Lost River of Antarctica That Flowed 44 to 34 Million Years Ago Discovered, Potentially Home to Giant Penguins [Study]

Antarctica is the frozen landscape that we know today, located on Earth's southern hemisphere or the planet's southernmost region, called the geographic or terrestrial South Pole. Being the least-populated continent, Antarctica has been a site of scientific research and the natural habitat of various animals, including albatrosses, seals, penguins, blue whales, marine snails, and the Antarctic krill.

With towering glaciers and vast ice sheets, the southern "white continent" is widely known for its unique and dreamlike icy sceneries. However, Antarctica had not always been an environment with extreme cold temperatures. During the onset of the Eocene Epoch around 56 million years ago, it had a green landscape attached to ancient South America and Australia before it shifted southward and became isolated.

One of the many pieces of evidence showing ancient Antarctica was different from the one we know in modern times has been revealed recently. In a June 2024 study, researchers, including from Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, mentioned the discovery of a lost river in Antarctica that flowed approximately 44 million to 34 million years ago and was potentially home to giant penguins.

Antarctica: Current Situation

In recent years, multiple reports and studies have shown that many of Antarctica's glaciers are melting amid rising global temperatures associated with climate change and global warming. While the icy continent is very remote, it can still impact ecosystems and societies worldwide. This far-reaching repercussion is due to the risk of further sea level rise caused by unprecedented ice melt.

According to the organization Antarctica and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), the "Antarctic ice sheet is shrinking." This is because the recorded ice loss is greater than the amount of new snowfall precipitation, a phenomenon that has been occurring for decades already. Based on surveys of the continent's ice sheet, these natural icy structures are declining at an accelerating rate, the ASOC adds.

Lost River of Antarctica

Long before the arrival of humans, Antarctica was once home to a unique biodiversity and ecosystems due to a milder climate that the continent once had. Scientists believe that a proof of a habitable ancient Antarctica can be determined through unearthing of its prehistoric environments and even fossils, which includes dinosaur fossils discovered by scientists in its central Transantarctic Mountains during the early 90s.

In a study published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday, June 5, researchers revealed their discovery of a lost river of Antarctica, which they described as a massive "transcontinental river system." This ancient river existed in West Antarctica during the Eocene, and the discovery was made possible even with extensive ice coverage that prevented scientific inquiry of the continent's unglaciated greenery.

Evidence laid out by the new research shows that a green Antarctica existed after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago and before the evolution of modern human life. Between 44 million to 34 million years ago, the unnamed Antarctic river system flowed amid a temperature climate, according to one of the study authors Cornelia Spiegel, from the University of Bremen in Germany.