Revealing Antarctica: New Map Uncovers Hidden Landscape Under Ice

Fri Jan 16 2026 11:53:37 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A groundbreaking new map provides unprecedented detail of Antarctica's geography beneath its ice, uncovering thousands of previously undiscovered hills and ridges, significantly enhancing our understanding of how the continent may react to climate change.

Researchers at the University of Grenoble-Alpes have leveraged satellite data and glacial physics to produce the most detailed map of Antarctica's subglacial topography to date. This revolutionary mapping reveals thousands of hills and mountain ranges, shedding light on the anticipated effects of climate change on the continent and ultimately on global sea levels. Experts emphasize the importance of this research in predicting future shifts in Antarctica’s icy expanse.

A new map has unmasked the landscape beneath Antarctica's ice in unprecedented detail, something scientists say could greatly enhance our understanding of the frozen white continent.

Researchers used satellite data and the physics of how Antarctica's glaciers move to work out what the continent might look like beneath the ice. They found evidence of thousands of previously undiscovered hills and ridges, and say their maps of some of Antarctica's hidden mountain ranges are clearer than ever before.

While the maps are subject to uncertainties, the researchers believe the new details could shed light on how Antarctica will respond to climate change - and what that means for sea-level rise.

It's like before you had a grainy pixel film camera, and now you've got a properly zoomed-in digital image of what's really going on, lead author Dr. Helen Ockenden, a researcher at the University of Grenoble-Alpes, told BBC News.

Thanks to satellites, scientists have a good understanding of Antarctica's icy surface – but what lies beneath has remained more of a mystery.

In fact, more is known about the surface of some planets in our Solar System than much of Antarctica's underbelly – the topography beneath the ice sheet. But researchers now have what they believe to be the most complete, detailed map of that underbelly ever made.

Traditional measurements from the ground or air have used radar to see beneath the ice - which is up to three miles (4.8km) thick in places - often along individual survey lines or tracks. These tracks could be tens of kilometers apart - leaving scientists to fill in the gaps.

So the researchers used a new approach, combining their knowledge of the ice surface from satellites and their understanding of how the ice moves from physics - and checking them against those previous tracks.

While we knew about Antarctica's major mountain ranges, the scientists' new approach has revealed tens of thousands of previously undiscovered hills and ridges, as well as greater details around some of those mountains and canyons buried under the ice.

Researchers’ new maps represent a crucial tool in improving computer models of how Antarctica might change in the future and is considered one of the most significant unknowns in climate science.

The study is published in the academic journal 'Science'.