Antarctica’s ice sheet is home to hundreds of thousands of meteorites

Meteors hold important clues to find answers to some questions about the universe. A new study has revealed that Antarctica is a place rich in meteorites. It has been found that there may be more than 300,000 meteorites under the ice layer that have not yet been discovered.

Antarctica’s ice sheet is meteor-rich

Using optical, thermal and radar data, Vrije Universiteit Brussel researchers have found the possible locations of meteorite regions in Antarctica, thanks to an artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence has identified 600 potentially meteor-rich regions on the continent, revealing that these regions are likely hosts to more than 300,000 meteorites.

It was understood that some of the 600 regions obtained thanks to artificial intelligence are right next to the research stations on the continent. The researchers found that the AI ​​correctly identified 83% of known meteorite-rich regions in Antarctica.

“We have found some unexplored areas with great potential for finding meteorites. By visiting these sites and using new recovery techniques such as field drone surveys, we are about to enter a new era in Antarctic meteor recovery missions,” said Veronica Tollenaar, co-author of the study.

Although more than 45,000 meteorites have been removed from the continent so far, researchers say they only make up 5%-13% of the meteorites that may be hidden under ice sheets.