Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains: Exploring Antarctica's hidden mountain range

When you think of Antarctica, you probably picture flat, cold and desolate landscapes, perhaps with the odd penguin here and there. But did you know there are actually rugged and rocky mountain ranges, valleys and hills not only above ground but also hidden one - buried deep below the surface of the icy continent? The ancient Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in the middle of East Antarctica were discovered beneath the highest point of the East Antarctic ice sheet in 1958. A group of explorers discovered them using sound waves to study the Earth's surfaces. But new research has shone a light on how this huge underground mountain range came to exist.
Usually mountain ranges, like the Himalayas and the Andes, rise up due to movement of two tectonic plates in the Earth's crust clashing together. But there are no such plates in the Antarctic, leaving geologists scratching their heads as to how the Gamburtsev Mountains came to exist. However, the new study, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, suggests the hidden mountain chain appeared more than 500 million years ago when the supercontinent Gondwana, which was made up of what is now Africa, South America, Australia, India and Antarctica, was formed.
Usually, as with the European Alps and other mountain ranges, the geography changes because they become worn down by erosion or re reshaped by later events. But because they have been 'hidden' by a deep layer of ice, the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains are one of the best-preserved ancient mountain belts on Earth.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

King Charles pays tribute to 'resilience' of antarctic research scientists

The king has recorded a personal message for Antarctic researchers as the southern hemisphere marks the shortest day of the year. While the UK enjoys its longest day of sunlight on Saturday, British scientists at the South Pole experience 24 hours of darkness. In a morale-raising message recorded for the BBC World Service's midwinter broadcast, Charles praised the researchers' 'critically important' work as well as their 'resilience and commitment' to their jobs. 'With the sun shying away from your horizon today, I particularly wanted to send my warmest good wishes to all of those serving at British Antarctic research stations this midwinter's say and, above all, to express the greatest admiration for the critically important work you do.' He then went onto talk a little about the researchers' work. The king continued: 'The scientific research that the British Antarctic Survey undertakes, alongside teams from across the world, is today more vital than ever, telling us stories of the past, the present and possible futures. 'Each observation, measurement and calculation you undertake adds to the world's understanding of the Earth's fragile systems and the role humanity plays, as we struggle to live in harmony with nature. 'I very much appreciate the resilience and commitment to duty you all demonstrate so effectively, and which embody the pioneering spirit that has characterised British polar exploration for generations. 'On the 70th anniversary of this midwinter broadcast, I send countless special thoughts for your celebrations today.' It comes a month after the King, a longtime environmental advocate, urged people to help save the planet during a charity fundraiser. He told the crowd: 'Collaboration is far better than conflict.' The monarch said the charity's work comes at a time when efforts are under way to 'develop an even greater ability to manage the human and animal conflict'. Charles said: 'If we're going to rescue this poor planet (from) continuing degradation, and restore some degree of harmony to the proceedings, we must also understand that whatever we take and exploit from nature. 'We need to give something back in return to enable nature to sustain us.' The BBC World Service's midwinter broadcast is part of a day of celebrations for personnel at British Antarctic Survey stations. These personnel are based at at Rothera, Bird Island, and South Georgia, and they join colleagues at other international bases across the continent to mark the day. Alongside the King's message, the programme consists of music requests and messages from home to those at BAS research stations. They traditionally feast, exchange presents, and watch the classic 1982 horror film The Thing, set in the Antarctic. This year midwinter coincides with sweltering weather back on British soil. This means the UK is preparing for thunderstorms which are set to mix with continued high temperatures on Saturday. These temperatures could reach all the way up to 34C in some areas. A yellow thunderstorm weather warning covering all of northern England, from Nottingham up to above Newcastle, will come into force from 3pm and last until 4am on Sunday. The Met Office warned the most intense storms could produce 'frequent lightning, large hail and gusty winds', along with a chance of flooding. Parts of eastern England could also see temperatures peak high enough to eclipse the 32.2C seen on Thursday and become the hottest day of the year so far.

The Guardian

7 hours ago

• The Guardian

Do electric vehicles make people more carsick?

With electric cars skyrocketing in popularity around the world – in 2024, 22% of new car sales worldwide were electric vehicles, compared with 18% in 2023 – a growing body of studies and an increasing number of people have found that they feel more motion sick riding in EVs than in traditional petrol or diesel cars. Anecdotes of feeling sick in the passenger or back seat of electric cars litter social media, as do questions from wary prospective buyers. There is a scientific explanation behind why a person might feel more sick in an EV, though, according to multiple academic studies. 'Greater sickness in EVs can be attributed to a lack of previous experience, as both a driver and as a passenger, where the brain lacks accuracy in estimating the motion forces because it relies on previous experience in other types of cars,' said William Emond, a PhD student researching car sickness at the Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard in France. Though EVs are becoming more popular, combustion cars still dominate. Riders have a longer history with gas cars and so have had more time to adapt to their specific cues. If a person has spent most of their life driving a combustion engine car, their brain anticipates acceleration after the rev of the engine, a warning that they are about to experience a change in speed. In a battery-powered car, the electric motor makes no such noises. In addition to general unfamiliarity, research has found links between specific features common to electric vehicles and motion sickness. One 2024 study concluded that there were strong correlations between motion sickness severity and the seat vibrations of electric vehicles, while a 2020 study found that the lack of engine sound in an EV might be a major contributing factor to increased feelings of carsickness. 'If we are accustomed to traveling in non-EVs, we are used to understanding the car's motion based on signals such as engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, etc. Yet, traveling in an EV for the first time is a new motion environment for the brain, which needs adaptation,' Emond explains. Additionally, the regenerative braking technology used in EVs – where the motor converts the slowing car's kinetic energy into electricity that then is stored in the battery – results in low-frequency deceleration, meaning that the vehicle slows down gradually and steadily, over a relatively longer period, rather than rapidly or in quick pulses. Such low-frequency deceleration tends to be associated with higher levels of motion sickness. A 2024 study suggested the feature acted as one of the main triggers of motion sickness in electric vehicles. The study's authors wrote: 'Our results confirmed that higher levels of RB [regenerative braking] can induce MS [motion sickness].' Motion sickness is thought to be caused by a mismatch between various sensory signals the brain simultaneously receives about the body's movement. Specifically, it happens when the inner ear, which helps control balance, the eyes, and the body send conflicting information to the brain. 'Better knowledge on self-motion allows us to anticipate motion forces, which is crucial for motion sickness. Yet, when the motion forces as estimated or anticipated by the brain differ from what actually is experienced, then the brain interprets this 'neural mismatch' as a situation of conflict,' Emond said. 'If this conflict persists over time, it may surpass a threshold for triggering autonomic reactions of the body such as symptoms apparent to 'motion sickness'.' Being able to anticipate the movement of a vehicle appears to be integral to the experience of motion sickness, which is why people who are driving a car don't tend to experience symptoms. They know what is coming. The interplay between anticipation of motion and actual motion experienced may be why EVs are associated with worse motion sickness, as these vehicles provide fewer clues regarding upcoming movements. 'When discovering a new motion environment, the brain needs to habituate because there is no knowledge of previous experience in such a context. This is, for example, why almost everyone becomes sick in zero-gravity environments,' Emond says. As EV ownership continues to increase, some researchers are already looking into a solution for the cars' specific type of nausea. Several research papers have suggested that motion sickness in autonomous EVs could be treated by using visual signals, such as interactive screens and ambient lighting, or vibrational cues to allow a passenger's brain to anticipate motion changes, alleviating the lurching feeling in the back of an electric taxi.

Medical News Today

8 hours ago

• Medical News Today

Modified DASH diet may reduce blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes

Many people with diabetes also have high blood pressure, as well as unique nutritional study found that reducing sodium intake and following a modified version of the DASH diet helped to decrease blood pressure in participants with type 2 main reason for the observed decrease in blood pressure was the decreased sodium is common for people with diabetes to also experience high blood pressure. A study tested how a modified version of the DASH diet that focused on the nutritional needs of people with type 2 diabetes, combined with minimizing sodium intake, affected blood pressure dietary combination lowered systolic blood pressure among participants by around five points and diastolic blood pressure by around two points compared to the comparison diet with more sodium. This result was mainly from the decreased sodium findings were published in JAMA Internal DASH4D diet for blood pressure management The dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet is a diet for heart health. Study author Scott J. Pilla, MD, MHS, explained to Medical News Today that 'The DASH diet is a healthy diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, and is lower in saturated fat and cholesterol.'However, the study notes that the DASH diet doesn't consider the unique dietary needs of people with type 2 diabetes. So, researchers created the 'Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension for Diabetes (DASH4D) diet,' which is similar to the DASH diet but considers what adults with type 2 diabetes need. For example, this diet was lower in carbohydrates than the typical DASH diet. Researchers tested how this diet, combined with decreased sodium intake, affected participants' blood randomized clinical trial included 102 adults with type 2 diabetes whose systolic blood pressure was between 120 and 159 mmHg. Participants were designated as having type 2 diabetes if they had a hemoglobin A1C of 6.5% or greater, were taking medications for diabetes treatment, or were ineligible to participate in the study for a number of reasons, including having type 1 diabetes, if their A1C was over 9%, or if they were taking weight loss average age of participants was 66 years. About two-thirds of participants used at least two medications to help lower blood pressure, and a little over half used at least two medications to lower blood 4 different dietsResearchers assigned participants to receive four diets in varying orders, each for five weeks. One was a DASH4D diet with low sodium, and another was the DASH4D diet but with higher sodium intake. The other two were comparison diets: one with lower sodium and one with higher sodium, and these diets were similar to the intake of adults with diabetes living in the United States. The participants were provided with the food for their assigned diets, and aside from allowed beverages, they were not supposed to eat food from other sources outside the did not lose weight throughout the study. Researchers measured systolic blood pressure during the last two weeks of each diet intervention. They kept track of adverse events among participants, such as any very high blood pressure self-reported how well they stuck to their assigned diets, but researchers also did a 24-hour urine excretion test during the fourth or fifth weeks to look at sodium, creatinine, and potassium levels, which also was a way to test how well participants were following diet findings showed that the lowering of blood pressure mostly occurred during the first three weeks of participants following a diet. The researchers found that the DASH4D diet with reduced sodium showed a better overall decrease in blood pressure versus the comparison diet that had higher sodium intake. The average difference in systolic blood pressure between these two groups was 4.6 mmHg, and the average difference in diastolic blood pressure was 2.3 mmHg.'The main finding was that a low-sodium DASH4D diet (compared to a higher sodium typical American diet) caused a statistically and clinically significant reduction in blood pressure. Sodium reduction appeared to contribute more strongly to reducing blood pressure than the DASH4D diet.'— Scott J. Pilla, MDJennifer Wong, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and medical director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, also noted that 'Studies like these remind us of the beneficial impact of a heart-healthy diet, especially a low salt diet designed to modify blood pressure.'Study limitations This research only included a small number of participants and focused on a niche subgroup of individuals, limiting generalizability. The majority of participants were Black, which provided important information about this at-risk group. Two-thirds of the participants were women. However, research in other groups may also be dietary interventions for this study each only lasted five weeks, so long-term follow-up may be helpful with further data, such as following the assigned diet and health history, was self-reported by participants, so inaccuracies are adverse events on the DASH4D diet with low sodium were low, more research into the potential risks may be helpful. Researchers also suggest the need for more research in people with a higher level of risk. The amount that blood pressure was lowered by could have been less in this study for many reasons, such as the high number of participants taking diuretics and the number of participants who experienced changes to their blood pressure medications during the acknowledge that they weren't able to detect the separate impact of the DASH4D diet and decreased sodium intake. Another struggle was the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors explain that this 'interrupted participant feeding at several points.' It was also only a single-site also noted that 'More work is needed on how to make healthy, low sodium diets accessible. Following a healthy diet can be challenging and costly, and we would like to design diets that meet the DASH4D nutrient targets that are more affordable and tailored to different cultures.'Researchers note that it may be hard to decrease sodium intake to only 1,500 mg a day, and future research in this area will be helpful. The authors say this research should include 'implementation research in community settings.'Should I follow a DASH4D diet if I have diabetes?The result suggests that the DASH4D eating plan combined with lower sodium intake helps with blood pressure reduction in people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers note that a five mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure can decrease the risk of stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular events. It can also help with kidney noted the following regarding the clinical implications of the study:'Diet change can effectively improve blood pressure in people with diabetes, even those on multiple antihypertensive medications, so clinicians should still focus on diet even in these individuals.''Dietary sodium reduction is an important part of dietary change in people with diabetes to achieve better blood pressure control. Our specific DASH4D diet with lower sodium now has strong evidence for benefiting people with diabetes, so it should be strongly considered as a recommended diet in this population.'— Scott J. Pilla, MDEven though there may be a need for more research, Patrick Kee, MD, PhD, a cardiologist at Vital Heart & Vein, noted the following about the study's results:'The acceptability and adherence to the lower sodium intake (~1500 mg/day) was high among participants, suggesting that with proper guidance and access to prepared meals or education, such dietary targets are feasible in practice. This finding counters a long-standing belief that stringent sodium targets may be unrealistic for patients.'