WASHINGTON: Scientists have devised the most detailed map to date of the terrain hidden below the vast ice sheet blanketing Antarctica, uncovering an exuberant landscape of mountains, canyons, valleys and plains while discerning for the first time tens of thousands of hills and other smaller features.

The researchers used the latest high-resolution satellite observations and a method called ice-flow perturbation analysis, which estimates subglacial topography and conditions based on surface features, to map the full continent including previously uncharted parts.

Improved knowledge of the subglacial bedrock landscape may aid in forecasts concerning the climate-related retreat of Antarctica’s ice sheet. Previous research indicated that rough terrain like jagged hillsides and mountaintops can slow this retreat.

“Having the most accurate map of Antarctica’s bed shape is crucial, because the shape of the bed is an important control on friction acting against ice flow, which in turn we need to include in numerical models that are used to project how rapidly Antarctica’s ice will flow towards the ocean, melt and contribute to global sea-level rise,” said glaciologist Robert Bingham of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who helped lead the study published this week in the journal Science.

Researchers identify more than 30,000 previously uncharted hills

The researchers were able to map the subglacial terrain with unprecedented precision. For instance, they identified more than 30,000 previously uncharted hills, defined as terrain protuberances of at least 165 feet (50 metres).

Antarctica is about 40 per cent larger than Europe, 50pc larger than the United States and roughly half the area of Africa.

The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest mass of ice on Earth and holds about 70pc of the planet’s freshwater. Its average thickness is estimated at about 1.3 miles (2.1km), with a maximum thickness of about three miles (4.8km).

Antarctica has not always been covered in ice. Its subglacial features initially were sculpted before the continent acquired its icy covering more than 34 million years ago before being further modified by the dynamic ice sheet. Antarctica once was connected to South America but separated due to a process called plate tectonics involving the gradual movement of continent-sized plates on the Earth’s surface.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2026