Trans-Antarctic mountains likely remnants of gigantic high plateau

The 3000 kilometre long Trans-Antarctic Mountains are most likely the remnant edge of a gigantic high plateau that began stretching and thinning out some 105 million years ago, according to a new study by geologists from the Columbia Universitys Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Washington, July 22 : The 3000 kilometre long Trans-Antarctic Mountains are most likely the remnant edge of a gigantic high plateau that began stretching and thinning out some 105 million years ago, according to a new study by geologists from the Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

This also left the peaks curving along the edge of a great plain, they said.

The mountains are a dominant feature of the Antarctic continent, yet up to now scientists have been unable to adequately explain how they formed.

The researchers say the new study revolutionizes thinking about Antarctica's evolution.

While previous studies have discussed ways in which the mountains may have risen; the current study says they were already high long ago, and that the adjacent land sank.

After the mountain chain was isolated, its topography, with summits up to 4.5 kilometres high, was accentuated by erosion caused by glaciers, the scientists wrote in their study.

Several of the researchers undertook extensive fieldwork in Antarctica to collect rock samples and geophysical data that back their ideas.

The study appears in the current issue of Geology, published by the Geological Society of America.

ANI