A Grand Canyon-sized ditch has been discovered by researchers from the British Antarctic Mission under the ice. Researchers discovered the “Ferrigno” rift, as it was called, using special radars that penetrated under the ice sheet.

Antarctica hosts a system of geological cracks where a new crust is formed, which means that the eastern and western half of the continent are slowly separated.

Researchers say in their study, published in the journal Nature, that the trough passes under the ice layer of high temperature seawater, accelerating melting.

The Ferrigno rift was discovered near the Pine Island Glacier Glacier in western Antarctica, where NASA scientists last year discovered a giant crack.

The ditch, which is 1.5 km deep, 10 km wide and 100 km long, lies beneath the isolated Ferrigno Ice Stream area.

This is the second time a research mission is visiting the remote area.

Ice melting in western Antarctica is estimated to account for 10% of the increase in sea level worldwide.

Indeed, according to scientists, if the ice in western Antarctica and Greenland melts completely, sea levels will rise many meters.

In contrast, eastern Antarctica is so cold that it is predicted that the ice will remain solid for centuries.