An ancient lost world hidden for more than 34 million years has been discovered below a mile of ice in Antarctica. Using satellite data and ice-penetrating radar, scientists revealed rivers once ran through forests in the remote land that’s now buried under ice. 

Researchers estimate the buried landscape, which was discovered in Wilkes Land, a remote inland part of East Antarctica, spans more than 12,000 square miles. Stewart Jamieson, lead author of the study at Durham University, said it was like “uncovering a time capsule”, adding: “The land underneath the East Antarctic ice sheet is less well-known than the surface of Mars.”

According to scientists, the ancient landscape had towering ridges and deep valleys. Their study identified three blocks of higher ground measuring between 75 and 105 miles long and up to 53 miles wide, separated by valleys nearly 3,900ft deep and up to 25 miles wide.

Unlike many glaciers which erode the ground beneath them, scientists refer to this ice sheet in East Antarctica as “cold-based”, which means the ice is frozen to the ground and is slow-moving, meaning it causes minimal erosion. 

This sheet moved less than 16 feet per year, which means the landscape below has been preserved exceptionally well.

“What we find is an ancient land surface that has not been eroded by the ice sheet, and instead it looks like it was created by rivers before the ice came along,” said Professor Jamieson.

“It is remarkable that this landscape, hidden in plain sight for many years, can tell us so much about the early and long-term history of the East Antarctic ice sheet,” added Neil Ross, professor of environmental geophysics at Newcastle University and a co-author of the study. 

Around 180 million years ago, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwana, but as it broke apart, Antarctica drifted towards its present-day polar location, gradually separating from South America and Australia.

It led to the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, a current that flows clockwise around Antarctica, which isolated the continent and led to significant cooling, resulting in the massive ice sheets that cover it today. 

Even during later warm periods, such as the mid-Pliocene around 3 million years ago, the hidden region remained frozen.

Scientists hope the discovery will help them understand how Antarctica might evolve in response to future climate change.