New Delhi: Most people use Google Maps to navigate directions. But Google Maps has also become a platform for uncovering mysteries not yet explored by scientists. Internet detectives have repeatedly claimed to find things like Bigfoot sightings and “holes to the centre of the Earth” using the web mapping service.
Recently, someone posted an image of a strange structure on the icy slopes of Antarctica. This is being thought to be a possible “giant secret door”. Google’s satellites captured the mysterious feature and the image was uploaded online. “Massive door in Antarctica?” a Reddit user asked, sharing a screenshot of this “unusual feature” spotted on Google Maps. The Reddit user also shared the coordinates of the location as “69°00’50″S 39°36’22″E” alongside the screenshot.
Secret underground bunker in Antarctica?
Massive door in Antarctica? 3/20/24
byu/realg00n inconspiracy
The image reveals a satellite view of Antarctica’s ice-covered terrain, with some areas of exposed rock. At the centre of the viral photo is a structure that has captured everyone’s attention.
As often happens on social media, the picture quickly went viral, leading to all sorts of wild ideas. Many suggested it could be the entrance to a secret underground bunker. Others got more imaginative, suggesting it might be the remains of a UFO. Some even claimed it could be part of a broken aeroplane gate.
Though the theories shared by Reddit users are creative and entertaining, the reality is much simpler. According to the New York Post, the structure is actually an iceberg.
Bethan Davies, a glaciology professor at the University of Newcastle, explained that “this is an iceberg that became grounded and is now stuck and melting [in place].” She pointed out that there are several other icebergs visible in the surrounding area.
Professor Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, confirmed this. He explained, “This is simply ice flow around a solid subglacial obstacle, influenced also by melting and re-freezing of ice and by katabatic winds.” Siegert added that because the ice in this area is quite thin, the terrain underneath has a strong effect on the way the ice flows.
It’s an interesting pattern, but not unusual or surprising from a glaciological perspective, Siegert added.
