Gamburtsev Mountain Range
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The Gamburzew Mountains, also occasionally Gamburtsew Mountains, named after the Soviet geophysicist Grigoriy Aleksandrovich Gamburzew (English: Grigoriy Aleksandrovich Gamburtsev; russ: Григорий Александрович Гамбурцев ), is a completely hidden under the ice of Antarctica, about 300,000 km ² extensive mountain range of about 1200 km in length and with highest elevations of 3400 m. It is below the East Antarctic plateau near its highest point, the Dome Argus, in the middle of East Antarctica.
Research
During the third International Polar Year in 1958, the Antarctic point that is furthest from all coasts and is referred to as the "south pole of inaccessibility ," was the target of a Soviet expedition. Through there, sent into the underground sound waves first indications were discovered on a hidden mountains and this named after the Soviet geophysicist Grigoriy Aleksandrovich Gamburzew.
In January 2009, a team led by geophysicist Michael Studinger from the Lamont - Doherty Earth Observatory in New York City, ( USA), in which Antarctica 's Gamburtsev Province ( AGAP ) project by radar measurements and detection of changes in the magnetic and gravity field of the Earth from board a research aircraft found that the present above this level mountain ice accumulation 800-4000 meters thick. Under this layer of ice a mountain shape with steep peaks, rugged canyons and gentle, filled partly by liquid water lakes valleys could be discovered, in which not a single mountain summit from the ice above it stands out.
Mountain erosion
That one in the investigations rather than a set up by the 35 million years ago for the first time grown in the Antarctic glaciers smooth, rounded hills, a mountain almost alpine character has with sharp peaks and many spikes found which was the erosion escaped obvious, but researchers have so far still no explanation. Perhaps at that time the ice has spread much faster than previously thought. It is clear only that after the formation of a solid ice sheet the landscape including sealed and had been preserved for millions of years.
Mountain building
The Gamburzew Mountains, its origin long time remained a puzzle, arose upon unfolding of parts of older crust 250 million years ago and again 100 million years ago. The folding took place on the edge of a recently discovered grave breach, which extends from East Antarctica to India. Rivers and glaciers then formed the mountains, leaving valleys and gorges. For 34 million years the Gamburzew Mountains are almost entirely covered by ice.
Climate Archive
According to estimates, could under the 4093 meters, the Dome Argus ( Dome A), so that the highest point of the Antarctic ice sheet, about 1.2 million years are old ice. This would find a " Archive" to find that in the past 400,000 years still further than the ice core drilling project of 2004 ended European EPICA. The basis for a hole as another international project have created since the beginning of 2009 a Chinese team in which they built the first part of a new research station and opened on 2 February 2009, the Kunlun station as a container village on stilts. This station is expected to be operated throughout the year in five to ten years ..
Space observation
Since the extreme climate of Dome Argus, with its particularly dry and still mountain air in the polar night offers a clear view into space, will in the future provide the cosmos an unmanned observatory from this position, clear images, which otherwise are so far known only from space telescopes.