East Antarctic Ice Sheet

The average temperature at Antarctica’s Vostok station is minus 55°C, but a body of water the size of Lake Ontario has remained liquid under four kilometers of ice for 15 million years |

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The average temperature at Antarctica's Vostok station is minus 55°C, but a body of water the size of Lake Ontario has remained liquid under four kilometers of ice for 15 million years |

Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth, characterized by extreme temperatures, high altitudes and deadly ice and snow. The average temperature at Russia’s Vostok Station is minus 55°C, and on July 21, 1983, it recorded the lowest reliably measured temperature on Earth – -89.2°C.Yet beneath the region’s white ice caps lies a hidden ocean-sized lake … Read more

Antarctica froze 25 million years before the Arctic, and scientists now think the answer lies beneath the continent

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Antarctica froze 25 million years before the Arctic, and scientists now think the answer lies beneath the continent

For a long time, the story seemed simple. As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere drop and the Earth cools, large ice caps are beginning to spread across the polar regions. However, there’s one awkward detail that doesn’t quite fit. About 34 million years ago, Antarctica was covered by a large amount of ice, while … Read more