14 million square kilometers of Antarctica. Below the West Antarctic, the earth's crust is relatively thin at about 25km and the mantle has a viscosity of less than 100km. On the other hand, in the East Antarctic is a solid shield of the ancient continent. Here, the rock cover still has solid properties at a depth of more than 200 km. '

Ice surface cover in Antarctica.

Understanding the depth 3D structure of Antarctica has also led to findings about the melting of ice sheets on the surface.

Associate Professor Wouter van der Wal, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, said: 'This is an important process that determines how Antarctica responds to the current and past thinning. We have found major changes in the temperature of the mantle below the continent, resulting in elevation and subsidence of the ground at very different rates across the continent. New restrictions on crust and lithosphere thickness are also key in the task of estimating the heat flow from the geothermal in Antarctica and its effect on melting under ice and ice flow '.

Geophysicist Fausto Ferraccioli, British Antarctic Survey Agency, commented that new findings on the deep structure of Antarctica are also important to understand tectonics. From this study, we can see the previous link between Antarctica and other continents like Australia, Africa and India.

ESA scientist Roger Haagmans noted: 'These are important findings in the current context to understand changes in sea level as a result of the loss of ice from Antarctica. When the ice mass is lost, the solid ground has the opposite effect and this effect should be taken into account when the ice volume changes. This can be better defined once the structure and composition of the earth's interior are better understood. '

Observe the exposure of the Earth's crust under the Antarctic ice: