Deepest point on land found in Antarctica

In East Antarctica, beneath Denman Glacier, BBC records, the deepest point on continental Earth has been found.

This ice-filled canyon reaches below sea level 3.5 km (11,500 ft). The mountains are still lower in the seas alone.

The discovery was highlighted in a new White Continent map showing in unparalleled detail the bedrock structure under the ice sheet.

The characteristics will be crucial to our understanding of how the climate of the polar south can shift.

The lowest bare ground on Earth on the coast of the Dead Sea is only 413 m (1.355 ft) below sea level, by contrast.

For example, the new finding reveals previously unrecognized ridges that will deter melting glaciers from retreating in a warming world; and, instead, a variety of flat, sloping terrains that could speed withdrawals.

At the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the University of California, Irvine, a researcher is presenting his new compilation, called "BedMachine Antarctica." It is also published in the journal Nature Geoscience at the same time.

The map essentially covers all the holes in the continent's airborne surveys.