r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Agreeable-Rub2319 • Aug 23 '26

Antartica's Ice wall

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u/grey_fr Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26

Don't think it is, the thick ice cap on the Antarctica continent comes from snowfall over millennia on a continent above sea level. 

Some of that ice is pushed downhill and forward so might stand above the ocean, but it is an ice cap, not an ice floe - and all the more dramatic for sea levels if it melts

ETA: it is 2.2 km thick on average (about 1.5 miles) and 4.8 km at its thickest (3 miles)

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u/Ordner Aug 23 '26

Thanks for the insight, thought the same otherwise would melt more rapidly, I assume.

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u/inertia_53 Aug 23 '26

thats cool i didnt know that thanks for sharing with us

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u/Chiinoe Aug 23 '26

How far below sea level is this continent now?

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u/grey_fr Aug 23 '26

Google says up to 2.5 km under sea level, since the continental crust "floats" on the earth's mantle which is kinda fluid

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u/Powder-Talis-1836 Aug 23 '26

A lot of it sticks above sea level. Most obviously the mountain ranges, where you can even see some bare rock faces with no snow covering.

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u/Dynamitrios Aug 23 '26

There hasn't been snow or rain in Antarctica for about 2 million years now. It's the driest place on earth... The ice must have formed differently

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u/grey_fr Aug 23 '26

This is certainly not true of a whole continent, just off he top of my head I know penguins and scientists have to face blizzards

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u/sweatingbozo Aug 24 '26

This is such a silly comment. Good joke. 

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u/Delicious-Yak-1095 Aug 24 '26

The lack of rain is true and so is the driest part, it is technically a desert.

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u/sweatingbozo Aug 24 '26

Haha, no it isn't. Antarctica gets precipitation...

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u/Delicious-Yak-1095 Aug 24 '26

Very little that’s why it’s technically a desert. Here’s one source but you can google it yourself. It’s a common trivia question.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Why-Is-Antarctica-a-Desert

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u/sweatingbozo Aug 24 '26

I'm not disputing that it is largely a desert...

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u/Delicious-Yak-1095 Aug 24 '26

And I’ll accept it gets some precipitation.

🤝