What's Hidden Under the Ice of Antarctica?

Summary by Krater

An exploration of Antarctica's true size, extreme climate, hidden geography including subglacial lakes and canyons, and geopolitical claims over oil reserves and territory.

From the video

Answers: What is Antarctica really like beneath the ice and what are the geopolitical claims there?

• Antarctica size comparison
• Antarctica climate and weather
• Subglacial lakes and canyons
• Volcanoes and geothermal activity
• Antarctic oil reserves
• Antarctic Treaty and territorial claims

What it concludes

• Antarctica is the world's fifth largest continent, exceeding Australia and Europe in size.
• Antarctica holds 61% of the freshwater on the planet in its ice sheet, which could raise global sea levels by around 60 meters if it all melted.
• Antarctica's ice sheet is up to 5 kilometers thick, making it thicker than the surface of Mars is understood.
• Lesser Antarctica is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and contains active volcanoes such as Mount Erebus.
• A 2019 discovery revealed the Antarctic Grand Canyon beneath the Denman Glacier, plunging 3.5 kilometers deep.
• In 2006, researchers identified what is believed to be a 480-kilometer-wide meteorite impact crater beneath the ice in Wilkes Land, potentially dating from the Permian-Triassic extinction event 251.9 million years ago.