Researchers don’t know where the gaping Antarctic hole comes from
Scientists have recently made a spine-chilling discovery about Antarctica, and they don’t even know what to do about it. They have spotted a gaping hole in the Antarctic ice, which is about the size of the state of Maine. However, the breach is placed quite randomly, making it extremely difficult for the researchers to find out where it comes from.
The hole is unusually placed
The huge hole amazed everybody with its size and aspect. It is about as big as Maine, or the size of the biggest of all Great Lakes. However, the formation is not mysterious because of its size as it is because of its location. Big holes in the icecap are not unusual in the warmer regions of Antarctica, closer to the coast. However, this one is placed right in the middle of the continent, deep within the ice, making it hard to explain how it came into being.
Usually, ice holes filled by water are called polynyas, and can be the result of two processes. One of them requires heat, and consists of water warmer than usual, which prevents ice from further developing, and leads to the formation of the gaping void. The second possibility involves a type of wind which cuts into ice. This wind is called katabatic, blows hard over the coastline ice, gradually thin it out, and lead to the occurrence of a hole.
Researchers aren’t able to tell where the huge hole comes from
However, this time, researchers cannot tell which of the two phenomena created the gaping hole. All they can tell is the fact that it is located quite far away from the coast and, if it weren’t for satellites, they wouldn’t even have known the polynya was there.
There’s no need to worry, though. Polynyas often form in Antarctica, and one such hole has been recurrently appearing and disappearing on the middle ice layer of the continent. Fortunately, the technology is advanced enough to study the Maine polynya and find out its secret.
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