Thanks to this nearly Manhattan-size gap in the ice, the entire glacier along with the surrounding ice sheet will likely disappear much more quickly. Rare 'Dragon-Skin' Ice Spotted During Antarctic Research Voyage By Kacey Deamer published May 10, 2017 Dragon skin occurs when strong winds continually lift surface ice, subsequently freezing. Researchers discovered swarms of shrimplike amphipods while they were exploring an underground Antarctic river. Multiple expeditions in the 19th century managed to reach the Antarctic Peninsula, and in 1911 Roald Amundsens party were the first people to reach the South Pole. It wouldve been nice to have pictures accompanying this article. The geologists used hot-water equipment to drill the borehole. Scientists have found microplasticssmall plastic debris about the size of a sesame seedin freshly fallen snow in Antarctica for the first time. The pterosaurs bones have been known to scientists for nearly three decades, but it has only now been confirmed as its own genus, researchers announced on Tuesday in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. PACKING TIP: Dont leave home without a solar powered battery pack so you can keep your devices connected at all times. I recommend either SafetyWing or World Nomads. At the time, though, he didnt have the resources to excavate the fossil find, but he informed researchers in Argentina about the discovery. Also, meteorites that fall to Antarctica are preserved in ice for a long time. Fossil remains found by a Chilean research team in the Atacama Desert have been determined to belong to a prehistoric pterosaur flying dragon, it was reported. Most models of the Thwaites glacier dont take into account rapid cavern forming, so the entire glacier is likely to be melting much faster than our predictions estimate. The data comes from NASAs Operation IceBridge, a program that flies radar-equipped planes over the poles to map out glaciers and ice sheets in three dimensions. The fossil was found in a quarry just northwest of Richmond in June 2011 by Len . The animal would have weighed as much as 15 tons, and it is now one of the most complete ancient reptile fossils ever discovered in Antarctica. "After a week, you get one tray of ice cubes. These animals can sniff it out. The massive explosion caused pressure waves that rang Earth's atmosphere like a bell, and sensors the researchers had placed on the ice's surface recorded similar pressure waves moving through the underground chamber. Tom Metcalfe writes about science and space for NBC News. Heres the science, Related: See the Mystery and Beauty of Fossils. Lol. I love these critters. A never-before-seen ecosystem lurks in an underground river deep below the icy surface in Antarctica. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. When does spring start? .css-3wjtm9{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#1c6a65;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-3wjtm9:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}None of these are doing well, but one of themthe Thwaites Glacier in West Antarcticais rapidly crumbling. The MrMBB333 host told viewers: "What youre about to see here is intact, very large skeletal remains. Small mobile animals such as shrimp and crustaceans called sea fleas have been seen before beneath ice shelves, but no one expected to see stationary animals like these. Theres some weird stuff in Antarctica. The bloblike protrusions seen in the right of the video are clearly a type of sponge, while the stalked creatures on the left are similar to some other sponges found near the Antarctic, he said. Discovered in 2010 in Montanas famed Hell Creek Formation of the late Cretaceous, the 40-foot-long fossil took four years to excavate and prepare., The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? As for those sea spiders I may dig em, having seen some cool-looking spiders from the tropics. The team's research has more important ends in mind, but the images of dragon ice are a reminder that there is beauty to be found even in the harshest regions on the planet. But it wouldnt be AS exciting if they didnt also discover massive dinosaur bones, such as from the mosasaurus. But there is so much more. It could be a lot of different things. The partial skeleton that defines Cryodrakon was dug up from Canadas Dinosaur Provincial Park in 1992. At current prices, a metallic mineral deposit found in Antarctica . The finding waspublished Mondayin Frontiers in Marine Science. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Now, this enormous species of giant pterosaur part of a group known as azhdarchids finally has a name: Cryodrakon boreas, drawing from the ancient Greek words that translate to "cold dragon of the north winds." There are some people out there that would do anything to get their hands on some good scotch that's over a hundred years old. The red of our blood is caused by hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout our body. At the coordinates 66 36 14 S 99 43 40 E the strange shape is clearly visible among the rock and snow in the hostile continent. There are not, nor. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. Both animals belong to a group known as the azhdarchid (azh-DAHR-kid) pterosaurs, which were notable for being mostly head and neck. Still, one that has been making the rounds recently is the discovery of supposed pyramids as one of the strange things found in Antarctica, remnants of an ancient civilization.. When it was walking on the ground, as azhdarchids often did, it was more than eight feet tall at the shoulder, roughly the same height as some giraffes. Called " the ugliest creature beneath the waves ," the scotoplanes (scientific name) are what you get when you combine the terror of Cthulhu with the plump, pink and short-legged appearance of a piglet. Vostok Lake of Antarctica is the largest subglacial lake in the world. Especially since you need to zoom in on a dark ocean cavern to spot it. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. If youve seen Jurassic World, its the giant whale-like colossus from the feeding show. Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. The 'Dragon-skin' ice is very rare and has not been spotted in Antarctica since 2007 . Its amazing that in the age of 50+ megapixel quality images we can still have grainy photos that yield Sasquatch or UFO-hunts on the Internet. TheNathan B Palmer icebreaker research vessel is continuing an expedition near the south pole even as winter approaches and most research boats move toward warmer weather. A mans world? The cavern first appeared in 2012 and most of the ice that once occupied it melted in the last three years. While dinosaurs roamed the Earth, marine reptiles in the order Plesiosauria swam in our planet's prehistoric oceans. Come along for the ride! With 170 of its 300-odd bones preserved, this scientifically important but privately owned skeleton is currently at the Museum fr Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. Haha `Deception Island indeed. Such an interesting post, Anita. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. In the icy badlands of Alberta, paleontologists have found a frozen dragon: a new genus of pterosaur that once soared over the heads of dinosaurs with a wingspan that stretched at least 16 feet. Called the ugliest creature beneath the waves, the scotoplanes (scientific name) are what you get when you combine the terror of Cthulhu with the plump, pink and short-legged appearance of a piglet. One. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies/University of Tasmania, IMAS - Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Thwaites holds back a large portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and a handful of nearby glaciers; if Thwaites disappears, we could see an additional eight feet of sea level rise from these sources, on top of the two feet from Thwaites itself. You can see it for yourself at coordinates 63 256.73S 605732.38W on Google Earth. Wine and Cheeseburger: Harley and Lara Pair Falafel with Wine. "The climate is changing, and some key focal points are yet to be understood by science," Steven said. The discovery of the secret shrimp-infested structure had the team "jumping up and down for joy," Stevens added. Satellite photos showed an unusual groove in the ice shelf close to where it met with the land, and researchers identified the peculiar feature as a subsurface river, which they described in a statement (opens in new tab). Three oval shaped motherships about 30 miles in diameter were discovered nearby revealing that the Pre-Adamites were extraterrestrial in origin, and had arrived on Earth about 55,000 years ago. It was then kept secret from every other person in the world by calling it "The Pyramid" and then use that name on every . It's a rare sight, but that's in part because winter inAntarctica is a bitch and there aren't many people hanging around throwing parties. Fossil 'sea monster' found in Antarctica was the heaviest of its kind The 15-ton elasmosaur adds to evidence that a vibrant marine ecosystem existed just before the dinosaur mass extinction. The near-perfect skeleton remains were located in a remote inland area of Antarctica. New Moai statue that 'deified ancestors' found on Easter Island, Lab-grown minibrains will be used as 'biological hardware' to create new biocomputers, scientists propose, Ancient Roman 'spike defenses' made famous by Julius Caesar found in Germany, 'Building blocks of life' recovered from asteroid Ryugu are older than the solar system itself, The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universe, Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with checkout code 'LOVE5', Engaging articles, amazing illustrations & exclusive interviews, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. Scientists have found a tiny animal, Tullbergia, living under rocks in Antarctica's inland mountain peaks, where nothing should survive. We dont have a skull, but we have a lot of pieces of the specimen, OGorman says. Examples of animals that live in Antarctica include the blue whale, fin whale, gentoo penguin, kelp gull, and krill. Blizzard had been tortured beyound belief by the SkyWings. (Find out about a plesiosaur fossil found with a baby preserved in its body.). The video was titled 'Antarctica Melting Ice MAY have revealed ANCIENT skeletal remains fully INTACT! In 2007, the MS Explorer struck an iceberg while cruising off the Antarctic peninsula and sank, causing an oil spill near penguin breeding grounds. The sea spiders rock! She had electric blue eyes, and a chilling aura. The cavern sits where nearly 14 billion tons of ice used to be, all of which melted in the last few years. Heres how it works. By Avery Thompson Published: Jan 31, 2019 Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? The new specimen is also very interesting because it dates so close to the end of the Cretaceousjust 30,000 years before the mass extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. Glad to know that your list of spooky things is as far as it goes (or is it?). More details about the dragon-like creature: The fossil was found in a quarry northwest of Richmond, Queensland, back in June 2011 by Len Shaw, who conducted excavations in the area in search of valuable details. The video has recorded nearly 300,000 views, sparking fierce debate among conspiracy theorists online. These skeletons may have the answer, Scientists are making advancements in birth controlfor men, Blood cleaning? While it is most likely some kind of big whale species, it still has a menacing, creepy air to it. There are still animals out there that can break the rules that we have written for them.. In fact, the further north in latitude you go, the fewer dragonflies . Two key advances offered a way off the Quetzalcoatlus merry-go-round. What comes to your mind when you hear the word iceberg? That cavern is likely filled with air much warmer than the surrounding ice, triggering faster melting of the glacier than would happen otherwise. Tullbergia seems to have persisted in the same place for . Antarctica is ringed with more than half a million square miles of ice shelves the Filchner-Ronne is one of the largest, covering more than 160,000 square miles but boreholes have revealed an area of seafloor beneath them only the size of a tennis court. But to those accustomed to the Hollywood image of an iceberg, seeing striped ones can make one feel a bit uneasy. As a point of comparison, Habib visited Canadas Royal Tyrrell Museum to see the partial pterosaur skeleton dug up in 1992, whose limb bone is among the best preserved in the world. NY 10036. "This changes our current understanding and models of these environments," Stevens said. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. All rights reserved. The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, How cosmic rays helped find a tunnel in Egypt's Great Pyramid, Who first rode horses? The remains of a dinosaur described as the "closest thing we have to a real-life dragon" has been unveiled in . Dec 29, 2021, 6:55 AM PST. Can we bring a species back from the brink? Sometimes the ice freezes into these beautiful ornate patterns reminiscent of dragon scales. Predator as my only frame of reference with Antarctica, and have to remind myself that theres no underground temple housing such scary creatures. And work on the bones unearthed over the past few decades has just begun; now that they are housed in a museum, OGorman says there is a lot of other research that can be done on this ancient specimen. They had expected the seafloor to be mud, but were dismayed when they hit a boulder, which meant they couldnt get the intended sediment samples. Antarctica is also a good place to find meteorites, or rocks that fall from space to Earth. The answer is fiction. For me, as a Canadian who also works on pterosaurs, its pretty cool to get an actual name for an animal thats been kicking around for a while, says paleontologist Liz Martin-Silverstone, a research associate at the University of Bristol who wasnt involved with the study. Follow Kacey on Twitter. "Getting to observe and sample this river was like being the first to enter a hidden world," lead researcher Huw Horgan, a glaciologist at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, told The Guardian (opens in new tab). It was an adventure., Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The seas around Antarctica are rich in marine (sea-living) animals, ranging from microscopic plankton to the largest animal ever to live on Earth, the blue whale. Benedikt von Imhoff. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The continent is rapidly melting, and a large chunk of the snow and ice is held back from the ocean only by an array of glaciers and ice shelves guarding the coasts. Not according to biology or history. When does spring start? According to a study published in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers have discovered a massive living world below Antarctica's icy surface that could be as big as 5 million square. The abdomen is divided into ten segments. The number of meteorites found in Antarctica is equal to the number of meteorites found in the rest of the world combined. H.P. All Rights Reserved. It took decades of struggling with the weather on a small, desolate island off the Antarctic Peninsula. A BONKERS conspiracy theorist claims to have found the skeleton of a "mysterious" creature on Google Earth. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. After drilling out the borehole, the scientists lowered a sediment corer and an attached video camera through the ice shelf. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? With 170 of its 300-odd bones preserved, this scientifically important but privately owned skeleton is currently at the Museum fr Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. The discovery of what appear to be sponges in the pitch-black seawater beneath almost half a mile of ice has biologists baffled. 10:00pm, Feb 16, 2021 Updated: 5:14pm, Feb 16 'Strange creatures' found under Antarctica. How a zoo break-in changed the life of an owl called Flaco, Naked mole rats are fertile until they die, study finds. Bizzard was a young IceWing dragonet, covered in scars. The mysterious skeleton of a creature has been found on Google Maps in Antarctica in footage which has since gone viral. This nearly whole, deep-black skull belongs to the most complete specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex on display in Europe, an individual nicknamed Tristan Otto. The geologists used hot-water equipment to drill the borehole through more than half a mile of the ice shelf, on the southern edge of Antarctica's Weddell Sea. Well, theyre not actually spiders, but a type of primitive marine arthropod. As detailed below the claim that the video shows a real dragon inside . "Were going to have our work cut out understanding what this means. Heres the science.). Most of these magnificent ice giants are either snow-capped and white, or have a clear turquoise color. These skeletons may have the answer, Scientists are making advancements in birth controlfor men, Blood cleaning? Did an ancient species of a dragon found living in Antarctica? Many dragonflies are beautifully colored with greens, reds, yellows and blues. The tail of a 99-million-year-old dinosaur was found entombed in amber in 2016, an unprecedented discovery that has blown away scientists. He then proceeds to analyse the skeleton, before concluding that it could be an ancient dinosaur. A huge skull discovered in China may be a new human species: Dragon Man. In the past 15 years, paleontologists have found more types of azhdarchids in France, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Romania, and elsewhere, giving a much better reference for diversity within this pterosaur group. Rare 'Dragon Skin' Ice Found in Antarctica Is Intensely Beautiful. A Fish Equipped With Antifreeze. Geologists taking sediment cores from the seafloor beneath the giant Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf on the southern edge of Antarcticas Weddell Sea discovered what biologists believe are types of sponge. The secret ecosystem was found more than 1,600 feet below the surface. The arrangement of these pneumatophores can help scientists tell pterosaur species apart. The different colorings can actually be simply explained as frozen meltwater (blue), sediment (black) or algae (green) that were trapped while the iceberg was forming. In the icy badlands of Alberta, paleontologists have found a "frozen dragon": a new genus of pterosaur that once soared over the heads of dinosaurs with a wingspan that stretched at least 16. ", Largest fish nursery discovered beneath Weddell Sea in Antarctica, 'Giant MRI of Antarctica' reveals 'fossil seawater' under ice sheet, Rare wispy ice formations streak across the sea near Antarctica in beautiful satellite image. Not according to biology or history. You can unsubscribe at any time. "It is a reminder about just how connected our whole planet is. And when Habib, Hone, and Royal Tyrrell Museum paleontologist Franois Therrien compared the holes in the Canadian pterosaurs neck vertebrae against those for all other known azhdarchids, they found that its arrangement is unique. Antarctica is still a relatively unexplored area on our planet. "Having all those animals swimming around our camera means theres clearly an important ecosystem process happening there," Craig Stevens, a physical oceanographer at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Auckland, New Zealand, said in the statement. Enjoyed the post, a fascinating take on the place. Here's how to watch. Researchers needed a more complete specimen, and as it happened, William Zinsmeister of Purdue University had discovered a potential candidate on Seymour Islandjust south of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsuladuring a 1989 expedition. The wall stops everything from falling over the edge of the Earth. The only things you would expect to find are things that can wander around and find food, he said. NASA warns of 3 skyscraper-sized asteroids headed toward Earth this week. The way it flies - it's like it's hovering in mid-air, just like a dragon. PRO TIP: My go-to camera for all my travels is the Sony A7iii I highly recommend it! Schulp has worked on some plesiosaurs from the Netherlands, but he says the aquatic reptiles are very different in the Southern Hemisphere. All 154 people on board survived after being rescued by nearby vessels. The cavern is visible as the growing red blob in the center of the image. But to their surprise, the camera showed colonies of stationary animals attached to the rock probably sponges and related sea creatures. And for his part, OGorman seems thrilled with the whole experience: It was quite cold, and quite cool, too. You get some strange things found in icebergs these days, and what better way to end a Halloween-themed article about Antarctica than with some classic skeletons? This site contains affiliate links for products and services we recommend. Heres why each season begins twice. For 40 years, paleontologist Wann Langston worked off-and-on to complete the descriptionbut then he died in 2013, leaving the work unfinished. Maybe one day you can work, and the next day you cannot because you have a snowstorm, OGorman says. The attribution of "Rainbow Serpent" stems from the belief that rainbows appear when they move from one river or waterhole to occupy another. New York, After sending the camera down into the river, the team was surprised to learn that the cavern looked drastically different from what they had predicted. Even more worrying to scientists beyond the cavern's existing is how quickly it appeared. A new study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology describes a new pterosaur called Cryodrakon boreas, "frozen dragon of the north winds." Maybe not a spooky as the rest of the creepy facts about Antarctica on this list. The bones bear scratches and an embedded tooth that appear to be from a scavenger, most likely a relative of Velociraptor. What if we could clean them out? Learn about the anatomical features that made their flight possible, how large some of these creatures grew, and which species was named after a vampire legend. In addition, a small number of researchers have since gotten the chance to see the Quetzalcoatlus fossils up closeincluding Habib, who measured the bones to model how the creature flew. The remains, previously only ever found in North America, were. Antarctic researchers have shared images of the rarely seen scaly ice formation referred to as dragon ice. The shark's scientific name, Dracopristis hoffmanorum, was announced in a press release by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMMNHS) on Thursday. It was a bit of a disappointment to them theyd spent weeks getting there and it didnt work, said marine biologist Huw Griffiths of the British Antarctic Survey, who is the lead author of the published study. A fossil from Antarctica is now the heaviest known animal in this group of prehistoric marine reptiles. These things turned out to be over a ton of fossils on the James Ross Island, ranging from 71 to 67 million years old. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. ", The YouTuber added:"I think this thing was frozen in time. By The Siberian Times reporter . However, the researchers also worry that even hidden ecosystems like this one may be at risk from rapidly warming temperatures caused by climate change. "This could be very, very old, going back to prehistoric Antartica. Beyond spooky really because this beast morphed into any being it killed. According to National Geographic, the fifty-million-year-old sperm cells on the ancient worm's egg case were found in Antarctica. He then zoomed in on the neck vertebra, whose ends are shot through with pneumatophores, the holes through which air sacs once entered the bones interior. It was discovered in 1986 by the South African Speleological Association. New York, Discovered in 2010 in Montanas famed Hell Creek Formation of the late Cretaceous, the 40-foot-long fossil took four years to excavate and prepare. The noisy red and blue part in the bottom corner comes from ice breaking off into the sea. The mysterious skeleton of a creature has been found on Google Maps in Antarctica in footage which has since gone viral. Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun. But its identity remained unclear for decades because of a paleontological paradox: Quetzalcoatlus might be the best-known and worst-known azhdarchid all at once. MrMBB333 has previously posted videos of 'mysterious' Google Maps in Antarctica, including what he alleged was a huge man-made disc emerging from the snow in the region. It takes a little more effort and logistics in the first place, and not just everyone stumbles into those fossils, agrees Anne Schulp, vertebrate paleontologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center who was not involved in the research. .css-v1xtj3{display:block;font-family:FreightSansW01,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:100;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-v1xtj3:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.1387rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-v1xtj3{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}60 Scientists Are Trying to Block the Sun, Particle Accelerator Reveals Beginning of Time, Earth's Inner Core Has Another Inner Core, 8 Questions About Turkey With an Earthquake Expert, Conspiracy: Blaming Weather Weapons for Earthquake, Scientists Just Discovered a Literal Hell, How the NFL Grew the Field for Super Bowl LVII, The Doomsday Clock Is at 90 Seconds to Midnight, Uh, Earth's Inner Core Just Stopped Spinning, Supercomputer: 27% of Earth's Life Dead by 2100, Why Bill Gates Keeps Buying Up So Much Farmland. Their cold habitat has given them some interesting features. The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, How cosmic rays helped find a tunnel in Egypt's Great Pyramid, Who first rode horses? Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. Development of any resources found in Antarc-tica will be expensive. When not at work he can be found watching sci-fi films, playing old Pokemon games or running (probably slower than he'd like). It was discovered by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913. Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. It could be an old dinosaur. As a species, they are present all around the planet, and can be as small as 1 millimeter in size. Well, in 2016 a team of researchers discovered some very interesting things found frozen in Antarctica.