Antarctic glacier research has come up with a surprising finding: A terrestrial mall has picked the title of "the world's lowest place" • What is its depth and how many meters does it bypass the Dead Sea?

• Denman Glacier in Antarctica. Pick the title in the lowest place in the world? // Photo: IPA

Injury to National Pride? A new discovery as part of the Antarctic glacier study threatens to remove the Dead Sea crown, which has hitherto been considered the lowest place in the world and a few years ago he even contested the title of "Seven Wonders of the World".

It is a continental canyon, located beneath the glacier known as the "Denman" on the Antarctic continent, whose researchers say its lowest point reaches no less than 3.5 miles below sea level. The Dead Sea, as you may recall, is only about 400 meters below sea level.

The startling discovery was presented at the American Geophysical Society's Fall Conference by Dr. Matthew Morlingham, a University of California researcher who has explored the continent for six years using advanced radar surveying tools and surface measurement devices. At the same time, the discovery was published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience.

The Dead Sea. No longer? // Photo by Dudu Greenshpan

The study conducted on the Antarctic continents is of great importance in the wake of the question that has plagued many researchers - how quickly glaciers can slip into the sea in the event of global warming. As part of the study, the surface trajectory is mapped below the glaciers, to see how stable and supportive the ice above them is. .

The imagery made by space and by sonar, micro-wave and special radar resulted in the surprising discovery of the "lowest point in the world", a discovery that scientists did not even expect to find.

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Take height in the lowest place

"When we got to that point under the Denman Glacier the data didn't work out. We used the most up-to-date data and the most advanced field mapping capabilities, and the results didn't make any sense. That's how we got to this deepest point in this mall, "he said excitedly.

Thawing glaciers in Antarctica. Danger to humanity? // Photo: Moshe Shay

An encouraging statistic discovered in the study of the great glaciers of the eastern continent, feeding the Ross Sea. It was feared that in the event of glacial warming they would quickly slide to the sea and raise the level of the oceans on Earth, but tests revealed that the mountain ridge beneath the glaciers was built to hold them and prevent them from surfing. In other words, it is a stable place that can protect the giant glaciers from overflowing and breaking into the sea, thereby reducing the danger posed by their warming.

However, the situation is less favorable in the west of the Antarctic continent, in the area of ​​the Edmonsen Sea, where a giant glacier - larger than the UK - is exposed to the sea with almost no obstacles, which means that a change in weather can create a crack in it and cause it to spill over to the sea, with all the consequences.