This Surprising Revelation Is The Reason Why Antarctica Has Garnered World-wide Attention!

 Imagine a huge piece of land suddenly developing cracks and what you find beneath is something unusual. What is this unusual discovery that has baffled even the greatest of the scientists? Is it insinuating that the end of the world is here? Or is it something even more sinister?

Yes, you read that right. White Land Antarctica. Antartica is breaking into ice chips. Human activities or environmental changes are disturbing the beauty of this white land and are unfolding some mysterious deep-lying secrets of a land that is unknown or is yet to be discovered.

A gigantic iceberg broke into pieces in the frozen land of Antartica and went down into the sea. What amazed all the researchers was the fact that this split has given birth to a land of suspicion.

Antarctica The White Land

Antarctica is known as the most beautiful land of ice and is often termed as the” white-snow paradise”. It is one of the most alluring creations on the planet. Situated at the peninsular zones and spread across 14 million square kilometers, it is the fifth largest continent on the planet and is almost twice the size of Australia. Before becoming a land of ice there are some possibilities that this piece of land was also covered with vegetation and was all green and not white. But then what made it an ice zone is a wonder which is half discovered.

The Surprising History

A long time ago, some 170 million years ago to be precise, Antarctica was a part of a bigger supercontinent called Gondwana and some 25 million years ago it broke down into an emerging continent away from the supercontinent. It was situated farther north and faced tropical climates with heavy vegetation and life. Then, what made it shift to the polar region, making it all ice? Did the earth revolve at an instant or at 360 degrees with tremors that made the piece of land nothing but ice?

The Controversial Maps

Trying to find the origin of this wonderland in history, you are taken back to the 1500s wherein one of the most controversial maps would blow your mind. In 1513, a Turkish Admiral Piri Reis drew a map of Antarctica so controversial that even after 500 years of it being made, the questions still refuse to cease. There is a lot more hidden from us, but the ancient civilization and documents might help with the much-needed answers…

Antarctica- Invasion

The lesser known fact about the white snow land is that it was once invaded, which probably means it was once supporting life on the planet. Then, where did the invaders go? Were they consuming ice to survive? Or what were they searching for then? Were they aware of blood falls of Antarctic then or was it something more…

The Secret Mission

In the year 1946 and 1947, a military operation called Operation high-jump took place on a secret basis where the military was trying to resolve the mystery behind the ” Secret Antarctica”. The mission was claimed to have taken place under the supervision of the government officials and the local people were kept away. It was perhaps the most confidential mission that ever took place then. Why is it that everything related to the mystery land kept as a secret?

The Lost Discoveries

Are you curious to know about the mission’s discoveries? What all was kept under cover is still not unfolded. A documentary called Third Reich – Operation UFO on the same is an interesting one which focuses on the details of this operation. Around 70,000 pictures were clicked while searching for this mystical land and guess what happened to those.

Lost Pictures

If you expect that those vast 70,000 images of puzzling white land were served to the questioning population, then you are wrong. The mystery never unfolds this easy. Those snaps have all been lost in the name of secrecy and confidentiality. What is it that makes Antarctica an isolated land to an extent that all the discoveries are still not unveiled? Is it haunted and that the government doesn’t want people to believe in the existence of these strange things?

The History Repeats Itself

When you want answers to mysteries, you rely on those findings.  Researchers and scientists wanted to explore this little-unexplored piece of land which holds together all its secrets of origin and formation beneath those vast icebergs and thin ice crust surfaces. While working on this white land, a keen observation was made that more and more of ice is melting in there, giving birth to the most awaited answers which were hidden since hundred and thousands of years…

How It Began

Antarctica faces unbelieving temperature fluctuations. It witnesses a minimum of -128 degrees Fahrenheit on an average. Certain dedicated and keen scientists have spent extended periods on the thin ice layers trying to find some clues, to begin with, their researches.  Even in the extreme climates, they kept on working and finally, their toil bore fruit when around the mid-90s, a devastating change was observed.

Ice Melting

Around the mid- 1990s some strange happenings at the  Larsen Ice Shelf were reported. The Larsen Ice Shelf had a strong connection with the Antarctic Sea. Nearly 30,000 miles of this ice sheet is surrounded by Antarctic Eastern Peninsular Coast along with the Weddell Sea.

It was this region which fed scientists the clues to hidden Antarctica; making their beliefs, even stronger about this remarkable white land.

  The Unexceptional

In the year 1995, a part of the Larsen Ice sheet broke and seeped deep into the sea. This section of the broken ice was discovered as “Larsen A” and it was fully disintegrated. It took quite long for researchers to understand as to what exactly is happening as this part of the globe was not explored fully yet. Another remarkable clue was the breaking of the ” Larsen B” in the year 2002. This part of the iceberg fully shattered into the Weddell sea and exposed that land under the ice.

Something Was Wrong

A sudden breakage of the Ice shelf, 1,250 square miles about the size of Rhode Island, in the Antarctic in the year 2002 on January 31 shocked the scientists completely. Something was definitely wrong with this zone of the planet.  But why so many impediments? Did the land itself wanted to be hidden? And that’s why all attempts made to reach closer to it went in vain?

What Was Wrong

Research studies highlight some of the geographical traits that this region in particular faced. The Antarctic faces extreme climates and supports no life and is just all ice which has not been melting for decades and these incidents of the breaking ice caught up all eyes. It’s now after some 12 years that the cause of those incidents is making some sense. The revelations are shocking…

The Climatic Waves

Not that the breaking of the ice was because of some evil spirits but because of the changing direction of climate currents. The sudden breakages were due to some climatic currents or waves. Scientists came to the conclusion that the warm currents and increasing temperatures are causing climatic disturbances leading to such weird occurrences. However, there were certain weird findings which became a discussion for years to follow…

The Unknown Came To Life

While studying the parts and certain sediments of the Larsen B region, the scientists were taken aback by the new discovery. They found an entire ecosystem as enormous as 2600 feet all beneath the ice sheets of the ocean. Finding a totally new phase of life, the biodiversity that too in bone breaking cold icy water was unbelievable.  The  Mysterious Antarctic had finally started disclosing itself…..

 A Lot More

In the year 2017, yet another section of the ice sheets was explored in the month of July and came to be known as the ” Larsen C” and was claimed to be one of the oldest and the largest ice shelves that Antarctica had. Scientists were just trying to absorb all these findings and that something even weirder and intense had happened the same month…

The Shocking Drift

The huge sheet of ice in the newly discovered Larsen C section covering almost a vast area of about 2240 square miles, suddenly started to drift away from the remaining ice land structure and emerged into an individual sheet. The cause of this drift is yet to be found but this drift raised a few other questions.

Not only did this drift fed tons of ice into the Weddell sea but also left something breath-taking behind.

More Surprises

The drifted iceberg of the Larsen C, exposed to the surface a part of the seafloor that the scientists and the researchers had never seen before and have absolutely no clue about. This rough and cold seafloor has been isolated and devoid of life since years. It’s only now that the researchers are scratching their heads to find most out of these remarkable discoveries…

Life Under Ice

One will be surprised to realize what the scientists have found below the ice. It’s LIFE underneath. The newly discovered ice floor has been devastated for approximately 120,000 years with no signs of light. Very small sized currents are believed to connect the ocean and this sea floor. Probably an entirely different ecosystem inhabits in here.

The Lesser Known

In one of her interviews, Susan Grant, a marine biologist at the British Antarctic Survey said that the newly explored area is a big task for the research team and is something worth discovering. They knew very little or absolutely nothing about what might or not have been living in these temperatures and climates. Scientists know a lot more about what lies above the surface and not what inhabits underneath it.

Beneath The White Layer

Phil Trathan, another scientist working with Susan said that these newly explored lands must be preserved for extensive research work. These special areas demand hours of research to draw conclusions about the species that live on there. In the year 2016, the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources made an effort to declare this part of Larsen C section as ” no research zone”. For almost two years this area was restricted for research.

The Dynamic

The discovered ecosystem itself is a mystery. This marine ecosystem is an altogether different biological community of organisms interacting in a physical environment that is changing constantly. Firstly, the explored ecosystem was hidden and now the unhidden had more hidden secrets. Though everything in this natural world is interconnected, the connection of the life in the Antarctic with the globe is still to be established.

The Mystery Unveiling

All over the globe the researchers and scientists are anxious about the new revelations the study on the Antarctic sea floor might uncover. They are curious about the varied form of flora and fauna and other species that are inhabitants of such an atmosphere and environment. They surely will be of unusual varieties which have never been talked about before and explored. Let’s see what more the Antarctic has in store for us…

Seeping Deeper

Researchers believe that events like these are likely to occur more frequently and they serve more opportunities to the scientists to discover the unrevealed secrets of their planet. Susan Grant and her team are keen to link the adaptation of these tiny inhabitants with the changing climate. Certain researches show that these less known species can very instantly adapt to climatic changes.

Factual Revelations

After a study carried out on the broken Larsen Sheets, it is even more evident that the Antarctic is huge beyond imagination. The broken melted ice supports different marine life which changes itself with every crack in the iceberg. Since it is a vast piece of land which has been under our nose for years but we never really noticed, the physical changes are huge.

 An Abundance Of Life

The entire year the Antarctic is covered with snow all over and it faces extreme freezing temperatures. Yet the ocean in here faces dramatic changes. The huge marine life changes seasonally and all-new algae develop. Even their reproduction depends on the season. The revealed ecosystem is giving the scientists shivers by revealing the unimaginable…

 The Two Worlds

The new life under this thick ice cover is ever transforming and adapting to the outside world. As and when these beings lose the ice cover above them, they quickly merge into different selves supporting the life away from the ice. They are good-to-go with both the worlds, the underwater icy world and the one above it. How do these creatures look like is now arousing curiosity all over the world…

 Ever-changing Organisms

The researchers break the ice to the world about what exactly is the nature of these mysterious species. These creatures are phytoplankton and zooplankton at the same time. They drift away with water currents and combine with existing planktons to form food on which almost the entire marine life depends.

The Air Is Antarctic

The wonderland has equally wonder species. Wow! The marine life supported by the Antarctic shows a lot of complex behaviors. These organisms absorb energy from the sun and nutrients from the water. They release molecular oxygen during this process. Nearly 50-85% of the world’s population is dependent on this oxygen.

Dubious Creatures

Susan names the newly explored creatures as similar to those of seabirds, marine mammals which are extremely delicate species. Some varieties of invertebrates could also be discovered. However, the scientists wonder that the interaction between such a diverse variety of species might give birth to an all-new biodiversity and the future is unpredictable…

Deepest Dive Ever 

One of the news report carried out by National Geographic Channel showcased the experience of a diver when he did his deepest dive in Antarctica. What all he sees down there now was everything the scientists had imagined then.  At 30-50 feet he found some forest kelp, followed by giant sea stars and sea spiders.

 Strange Marine Life

Deep down at around 165 feet, the light dims and the seafloor is covered with feather hydroids and thousands of scallops. The scallops so found are believed to be 40 years old or more. At some 230 feet, gorgonian sea fans, shellfish, soft corals, sponges could be discovered. And a lot more weird and wild inhabitants of the newly discovered ecosystem make way for the mystery to continue…

All Saline

On reaching deeper into the drifted zone, the biodiversity diminishes as shallow water supports less stable climates. The drifted icebergs and sea ice scours freezes often and takes away the freshwater. On melting they return that water causing extreme differences in the salinity of the  Antarctic water.

The Winter Blues

Every year in winter the ocean freezes stronger than before. All the drifted ice once again combines and covers the revealed parts. However, the ice traps the algae which form on the inner linings of the ice layer. These algae provide food to phytoplanktons when there is not enough light for them to produce food.

The Spring Blooms

None can think of possibly what is happening up next. As the spring sets in, the ice begins to melt and the algae slip into deep waters gathering all the nutrients, sunshine and water they need from the sea and again convert into phytoplankton. These are claimed to be the most surprising algae species.

 Population Explosion

As the spring sets in, the population of some species just blooms to explosive levels. Organisms, namely krill, eat and munch on this phytoplankton algae and multiply instantly into a multitude. Scientists claim that the entire population of krill in the Antarctic is more than the entire world’s human population. That’s just hugely surprising!

The Land Of Extremes

The discovered species of penguins, sea whales have special features. They have thick feathers which are waterproof and gives them warmth. The ice falling on these feathers just slides away. Seals have a thick fat coating called blubber. These blubbers act as insulators and ensure a warm inner climate to the species. Also, these animals have smaller feet to ensure minimum heat loss.

 Yet More Is Left

The most challenging issue faced by the researchers now is to raise the funds to carry out these deep dive studies before the studied ecosystem begins to change its color. Else, even the explored will be lost. If this expedition takes place as early as 2018, it will be great as later the South Korean research mission will be visiting  South Shetland Isles which might disturb these zones.

A Cause Of Worry

However, there is something huge worth worrying. The ice in the Antarctic is melting at an alarming rate since last five years. The increasing amount of the greenhouse gases has enormous ill effects on the icebergs. This will lead to a  ripple effect on surrounding lands and mankind will have to face the unthinkable.

Protect The Unique

The Antarctic was kept unexplored and untouched by humans for the last two centuries. But the rising speculations behind the mysteries underlying that white ice have made it a research area. However, now to reveal more of its mysteries one must protect its unique heritage of cold climates, harsh conditions, and an unexceptional marine life.

What Next?

Until the right time, the researchers and scientists can only dream about the unknown and unimaginable secrets that this white piece of land serves.  A deep dive into Antarctica will reveal all its secrets in here, so continue reading to follow the extraordinary…