A colossal, concealed landscape of hills and valleys, shaped by ancient rivers, has been uncovered beneath the Antarctic ice. This remarkable terrain, larger than Belgium, has been preserved for over 34 million years. However, researchers from the UK and the US have cautioned that human-induced global warming may pose a threat to its continued concealment.

Professor Stewart Jamieson, a glaciologist at Durham University and the study's lead author, described this area, spanning 12,000 square miles, as an uncharted landscape, untouched by human eyes. It was once home to trees, forests, and likely even animals, until it was frozen in time by the encroaching ice.

What makes this discovery even more astonishing is that it has been hiding in plain sight all along. No new data was used; the researchers adopted a novel approach, tracing out valleys and ridges over 1.6 miles below the Antarctic ice sheet using existing satellite images of the surface. The researchers also relied on radio-echo sounding data to complement their findings.

Jamieson compared this river-carved landscape, hidden beneath the ice, to looking out of an airplane window and seeing a mountainous region below, akin to Snowdonia in northern Wales. It is challenging to determine the last time this concealed world saw sunlight, but the researchers estimate it to be at least 14 million years ago, with a possibility that it was last exposed over 34 million years ago when Antarctica initially froze over.

The researchers believe that this newly discovered landscape could be at risk due to global warming, as we are moving toward atmospheric conditions akin to those existing between 14 and 34 million years ago. This period was marked by temperatures 3°C to 7°C warmer than today's climate.

Despite the massive size of this concealed landscape, it remains hundreds of kilometers inland from the ice's edge, making any potential exposure a long-term concern. The study offers hope based on past warming events, like the Pliocene period 3 to 4.5 million years ago, which did not lead to the exposure of this landscape.

The research comes on the heels of a recent warning about the accelerated melting of the nearby west Antarctic ice sheet, even if global warming goals are met.