East Antarctica uplift explains early glaciation

A new scientific study suggests that geological forces from within the Earth's mantle explain why Antarctica froze millions of years before the Arctic. Researchers propose that slow-moving mantle waves caused the gradual uplift of East Antarctica over a period of approximately 100 million years.

This tectonic movement created high-altitude plateaus and mountain systems, such as the Gamburtsev Mountains, which were high enough to allow snow to persist and eventually form permanent ice sheets. This process occurred even when global temperatures were significantly warmer than they are today.

By using computational models to simulate the evolution of East Antarctica's relief, an international team of scientists determined that by roughly 45 million years ago, large areas had reached a critical height of about two kilometers. This elevation provided the necessary cooling to trigger large-scale glaciation, independent of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.