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Antarctica is one of the places on Earth that continues to be a mystery, frequently allowing scientists to unlock new secrets. Known as “The White Continent,” no one lives there permanently, and it’s the fifth largest continent at about 5.5 million square miles in summer.

According to NASA, Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest, windiest, and brightest of the seven continents. It is roughly the size of the United States and Mexico combined and is almost completely covered by a layer of ice. In some places, that ice is nearly three miles thick! The Antarctic ice sheet contains 90 percent of the ice on Earth, and sea levels would rise by more than 200 feet if it all melted.

Scientists recently uncovered a slow-moving river hidden more than 1,600 feet beneath Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf.

The discovery may provide researchers with more information about how Antarctica melts from below and what that means for the future of coastal towns and cities.

“We struck water at the end of the borehole and with the help of our camera, we even discovered a school of lobster-like creatures—400 kilometers from the open ocean,” expedition leader Huw Horgan said.

Only a trickle of freshwater routinely travels under the glacier toward the sea. While it is less water than scientists expected to find, it does not mean the system is stable beneath the glacier.

“We suspect that the water comes from subglacial lakes upstream. These lakes fill and empty in certain cycles. When they empty, a flood of water rushes towards the sea,” Horgan explained. Based on core samples, the researchers estimate that these surges happen every 10 years or so.

The Ross Ice Shelf helps hold back inland ice, which in turn helps keep sea levels stable. When rivers under the ice thin the ice shelf from below, this makes it easier for the ice to enter the ocean and speed up rising sea levels.

Scientists have more expeditions planned and hope to install long-term survey instruments, which means discovering even more of Antarctica’s secrets.

ANTARCTICA FACTS

• Size of Antarctica: 5.5 million square miles

• Thickness of ice: up to 3 miles

• Depth of river under ice: more than 1,600 feet