Moving lakes have been discovered under the ice in Antarctica

Data from the NASA ICESat satellite showed significant changes in the height of the ice in West Antarctica, which indicates the movement of large masses of water under the ice sheet, reports Science Alert.

Previously, it was believed that thawed lakes at the bottom of the ice sheet exist separately from each other. Scientists have found out that the lakes form a network, alternately fill up and become shallow before the water goes into the Southern Ocean.

The deformation of the surface due to the constant filling and drainage of subglacial lakes ensures the mobility of the ice cover.

The outlines of 130 of the largest known subglacial lakes in Antarctica have already been documented and mapped. Recently, new potentially active lakes have been discovered, named Lower Conway Subglacial Lake (LSLC) and Lower Mercer Subglacial Lake (LSLM).

Just a few weeks ago, in East Antarctica, a lake disappeared from the surface of a floating ice shelf in a matter of days, apparently moving into an ice reservoir.