British Antarctic Survey researchers identified a massive buried granite body beneath West Antarctica, explaining pink granite boulders found high in the Hudson Mountains and why the finding matters for ice-flow history.
Using airborne gravity measurements over Pine Island Glacier, a Twin Otter aircraft detected gravitational anomalies consistent with an extensive West Antarctica granite formation.
The structure spans about 100 kilometers across and reaches roughly 7 kilometers deep, dating to the Jurassic period.
Surface boulders matched the gravity signatures, linking visible rocks to the subsurface body and mapping ancient ice pathways from 20,000 years ago.
The results provide constraints for computer models of Antarctic ice response to future warming.
