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Deep beneath Antarctica’s ice, scientists have uncovered something massive no one expected to find. The discovery hints at structures and landscapes hidden from the surface for millions of years. If confirmed, what lies below the ice could change how we understand Earth—and our place on it.
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00:00Welcome to one of the most mysterious and unexplored places on Earth.
00:04Um, but what's so special about that?
00:07It's just some icy peaks and the endless snowy expanse of Antarctica.
00:12Yeah, that's right, but there's still a planetary scale mystery here.
00:17No matter how hard you try, you won't see a hidden mountain range,
00:20giant, unexplored land where no human has ever set foot,
00:24and it lies under another layer of mountains.
00:29It's like a nesting doll, but the size of a continent.
00:32These mountains hide Antarctica secrets,
00:35and these secrets can tell us something awesome about the ancient history of our planet.
00:42This gigantic unexplored territory in Antarctica is called the Gambritsev Subglacial Mountains,
00:49and the layer of ice above keeps this place untouched by nature and people.
00:55It's like a land inside another land, and it hides more than just mountains.
01:00There are valleys, hills, and plains.
01:03The whole area is similar to the European Alps, but unfortunately, we can't enjoy the view.
01:09Those mountains were first discovered in 1958 using seismological instruments.
01:15More than half a century has passed since then,
01:18and this place still remains one of the most poorly studied tectonic objects on Earth.
01:24Why?
01:24Because it's ice.
01:26A lot of ice.
01:28Who knows?
01:30Maybe there are some unknown ancient artifacts lying there.
01:33What if they're hiding a secret city or spaceships?
01:36It's unlikely, of course, but it would still be interesting to look there.
01:40Think about it.
01:41Hundreds or even thousands of miles of land that have remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of years.
01:48Even if no new species of animals or remains of an ancient civilization are there,
01:54this place still has a history.
01:57The history of the formation of continents on our planet.
02:00And scientists have already figured out some of this story.
02:06The mountains buried in Antarctica were originally like ordinary mountains,
02:10but as a result of a planetary-scale event, they just...
02:14Wait a minute.
02:15Have you ever wondered how mountain ranges are formed?
02:18We see them in real life.
02:20In movies.
02:21In photos on the internet.
02:22We climb them.
02:23But how did they appear?
02:25Mountains have not always existed on the planet in this form.
02:29They appeared as a result of a large-scale collision of tectonic plates.
02:33Two giant solid chunks of ground are moving toward each other, then crash, and boom!
02:40Millions of tons of the Earth's crust pile on top of each other, mix, and form ledges and gorges.
02:48And all this can last for millions of years.
02:51Yes, it's a disaster, but it's very slow.
02:55Some tectonic plates are still colliding.
02:58For example, the Himalayas continue to grow because the Indian and Eurasian plates are still ramming into each other.
03:05And this process began about 50 million years ago.
03:08The Gambertsev Mountains under ice experienced a similar event, only much earlier.
03:15An article in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters says that they appeared during the formation of the supercontinent
03:22Gondwana.
03:24Two giant pieces of land were separated by a boundless ocean.
03:28But then, about 700 million years ago, they collided and formed Gondwana.
03:35This supercontinent included the territories of modern Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica.
03:43The giant pieces crashed into each other and released a stream of hot, partially molten rock.
03:49This mess grew bigger and bigger, forming mountains.
03:53The temperature of those mountains grew, their mass increased, and at some point, Gondwana became unstable.
04:00The supercontinent began to collapse under its own weight.
04:04The hot rocks below the surface began to flow sideways as a result of a process called gravitational spreading.
04:11Take toothpaste and start squeezing it out of the tube.
04:15Approximately the same thing happened with billions of tons of red-hot rock.
04:20Ancient mountains in Antarctica appeared right during this catastrophic event.
04:26You've just watched a visual simulation of global events that took place hundreds of millions of years ago.
04:32It looks cool, but how did scientists figure it out?
04:36How did they see this planetary scale destruction?
04:40If the Gambertsev Mountains under ice is one of the most unexplored places in the world,
04:45then how could people find out its origin?
04:48The answer is simple.
04:50Tiny particles of rock have told us about the changing landscape of the planet.
04:55These are zircons, but scientists also call them time capsules.
05:00This mineral is very handy and resistant to mechanical and chemical influences.
05:06It's difficult to crush, it doesn't get affected by erosion, and it doesn't dissolve in water.
05:11And there's uranium inside it.
05:14This chemical element shows scientists the age of the rock.
05:18The fact is that uranium always decays into lead at the same rate.
05:24Scientists look at the ratio of uranium and lead and determine the age of minerals with great accuracy.
05:31Okay, this sounds a bit complicated.
05:33Here's a simple example.
05:35Imagine that each mountain belt is a clock that starts ticking at the moment of its formation.
05:40That is, after the collision of tectonic plates.
05:44After the rock forms, uranium begins its slow decay.
05:48The more time passes, the more uranium turns into lead.
05:52The rate of this decay is always the same.
05:56This decay can last for billions of years.
05:59The less uranium is in zircons and the more lead, the older the rock is.
06:04And this is how it happens in practice.
06:07Geologists take several rock samples.
06:09In a lab, they crush it to extract crystalline zircons.
06:15Geologists then dissolve the particles in acid to separate uranium from lead.
06:19Then, they use a special device.
06:22A mass spectrometer that accelerates atoms and sorts them by mass.
06:27This is a rather complicated process.
06:29But the bottom line is that this device shows scientists the amount of uranium and lead.
06:35They look at the ratios of these two elements and calculate the age of the rock.
06:41Geologists took zircons from sandstones near the Gambertsev Mountains, studied those particles,
06:47looked at the level of uranium, and calculated the chronology of mountain formation.
06:52Then, they compared the data obtained with the history of our planet
06:55and realized that the mountains buried in Antarctica appeared during the formation of the supercontinent Gondwana.
07:02But how did they find out that the supercontinent included Australia, India, and Africa?
07:08Zirconia from those Antarctic rocks turned out to be very similar to zirconium from those countries.
07:14That is, a long time ago, these three continents were together.
07:19So, the Gambertsev Mountains began to grow about 650 million years ago.
07:25About 580 million years ago, they reached the height of the Himalayas.
07:30And 80 million years later, they experienced the melting of the Earth's crust.
07:35And while most of the mountain ranges on the planet were changing and collapsing,
07:39the Gambertsev Mountains under ice remained untouched.
07:45Water, soil, wind, earthquakes, gravity, and other natural forces destroy mountain belts.
07:51This process is called erosion.
07:54But mountains buried in Antarctica haven't experienced anything like this.
07:58The cold temperature and the ice sheet around them kept this range unchanged.
08:02It's one of the best-preserved ancient mountain belts on the planet.
08:06Okay, but why do we need to explore these mountains?
08:09What difference does it make that the supercontinent Gondwana collapsed in the past?
08:15It's possible that plants, frozen bodies of insects, or ancient bacteria have remained preserved under thick layers of ice.
08:23What about ancient animals?
08:25Many species could have lived on Gondwana.
08:28Studying ancient mountains in Antarctica can show us what the planet looked like about a half a billion years ago.
08:34When Antarctica was a green continent, what lived on it?
08:37What happened to this life?
08:40Is it possible to revive those ancient creatures after so many years?
08:44If scientists were able to calculate the date of the supercontinent's appearance using tiny particles,
08:50then imagine what they could find after examining this hidden mountain range.
08:55It all sounds very interesting.
08:57But there's one problem.
08:59To take a small piece of this unknown world, you need to drill through a lot of ice.
09:04You need to deliver heavy equipment to one of the most inaccessible continents in the world,
09:09build stations, obtain an energy source, and conduct large-scale research.
09:14It sounds incredibly expensive, so this hidden territory will probably remain a mystery for a long time.
09:22Let's just hope that some billionaire will want to find out Antarctica's secrets and arrange a large-scale expedition there.
09:31Consider Lake Enigma.
09:33What a fitting name.
09:34It's already strange enough because it's not even supposed to exist.
09:38But now, we stumbled upon actual life deep beneath it.
09:43And this just might help NASA in their search for life in outer space.
09:48The lake lies deep in the icy heart of Antarctica.
09:51So it's not really a water pool like we're used to.
09:54More like a lake-like block of ice.
09:57Or so we thought.
09:59Just recently, Italian scientists discovered a secret that had been buried for ages.
10:05An actual body of water.
10:07And in this water, life is thriving.
10:09Various microorganisms.
10:11And even some weird little hunters.
10:14Which is super weird, since Enigma sits in a remote and harsh corner of our planet.
10:19The Northern Victoria Land in Antarctica.
10:22The entire South Pole is cold, but whew, in this place, temperatures can plummet to a horrifying minus 41 degrees
10:31Fahrenheit.
10:32Though on average, it's around 7.
10:35Brrr, chilly.
10:36Like we said, this lake shouldn't even be there at all.
10:40Antarctica is technically the largest desert on Earth, even though it's covered in snow, because it's super dry.
10:47There are zero rains, truly little snowfall, and the sun barely evaporates anything.
10:53And even if there is some water, the insane winds make sure to dry everything out super quickly.
10:59Putting on our thinking caps, this lake should lose an unimaginable 7 million cubic feet of water every year.
11:07Yet, the water remains.
11:10Why?
11:10No one knows.
11:11Scientists say there could be something deep underground that refills it constantly.
11:17They just have no idea what that might be.
11:20Maybe deep underground rivers, melting ice, or something else entirely.
11:25But hence the name, the Enigma Lake.
11:28The block of ice we mentioned is permanent and super thick.
11:32At least 36 feet of it.
11:34And that's higher than a three-story building.
11:36So researchers decided to check out if there's anything beneath it.
11:40They used a so-called ground-penetrating radar, a super-smart echo detector for the ground.
11:47This radar sends invisible radio waves into the Earth.
11:50When they hit something underground, like rocks, water, or anything else, they bounce back to the device.
11:57By measuring how long it takes for the signal to return and how strong they are,
12:02we can determine the distance and what exactly the radar hit.
12:06That's how animals like bats, whales, and dolphins can see underwater.
12:10And we humans stole this cool nature idea to research buried structures in hidden caves.
12:17Scientists used this device all over the Enigma surface.
12:21This way, they were able to create an entire map of this under-ice world beneath.
12:26The water itself wasn't surprising.
12:28It's the unique ecosystem in it that shocked them.
12:32Unfortunately, no secret monsters or extraterrestrial secrets this time.
12:37But there are microorganisms there that may not exist anywhere else on Earth.
12:43Somehow, these creatures have managed to survive in complete isolation and extreme cold.
12:49It's not that we don't know these microorganisms.
12:52We've met them before.
12:54Just not exactly like this.
12:56There are a couple groups hanging out down there.
12:59The first one is Bacteroidota.
13:01They love breaking down complex molecules, especially in your stomach, and help digest tough plant fibers.
13:08They mostly hang out inside us.
13:11But in the outside world, we might occasionally find them in soils and oceans.
13:16Then Actinobacteriota.
13:18Genius chemists among bacteria.
13:20They decompose organic materials and help the soil get healthier.
13:24They're also famous for producing antibiotics.
13:28So we owe a lot of our medicine to them.
13:31The third one is Pseudomonodota.
13:33These guys weren't a surprise.
13:35They're crazy adaptable.
13:36They can thrive pretty much anywhere, from soil to water to the human body.
13:42Some of them are good, helping plants grow and in nutrient cycles.
13:45But others can be opportunistic pathogens.
13:49Ooh, bad guys.
13:50But what is actually a surprise is that Lake Enigma has tons of Pesobacteria.
13:57They're ultra-small even for microorganisms and can barely do anything themselves.
14:02So they prefer to live in symbiosis or be little parasites, relying on their hosts for nutrients and other necessities.
14:10All these little chompers might be ancient.
14:13They could be remnants of a time before the lake froze over completely, which is hundreds of thousands of years
14:19ago.
14:20It's simply weird to encounter these bacteria in the Enigma Lake, especially the little parasites.
14:26Pettisobacteria usually love low-oxygen environments.
14:30But this lake is very oxygen-rich, not even mentioning an almost 40 feet of ice above.
14:36So, all this means that even though we know who these guys are, this specific species might be new to
14:43us.
14:43They could have evolved with some unique adaptations and abilities, using the lake's unusual chemistry.
14:50They probably rely on a super-simple and delicate food web.
14:54Some of the microorganisms produce energy from light, well, whatever light gets down there, or the lake's chemicals.
15:01The symbiosis guys most likely survive by living on, or inside, their neighbors.
15:08Yep, these microscopic creatures hunt each other.
15:11Nope, things can't be peaceful, even in a place like that.
15:15If we find out what their secret to survival is, we might learn more about chemistry, medicine, and even extraterrestrial
15:23life.
15:23Because if life can endure such extreme conditions, then it can probably appear pretty much anywhere.
15:31Including our closest neighbors, Europa, or Enceladus, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
15:37They definitely hide oceans beneath their frozen surfaces, and now there's a very high chance there might be some life
15:44there.
15:45Antarctica must be the closest thing we have to extraterrestrial exploration before we actually land on other planets.
15:53It's full of hidden mysteries and surprising creatures.
15:56Even outside of Lake Enigma, the South Pole harbors life.
16:01Just take the McMurdo Dry Valleys, which are often referred to as Earthly Mars.
16:07These are among the most mysterious and extreme places on our planet.
16:11They're stretching across Victoria Land in Antarctica.
16:14And this is one of the driest places on Earth.
16:18Makes sense if you remember the name.
16:20Surprisingly, unlike other parts of the South Pole, this land is almost entirely devoid of snow and ice.
16:27Just lots of super-cold ground.
16:30There might even be some sand dunes nestled here and there between the rugged mountains.
16:35The ground is mostly covered in loose gravel, scattered with ancient rocks made of granite.
16:40And something interesting called nice, just spelled differently.
16:44It's the type of rock that's been through a lot, literally.
16:48It's usually born when granite and sedimentary rocks have to endure insane pressure or horrifying heat for a while.
16:55A process called metamorphism.
16:58These conditions are so intense that they literally rearrange the minerals into layers.
17:04That's why nice has such beautiful folated looks.
17:07It's the planet's version of baking a layered cake.
17:10It's amazing because this place is almost exactly the way it was millions of years ago.
17:16These valleys are frozen in time, and they give us a little glimpse into Earth's distant past.
17:22And that includes life.
17:24Once again, local winds are absolutely terrifying gusts of cold air racing downhill.
17:30And they evaporate snow faster than it can even melt.
17:34So, logically, you shouldn't find much water here, not even mentioning life.
17:39But somehow, you can still stumble across frozen lakes and saline ponds in the dry valleys.
17:46And local life stretches all reason and our understanding of biology.
17:51It exists inside the rocks themselves.
17:55Microorganisms are hidden in slightly moist cracks and crevices.
17:59Deep inside, there's endolithic bacteria.
18:03These guys are super chill.
18:04Instead of moving around like other microorganisms, they always stay put inside their little rocky homes.
18:11How do they survive?
18:13Through photosynthesis.
18:15Just like plants, they take teeny tiny parts of light that gets in crevices and acts like little solar panels,
18:22getting energy from the sun.
18:24Meanwhile, in another place, beneath the Taylor Glacier, there's bacteria that literally doesn't eat anything.
18:31Not comfort, not sunlight, not even oxygen.
18:34These guys rely on a diet of dusty rocks and sulfur to fuel their weird metabolisms.
18:40By breaking down sulfur and iron, they get energy to sustain themselves.
18:45This way, they easily survive in deep seas, at sub-freezing temperatures, completely cut off from sunlight, oxygen, and the
18:53world itself.
18:54This place is fascinating for both its life and the lack of it.
18:59In some parts of the valleys, like University Valley – yes, that's what it's called – the permafrost is so
19:06harsh that no microbes were found at all.
19:09This might be one of the only places on Earth where life appears to be completely absent.
19:15A quite scary idea.
19:17Anyway, now scientists are thinking about learning more about Lake Enigma and drilling this Mars-like environment.
19:24Exactly for that reason.
19:25To see how we could get samples from Mars in the future.
19:31Antarctica wasn't always a frozen wasteland.
19:34A long time ago, it was full of life.
19:37And 56 million years ago, something terrifying stalked its jungles.
19:42A giant, flesh-eating bird.
19:46It was around 6 feet tall and weighed as much as a lion.
19:50For millions of years, nothing could challenge it.
19:53So why did it disappear?
19:55And could there be even bigger predators still hidden beneath the ice?
20:01Paleontologists found two massive claw bones in Antarctica – sharp, curved, and powerful – belonging to this bird.
20:09They were dug up from the Epresian-aged rocks of Seymour Island, which means they're around 40 to 50 million
20:16years old.
20:18Their shape left no doubt.
20:20These were the so-called terror birds.
20:22Their scientific name is Forrest Rossity, some of the most fearsome predators to ever walk the Earth.
20:30They were flightless and didn't even need wings.
20:33Instead, they could sprint at breakneck speeds, like ostriches, from a nightmare.
20:40For millions of years, these birds ruled South America.
20:43But now, for the first time, their presence has been confirmed in Antarctica.
20:49No surprise here.
20:51Back then, South America and Antarctica were still connected, allowing animals to easily commute between continents.
20:57So these birds probably migrated South to adapt to life on Antarctica's prehistoric landmass.
21:05It didn't just survive here, it thrived.
21:08But at some point, this nightmare of an animal vanished.
21:12Why?
21:13Most likely because of the temperature changes.
21:16Antarctica was cooling, slowly turning into the frozen wasteland we know today.
21:21Its prey may have declined, leaving the predator without enough food.
21:25Eventually, it disappeared, leaving no descendants behind.
21:30Researchers hope that they'll find a complete skeleton eventually.
21:34They're also wondering where there might be even bigger species waiting to be discovered.
21:39Perhaps these birds evolved into a completely new Antarctic lineage.
21:44But for now, all we have are two giant creepy claws.
21:50People often think that there are almost no animals or plants in Antarctica.
21:55But that's not true at all.
21:57Penguins waddle around.
21:59And forget the cute tiny ones.
22:01Antarctica used to have six-foot-tall monsters.
22:05The emperor penguins are the largest penguin species alive today.
22:10They can dive over 1,800 feet deep and hold their breath for over 20 minutes.
22:16There were giant ancient penguins around 38 million years ago.
22:21They were the size of humans.
22:23Fossils show they had long, sharp beaks, making them terrifying hunters of fish and squid.
22:29The fish there are also absolutely fascinating.
22:33Forget giant squids.
22:35Colossal squids are nightmares even bigger.
22:37Some reach over 40 feet long with massive, super-sharp beaks and eyes the size of dinner plates.
22:46Finally, orcas.
22:47The apex predators of the Antarctic Ocean.
22:51They hunted packs, working together like a wolf pack of the sea to take down seals, fish, and even massive
22:58whales.
22:59There are even tiny plants like moss and algae, Antarctic hairgrass, and pearlwort.
23:06They somehow survive against all odds.
23:10There are many other myths going on about Antarctica.
23:14For example, some people think that when icebergs break off from glaciers,
23:18they immediately start drifting straight into the open ocean until they melt.
23:22But the reality is way more chaotic.
23:26First, when an iceberg breaks off from a glacier or ice shelf, it has to deal with underwater obstacles.
23:32It can stay stuck on the seafloor for decades without moving.
23:36Then, they get caught in powerful whirlpools and spin in place for months.
23:41One iceberg, a 23A, spent nearly 40 years frozen in place before finally breaking free,
23:49only to get caught in a swirling ocean vortex for another eight months.
23:55After that, their paths are influenced by ocean currents, tides, winds, and even underwater topography.
24:02They don't just float freely.
24:03Their movements are full of literal unexpected twists.
24:08And speaking of glaciers,
24:10another strange rumor is that some humans can't travel more than 311 miles inland in Antarctica
24:16because of an impassable ice wall,
24:19freezing jet fuel, deadly winds, and no oxygen.
24:23But this is completely false.
24:25Antarctica has been explored by planes, vehicles, and even scientists on foot.
24:31There's an entire research station sitting at the South Pole.
24:34People live there all year long.
24:37The ice wall is real,
24:39a massive ice cliff rising above the ocean.
24:42But that isn't some secret barrier.
24:44It's an ice shelf.
24:46These are thick slabs of ice that form when glaciers slowly flow off the land and spread over the ocean.
24:53Almost three-fourths of Antarctica's coastline is made up of them.
24:57But they don't form some giant ring around the world.
25:01Antarctica is one of the most extreme places on Earth.
25:04But we've conquered its challenges,
25:06and we keep learning more about it every year.
25:10That's why every year, millions of dollars are poured into keeping research stations running,
25:16protecting wildlife,
25:17and making sure the people who live there have everything they need.
25:21But where does all this money go?
25:24Well, Antarctica's stations are basically small cities.
25:36The biggest station, McMurdo, is basically a town with over 1,000 people in summer.
25:42It has everything from a fire station to a gym.
25:48The South Pole station is super deep inlet,
25:50so it's one of the hardest places to supply.
25:53Getting food and fuel there requires airplanes flying thousands of miles in extreme cold.
26:00But the Internet loves a good mystery.
26:03When Google Maps revealed what looked like a massive doorway in Antarctica,
26:07conspiracy theorists went wild.
26:10People joked about everything from Bigfoot's vacation home to a secret base,
26:14or even a Star Trek spaceship hangar hidden in the ice.
26:20But there's a way simpler and less exciting explanation.
26:23It's actually a grounded iceberg.
26:26A chunk of ice that got stuck in shallow water and is now slowly melting.
26:31As ice moves across the landscape,
26:33it flows around bumps and obstacles, creating odd shapes.
26:37The process of melting, breaking apart, and refreezing
26:40can carve ice into unexpected forms.
26:44Antarctica also has incredibly strong downward-blowing winds
26:48that sculpt ice into dramatic formations over time.
26:52No secret doorway, unfortunately.
26:56And speaking of doors,
26:58for years, Ushuaia, Argentina, has been called the gateway to Antarctica,
27:04the last stop before the icy continent,
27:07the place where expeditions begin.
27:10But there's another option.
27:13Punta Arenas, Chile.
27:15Let's compare them.
27:17Ushuaia is closer to Antarctica.
27:19It's the top departure point for tourists going on cruises.
27:23But no regular flights to Antarctica.
27:26No major scientific bases operating from here.
27:30It's basically controlled by the military,
27:32which refuses to allow private flights,
27:34only commercially operated ships.
27:37Yes, Punta Arenas is further from Antarctica,
27:40but 22 countries and global organizations use it as their main base.
27:45There are regular flights to Antarctica happening there every year.
27:49Private airlines can actually operate here,
27:52making it the real air connection to Antarctica.
27:55Ushuaia may have the best location physically,
27:58but Punta Arenas actually runs the show.
28:01Argentina made a huge error in picking its Antarctic airbase.
28:05Instead of setting up a simple, accessible base at sea level,
28:09they built Marambio Base,
28:11very high, on rough terrain,
28:13completely impossible to reach by land.
28:16Everything has to be flown in by helicopter,
28:18making operations slow, expensive, and frustrating.
28:22For 50 years, Argentina stubbornly stuck to this bad decision,
28:27while Chile set up efficient, well-planned bases that the world now uses.
28:32If things don't change,
28:33Ushuaia will be nothing more than a tourist stop.
28:37But what's terrifying is that Antarctica seems to be returning to its past.
28:41It's supposed to be the coldest place on Earth,
28:43but something shocking happened just recently.
28:46For the first time in recorded history,
28:48temperatures in Antarctica broke 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
28:53This continent is buried under miles of ice.
28:56Usually, temperatures there can drop to minus 112 degrees.
29:00But in the winter of 2020,
29:02scientists recorded an insane 69 degrees on Seymour Island,
29:07hotter than many places in Europe at that time.
29:10Scientists believe there are several reasons for that.
29:13First, there are changes in the way heat moves around the planet's waters.
29:17Second, melting permafrost due to the planet warming.
29:21It looks like the climate is changing faster than expected.
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