Antarctica’s Unexpected Pace: Earth’s Internal Forces Playing a Crucial Role in its Glacial Formation

Simulating 100 Million Years of Antarctic Uplift

To uncover how the southern landscape evolved, researchers used computational models to reconstruct the surface of East Antarctica across a 100-million-year timeline, according to the study. The simulation results point to slow-moving subterranean phenomena known as mantle waves—a concept recently identified by lead author Thomas Gernon’s team at the University of Southampton.

These mantle waves travel beneath continents after tectonic plates separate. As they passed beneath East Antarctica following the separation from Africa during the Jurassic Period (201–143 million years ago), they lifted a vast plateau topped by the Gamburtsev Mountains. By roughly 45 million years ago, the models show that large parts of the region climbed above the critical two-kilometer elevation threshold required for mountain glaciers to expand and eventually form the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

“We found that our models can realistically capture the evolution of the two-kilometer-high coastal escarpment, elevated plateau and inland mountains, eventually seeding the East Antarctic Ice Sheet,” said Dr. Thea Hincks, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton and co-lead of the study.

Why Antarctica Froze Long Before the Arctic

The new findings help resolve a long-standing mystery regarding why Earth’s two polar regions followed drastically different freezing timelines. While Antarctica became heavily glaciated around 34 million years ago, the Northern Hemisphere did not form large ice sheets until approximately the past five million years, according to the study data.

While falling atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are widely considered a major trigger for glaciation, the earliest Antarctic ice sheets developed while the global climate remained comparatively mild. Prof. Gernon noted that if falling CO2 levels acted alone, the poles would have responded symmetrically. Instead, geological elevation gave Antarctica a significant head start.

How the Gamburtsev Mountains Helped Ice Survive

Topography played a decisive role in determining whether winter snow survived into summer or melted away. Before 50 million years ago, most of the Gamburtsev Mountains sat below 1.5 kilometers. By 34 million years ago, nearly half of the range had surpassed two kilometers in height.

“Topography is fundamentally important for glaciation. Air temperatures can drop by up to 1ºC for every 100 meters of altitude gained,” explained Dr. Guy Paxman, Royal Society University Research Fellow at Durham University and study co-author.

Cooling Feedbacks and Global Implications

Once the ice sheet began expanding, additional climate feedback loops accelerated the cooling process across the continent. According to climate physicist and co-author Dr. Philip Goodwin of the University of Southampton, the expanding ice sheet’s bright surface reflected more sunlight back into space—a mechanism known as the ice-albedo effect.

The research team estimates this ice-albedo feedback reduced global temperatures by roughly 1ºC. Furthermore, as the region cooled, the atmosphere became drier because colder air holds less water vapor, weakening the insulating blanket effect and allowing temperatures to drop further. The findings indicate that Earth’s interior prepares landscapes for glaciation, redefining how scientists view ancient ice ages and future climate tipping points.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the East Antarctic Ice Sheet form?

According to the study, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet began forming approximately 34 million years ago, long before large ice sheets appeared in the Northern Hemisphere.

What caused East Antarctica to rise in elevation?

Computational models indicate that mantle waves—slow-moving disturbances traveling beneath continents after tectonic plates separate—gradually lifted the landmass over a period of more than 100 million years.

Which institutions participated in the research?

The international study was led by the University of Southampton alongside Durham University, the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences and the University of Potsdam in Germany, Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and the University of Florence in Italy.