Original subtitles

Narrator: they're watching you.

More than 4,000 satellites Circle the earth.

Every day, they uncover new, Mysterious phenomena.

Some defy explanation.

Kourounis: bam. This sticks out Like a sore thumb.

It must be something Very big or very bad.

Narrator: something lurks in The waters off new zealand.

If it's some kind Of sea monster,

I sure as heck don't want To own a villa here.

Narrator: An altered image conceals A deadly secret.

Why would someone tamper With this image?

What are they hiding?

Narrator: mysterious spirals Scar the peruvian desert.

Horton: could be some way of Going down to an underworld.

Narrator: baffling phenomena, Mysteries from space --

What on earth are they?

[ camera shutter snaps ]

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

May 2014.

An undeclared war Rages in the ukraine.

The conflict attracts The attention of military

And civilian satellite image Analysts all over the world.

One unusual picture Arouses fears of a deadly threat

In the country's vast, Dark forests.

It looks like some Kind of badly drawn,

Neolithic chalk carving.

What I see is a large area That is whited out.

But I'm not sure as to Exactly what it is.

Narrator: The image comes from an area Of central ukraine

Near the border with belarus.

The white shape Looks artificial,

But it's in a patch Of isolated forest.

The closest buildings Belong to a ghost town

Devoid of human life.

This is one of the most Contaminated place on earth.

In 1986, this area was Close to the site

Of a devastating Nuclear accident

When the chernobyl Atomic power plant exploded.

man: the most feared condition in the field of nuclear energy

has finally happened.

There was an explosion Followed by this nuclear fire

Burning for 10 days.

Narrator: many chernobyl Cleanup personnel,

Known locally as "The liquidators,"

Died from radiation poisoning.

Nearby towns were evacuated To escape the radioactive gasses

Spreading across europe In poisoned wind.

The radiation poisoning After an atomic blast

Or nuclear bomb

Is very similar to The radiation poisoning

From a nuclear meltdown Like at chernobyl.

Narrator: nuclear investigator Tim mousseau considers

The theory that the white patch In the forest

Could be the result Of radioactive fallout.

The fallout was really patchy.

And so you actually See this quiltwork

Of radioactivity Throughout the area.

Porges: Trees near chernobyl actually Turned red and then died off.

Maybe that's what's Happened here.

Mousseau: there were So many dead trees,

And many of them Were so radioactive

That they ended up Taking some of these trees

And burying them Under the ground.

Narrator: but there's a problem With the theory --

The color of the ground.

Radiation poisoning Doesn't explain to me

Why the area's turned white.

It would be very unlikely That you would see a patch

That looked like This particular image.

This was done With precision and order.

The lines are Perfectly straight.

Narrator: expanses of brilliant White ground seen from space

Can be telltale signs

Of large-scale Mining operations.

One of the most commonly mined White materials is phosphate.

White phosphate mines Do create this white,

Reflective, metallic sheer,

And in fact, There have been white

Phosphate mines in ukraine.

Narrator: phosphorus is A key ingredient

In advanced fire weaponry.

The ukrainian military Has been accused of using it

Against russian separatists In 2014.

But examination Of the wider area

Beyond the white mark

Suggests that mining Is not the answer.

When you look more closely At the image, you realize

That there's actually No mining infrastructure.

Porges: if it was a mine, You'd see mining trucks

And other mining machinery, But we're not seeing that here,

So what else could it be?

Narrator: close examination Of the white areas of the image

Shows signs the photo Has been tampered with.

There's a blotchy Sort of white pattern,

As if someone has taken White paint and dabbed it.

Driscoll: you really cannot see In any detail,

No matter how far You zoom in or out,

What it possibly is.

Porges: why would someone Tamper with this image?

What are they hiding?

Narrator: high-definition Satellite images

Are now so widely available,

They can pose a threat To national security.

The security services Of many countries

Respond to the threat

With a process Known as redaction.

Images of sensitive locations Are modified before

They're uploaded To online mapping sites.

The white blotches Might be evidence

That the ukrainian government Has something to hide.

All governments Regularly do this.

They will take The original satellite data

And they will alter it.

It keeps enemies From being able

To specify points of interest.

Narrator: Intelligence sources suggest

That many redacted Satellite images

Conceal military Installations.

Driscoll: this looks just like A lot of the redaction

That's done over Any military facility.

Narrator: The situation on the ground In ukraine is highly volatile.

Russian-backed separatists Have annexed crimea.

Keeping military installations From enemy view

Makes strategic sense.

Kourounis: Clandestine military bases Are often seen tucked away

In remote parts of forests.

Narrator: analysts scour The rest of the image

For possible signs Of military activity

But find none.

Pavelec: there don't seem to be Enough roads or rail lines

Or even an airfield For it to be

A substantial military base.

Narrator: research into Historical image archives

Produces an unredacted photo Of the same area.

The older photograph reveals

What is hiding beneath The white blotches.

It's a massive parking lot, But why is it there?

You see choppers and trucks Parked in the clearing.

What could be So special about them

That somebody wanted them Scrubbed from the image?

Narrator: the deserted roadways Of chernobyl

And the nearby town of pripyat Offer a clue.

Kourounis: it's like A post-apocalyptic scene

From a video game.

The buildings are in place.

The school is in place.

The amusement park Is in place,

But there's no cars, No trucks, no buses.

They've all been removed.

The soviet government Knew that they had thousands

And thousands Of irradiated vehicles,

And the last thing That they wanted

Was people taking These contaminated cars

And trucks and driving them All over the soviet union.

They were simply parked In the middle of the forest

And a big fence Put around it

And "Keep out" signs put up.

Narrator: The white blotches mask The deadliest parking lot

On the planet, Where over a thousand

Irradiated vehicles Have been left to rot.

The metals themselves Can't be washed off.

These will be very dangerous For thousands of years to come.

Narrator: The lethal threat posed By the radioactive vehicles

Is supposed to be contained, But security is lax,

And potentially deadly Radioactivity

Is spreading beyond The containment area.

People scavenge these vehicles For metal or parts

Or whatever to be able To sell them

On the black market Or to recyclers.

Driscoll: people were coming in And stripping off car parts

And selling them off.

That would be disastrous To the ukrainian economy.

It'd be disastrous To their environment.

Narrator: it's likely The ukrainian government

Redacted the image To conceal the location

Of the contaminated metal from Other would-be scavengers.

Driscoll: I believe in the redaction Of satellite imagery.

You know, I don't believe It to be censorship.

When you want to protect Your critical infrastructure

And blur it out, I'm all for it.

Narrator: The worldview-2 satellite Passes over arizona.

It picks up a strange Pattern of spots

Leading towards The grand canyon national park.

Porges: it looks like the ground Has some sort of infection

Like chicken pox.

These spots Really are bizarre.

What in the world could cause The earth to get spots?

Narrator: february 2016.

Flying 500 miles over arizona,

The worldview-2 satellite Captures

What appears to be An infected landscape.

What in the world could cause The earth to get spots?

Narrator: the regular spacing Of the pockmarks

Suggests they could be The result of human activity.

This wild part of arizona Has a long history of bandits,

Outlaws, and buried treasure.

Porges: This is the old wild west.

There are so many stories Of bandits burying their loot.

Has someone been out Looking for buried treasure?

Narrator: in arizona, One notorious outlaw

Was famous for burying his loot Out in the desert.

His name was roy gardner.

Trimble: roy gardner was A very famous guy at the time.

They called him the houdini Of train-robbers, I guess.

And they were calling him "The smiling bandit."

I'd put roy in the same category As butch cassidy as a robber.

Narrator: Gardner terrorized the railroads And stagecoaches of the west

For more than a decade, Amassing a vast fortune,

Much of it never recovered.

Trimble: they say he stole About $350,000,

A whole lot more than that In today's dollars,

Maybe ten times that In today's money.

Maybe more.

Narrator: after one of His biggest heists,

The secret of where roy stashed His treasure leaked out.

Trimble: in the san diego Mail truck robbery,

He stole a lot of money, $80,000.

They caught him while he was Trying to bury the treasure.

I would think he had Several stashes,

So I would say some of them Are still there.

And people are Still looking for it.

Narrator: the circles cover A six-mile stretch.

It would need thousands Of treasure hunters

To create something On this scale.

If they are man-made, Somebody else created them.

For centuries, before this Desert was cowboy country,

It was a native american Hunting ground.

Porges: There's several native american Tribes based near here.

Could these be old traps?

Gough: many indian tribes Used pits for hunting.

It's a great way To catch large animals

Such as deer and bison.

Narrator: But the dense concentration Of the marks

And the sheer scale Of the phenomenon

Makes the hunting pit Theory unlikely.

So what else could cause Vegetation to look like this?

Narrator: Entomologist kirk anderson

Has seen this kind Of devastation before.

He uses the coordinates From the satellite image

To guide him to areas Of disturbed ground.

Here you can see four In a very regular pattern.

Two, three, One right back here.

This pattern continues.

There are hundreds.

Narrator: anderson believes The strange circles

Could be the work of deadly Marauding ants.

man: here is a wild, headlong flight into terror,

as the desert erupts with a grim battle for survival.

[ screams ]

Narrator: there are no B-movie monsters in arizona,

But while kirk's critters Are smaller,

They're no less deadly.

This is one of the hottest Places on earth.

It's also home to a very Special inhabitant

Known as the pogonomyrmex Harvester ant.

They make these very large Discs around their nests.

Narrator: harvester ants Pack a punch.

Their venom can cause vomiting, Diarrhea, dizziness,

And even coma.

And when it comes to Devouring plant life,

They're merciless.

Scouts will come out.

They will find A good patch.

And then the rest of the ants Will go out into the area

And then fan out And collect seeds,

And eventually, You'll create these discs

That we see all around us

And can be seen From satellite images.

Narrator: The round patches created by The ants on the ground

Appear to match the patterns Seen on the satellite image.

Nelson: harvester ants Mow down the vegetation,

So when you look At them from above,

You basically see Bare patches of dirt

In a circular formation.

Narrator: the formation is So unique to the harvester ant

That scientists are Using satellite imagery

To locate their Nesting colonies.

Anderson: since these pictures Have been available,

Actually been using Satellite images

To find some of the smallest Things on earth.

It's a fantastic thing.

Narrator: passing high over The middle east,

An imaging satellite Spots something strange

Hidden away in the sand dunes Of southern saudi arabia.

Kourounis: That's extremely weird.

Why is there a runway In the middle of the desert?

You look at the images A year before,

And it's just a patch of desert.

There's no sign of an airport Or buildings or anything,

And a year later, boom.

Narrator: january 26, 2014.

A commercial imaging satellite Orbiting over saudi arabia

Captures an image Of what appears to be

A brand-new airport Hidden out in the desert.

If you look at an image From a year before,

There's nothing there.

It's like an airport That's come out of nowhere.

Narrator: stranger still, If this an airport,

Where are all the aircraft?

The image Comes to the attention

Of national security journalist Sara carter.

Carter: There were lots of rumors.

People started to investigate.

the washington post, the new york times,

the london times.

I mean, people wanted to know,

What's going on At this runway?

Narrator: the mysterious complex Has appeared

In one of the most Remote areas on the planet.

This desert is known as The rub' al khali,

The empty quarter.

It's the largest Sand sea in the world.

And I have been there,

And when you trek Through this desert,

It is just nothing.

Narrator: a quarter of a million Square miles of desert

Could hide anything.

But it's possible The isolated airstrip

Could have An innocent explanation.

The desert north of here Contains some of

The most valuable oil and Mineral deposits in the world.

Are we looking at Some kind of mining

Or drilling operation?

If you're operating a big mine Which is very, very remote,

And you need to get Personnel in and out,

You might need to get A specialist's kit in and out,

So it's not unusual To have a small airstrip

Associated with a mine In a desert.

Narrator: but the airstrip In the image

Doesn't seem to be Associated with anything.

Petford: You'd expect to see drilling Rigs and chemical plants

And all the other paraphernalia

Associated with The petrochemicals industry,

And we don't see Any of that whatsoever.

Narrator: No government claims ownership Of the mysterious facility.

Some suspect this site could be A covert operating base.

For nasa.

Kourounis: there are A few places worldwide

That are designated As emergency landing places

For the space shuttle.

Is this one of them?

Narrator: Kennedy space center was nasa's Primary shuttle landing site,

But the agency Also had a number of

Emergency runways Around the globe.

Chiao: In the case of an emergency, Like for example

You have a major cabin leak And you have to get down now,

Nasa not only identified Runways worldwide

That could take the shuttle.

It also constructed some Special landing sites

In different parts That could be used

To receive the space shuttle.

Narrator: nasa records reveal That it did have

A shuttle landing strip In saudi arabia,

But at king khalid Airport in riyadh,

Not out in the middle Of the desert.

The proximity of the mysterious Airstrip to the saudi border

With yemen might provide A clue to its purpose.

This border in particular Is significantly important...

Because yemen and saudi arabia

Have had conflict For quite a long time.

Border patrol organizations Use light aircraft,

And then they need Somewhere to land.

Narrator: An online mapping web site Does identify the facility

As a border guards airport.

But something Is not quite right.

Border control airports usually Are even closer to the border.

They're much smaller.

This is big.

There's definitely more To this airport

Than meets the eye.

Narrator: yemen is a focal point

In the international War on terror.

The existence of a covert Airstrip so close to the border

Points to one Unavoidable conclusion.

This is the frontline in The fight against al-qaeda.

Obviously this is some type Of military installation.

We know for a fact The u.S. Has undertaken

Many drone strikes Against targets in yemen.

Where are you going to Launch those from?

How about a base near The border in saudi arabia?

Narrator: unmanned aircraft

Such as predator And reaper drones

Are key weapons In the war on terror.

Carter: drones are used for Targeting enemies.

That means direct kills.

Narrator: buildings Visible in the image

Support the theory the facility Is a secret drone base.

In the satellite images, You can see a trio of hangars

That look very similar To known drone hangars

In other parts of the world.

It's very likely that at Some point in the recent past,

The u.S. Has very quickly And surreptitiously

Built this Stealthy drone base.

Narrator: the u.S. Military Does not officially admit

The existence of a drone base At this location.

The c.I.A. Is never going to Come out and say,

"Oh, this is our drone site."

I mean, no intelligence agency Would say that.

It's ridiculous.

But we all know.

Narrator: new zealand, December 2014.

Engineer pita witehira Browses satellite images

Of oke bay on the coast Of the north island.

Witehira: I was looking for a platform To build a house for my kids.

Narrator: He sees traces of something Vast moving in the water.

Witehira: as I was scanning Across oke bay,

I could see this unusual wake.

Capps: this is an exceptionally Long wake,

Big enough to see from space,

But there's no sign Of what's making it here,

So what is that?

Narrator: New zealand, december 2014.

Engineer pita witehira examines Satellite photographs

Of oke bay on the coast Of the north island.

Witehira: I was looking for a platform To build a house for my kids.

Narrator: His eye is drawn to a bizarre Rippling in the water.

Witehira: I noticed an unusual wake And black mark across the bay

Which had a sharp Right turn in it.

There was also ripples

That were coming from The underwater mark,

And these ripples Had no white foam.

This is a big feature, Visible from space,

But it's not clear What caused it.

Narrator: The satellite picture shows

A remarkably long trail Through the water.

But there's no sign Of whatever made it.

It looks just like a boat Except I don't see a boat.

Whatever made this path Through the water

Seems to be invisible.

Narrator: Investigators consider Whether the strange trail

Could be the traces of an Unusually large sea creature.

Off new zealand, you have A number of large animals.

You can have several Types of sharks

From mako to thresher,

White, hammerheads.

Some of these grow to 10 feet or longer.

You can have marine mammals Like whales or dolphins

That some of them can be Pretty big also.

Here in the bay of islands,

This is probably the most Popular sea area for whales.

It was the hub of the whaling Industry in the 1800s.

Muller-karger: you get a sense That this wake

Is probably several hundred Feet long.

Narrator: Even a large whale or shark

Is unlikely to produce A wake this big,

But a rarely seen phenomenon Could offer an explanation.

These animals Are designed by nature

To leave as little A wake as possible,

But if one of these organisms, Like a shark or a whale,

Poops, you all of A sudden have a wake.

Narrator: image analysis Suggests the creature

Would still need to be 40 feet long to cause this wake.

But sea mammals This size rarely venture

Into these shallow waters.

The likelihood Of an animal,

A large animal like A shark or a whale,

Leaving a wake that You can see from space

Is almost zero.

If it's not a shark And it's not a whale,

Then what is it?

Narrator: The waters of this region

Are known to hold Strange creatures.

Local maori legends Tell of a huge

Reptile-like creature Called the taniwha.

Osborn: the taniwha are known In maori folklore

As being giant sea creatures.

We've got depictions of it As being a scary sea serpent,

As a dragon, and it also has Shape-shifting abilities.

Sometimes it can morph into A shark or even a whale.

Capps: well, if it's some Kind of sea monster,

I sure as heck don't want To own a villa here,

Here, or here.

Witehira: initially, I didn't think it was a taniwha,

But I had to consider that Because of the locals.

If I had discussed it with them,

Some of them would have Thought it was a taniwha.

[ camera shutter snapping ]

Narrator: in 2013, A fearsome rotting corpse

Washed up on The new zealand coast.

Believed by some to be A sea monster,

Half its body was missing.

But it was estimated to be At least 30 feet long.

Now, isn't it A strange coincidence

That this is the same area That's known for the taniwha?

Narrator: closer analysis Of the image

Reveals a previously unseen Object at the tip of the wake.

Could it be a jet ski Or a small boat?

Boats create wakes. Ships create wakes.

Even the wind creates wakes,

So a wake on the surface Of the ocean

Is not an anomaly.

Witehira: the difference is That there's also a dark line

Which is disturbing The water deep down.

There's something underneath That's powering this thing,

And it may be electrical.

Narrator: Pita suspects the image Could've captured traces

Of a hidden underwater vessel.

Witehira: Could tell straight away That the wake

Was quite Distinctively different.

In fact, I even looked In bays all around the world,

Some famous places Up in the u.S.

And around europe and so on.

And there was always A distinctive pattern

That is left by boats.

Narrator: a dark area Visible in the image

Could support his suspicions,

This was something That was powered,

It was deep underwater.

But it had a small amount Protruding above the water.

So I then considered This possibility

That it was a military craft.

Narrator: The new zealand military

Is known to conduct exercises In a nearby cove.

There's a mystery In there still,

Because we still haven't gotten To the bottom of it.

I'd like to know Whether or not there was

Some involvement Of the defense forces

And I'm interested to find out Where this thing came from

And what it was doing In this beautiful little bay.

Narrator: Orbiting above south america, The geoeye-1 satellite

Captures an image of A bizarre row of spirals.

No one knows who created The mysterious holes,

Or why.

These aren't natural shapes.

It creatures more questions Than really answers for us.

I've never seen anything Quite like this before.

Narrator: december 2013.

The geoeye-1 satellite Captures an image

Of a series of 32 weird stone spirals

Cut into the desert floor.

I've never seen anything Quite like this before.

There seems to be two Intersecting lines of them.

They are really remarkable.

I wonder what they are.

Narrator: The spirals are located Close to the town of nazca,

In southern peru.

They appear too large

And too geometrically perfect To be natural,

But when were they built And why?

Satellite archaeologist Mark altaweel

Analyzes the image.

Altaweel: It looks quite ancient.

If you look at each spiral,

You can see that They have been exposed

For many years to the elements.

Narrator: the spirals are close To the famous nazca lines.

This fuels speculation Of a connection

Between the spirals and the Ancient nazca civilization.

They're very close to nazca, Where we have lots of

Great geoglyphs constructed To be seen from the air.

Narrator: the nazca Were headhunters

Known to practice bloodthirsty Rituals of human sacrifice.

Many believe they carved The giant shapes

To commune with sky spirits.

The shape of the spirals Supports the idea

They could serve Some mystical purpose.

Archaeologists often get Really excited about spirals

Because they're seen to have Sort of a cultic significance.

Narrator: further image analysis Provides another possible clue

To the spirals' purpose.

Satellite photographs Reveal the presence

Of an ancient Nazca necropolis

Located less than 20 miles away.

They call this village Of the dead chauchilla.

Potentially, these features Are somehow associated

With this ancient burial area.

Narrator: even today, Many peruvians

Hold to the old beliefs That the spirit

Stays with the body After death.

The dead must be treated With respect.

Narrator: in these dry Desert conditions,

The bodies of the warriors And witch doctors

Are preserved for centuries.

Not only does the body survive

And all the clothes That he was wearing,

But all the other bits, Like the hair.

I -- it's spooky.

Narrator: but if the dead Once dwelled in these spirals,

They left no mark Of their passing.

Narrator: there is speculation That the strange spirals

Could be a gateway To another realm.

Could be some way of going Down to an underworld.

Narrator: ancient peoples In this region

Believed in an underworld Called uku pacha,

A world of demons

Who would emerge To taunt the living.

Locals thought the way To access this realm

Was through springs or caves.

Ground-level investigation Reveals that

At the bottom of each spiral Is a hidden water source.

The water is surely the key As to what these things are.

Some archaeologists now believe That the spirals

Could be part of a network Of underground aqueducts

To irrigate The surrounding land.

We're in a very dry Part of the world,

The peruvian desert.

Water is at a premium.

So wherever You can find water,

You need to hang onto it Before you can use it.

Narrator: in one of the driest Deserts in the world,

Moving water through Underground channels

Would have been Life-changing.

Some archaeologists theorize The spiral shapes

Could be evidence of Advanced ancient technology.

Narrator: The latest theory suggests The spiral shapes

Channel wind Down from ground level

To the underground aqueduct.

As it circles round The stone spiral,

It pressurizes the water below

To keep it moving Through the aqueduct.

The series of spiral shapes On the earth's surface

Are in fact Effectively manholes.

They're vertical shafts Allowing access

To the underground channel.

These are the most Extraordinary pieces

Of prehistoric engineering.

Narrator: it's still unclear How the ancient nazcans

Devised and built such a complex System out in the desert,

But then, this is a civilization With many secrets.

We don't know 100 percent,

More evidence needs To be collected,

But I think, Given their morphology,

Their shape, their location,

It's certainly a nice, Plausible idea.

Narrator: to date, the spirals Still divide expert opinion.

Their creation is Shrouded in mystery,

Their unknown creators Long dead.

Orbiting high over The south pole,

The cryosat-2 satellite

Is mapping the surface Of antarctica.

It discovers a gigantic Hole in the ice.

It's as big as some Substantial american towns

Or small cities.

Narrator: Something unknown to science

Is happening to the surface Of the antarctic ice sheet.

This hole is three times

The size of the island Of manhattan,

So what is going on here?

Narrator: july 2013.

The european space agency Cryosat-2 satellite

Uses radar technology to build 3-d maps of antarctica.

It discovers something No one was expecting to see --

A giant hole in the ice.

It's absolutely vast.

Narrator: antarctica is The least-understood continent

On earth.

Huge areas have still Never been visited by humans.

Antarctica is the only place With no indigenous people.

Humans are a alien species On this continent.

Narrator: the extreme isolation Has sparked many theories

About what lies Beneath the ice.

The hole appears east of The ross ice shelf.

It captures the attention Of glaciologist kelly brunt.

Brunt: the depression In the ice sheet's

About three times the size Of the island of manhattan,

So it's a very big hole.

It's about 150 to 200 feet deep.

So we want to know, What is going on here?

Narrator: Scientists attempt to find A natural explanation

For the disturbing phenomenon.

They first consider That warm ocean currents

Could've created the hole By melting the ice from below.

Bamber: antarctica is The coldest place on earth.

But around the edges Is the southern ocean,

And there is relatively Warm water at depth

In parts of The southern ocean.

It's enough to melt ice.

Brunt: so the concept of A thermal ocean current

Is the ocean delivering Warmer water

To the base Of the ice sheets,

And that change could lead To subsurface melt.

Narrator: but there's a problem With this theory --

The giant hole is miles From the ocean.

The curious thing About this hole

That suddenly appeared

Is that it's actually on The continent of antarctica.

It's well away from the ocean,

So we don't think It could be anything to do

With any sort of ocean Interaction at all.

It's on land, basically.

Narrator: vast holes Have appeared without warning

In many other parts Of the world,

Inflicting horrifying damage

When they strike In populated areas.

Most of these sinkholes Have been explained

As the result of Geological activity.

Petford: sinkholes form In limestone rock formations.

In antarctica, There are some kind of rocks

That we've discovered there That could be related

Or could have sinkholes in them.

Sinkholes do exist and we've Seen lots around the world,

But they tend to be just A few hundred feet in size.

This one is very much larger.

Narrator: the scale Of the antarctic hole

Is way bigger than any sinkhole Humanity has ever encountered.

Petford: it's getting on For the size

Of some substantial American towns or cities.

It's absolutely huge.

Highly unlikely That it's a sinkhole.

Narrator: scientists now believe There's something ancient

Lurking beneath the ice That created the hole,

A relic of antarctica's Mysterious past.

The appearance Of the hole itself

Could be evidence of a world Hidden deep beneath the surface.

Petford: in the geological past,

Antarctica actually Had a different climate.

Perhaps 10 or 15 Million years ago,

There was an opportunity For running water

To have existed on the surface.

That water has got Trapped as lakes

A couple of miles sometimes Down beneath the ice sheets,

And those lakes have Been trapped there

For millions of years.

Narrator: these ancient Subterranean bodies of water

Are known as ghost lakes.

Muller-karger: We call these lakes ghost lakes

Because they are invisible To us until

Something happens And they reveal themselves.

Narrator: aerial scans Using ice-penetrating radar

Reveal an anomaly almost a mile And a half beneath the surface

Directly beneath the hole.

It looks exactly Like a ghost lake.

The water's entirely at the base Of the ice sheets.

Narrator: Despite being thousands Of feet beneath the ice,

The water in the lakes Remains liquid

And it can move from One ghost lake to another.

Brunt: these lakes are spread Throughout the continent

And they're interconnected.

As one lake drains,

It could fill another Lake downstream,

And as water in that system,

In a lake, Moves from one place to another,

The ice sheet loses that Pressure that's holding it up

And it tends to drop.

Narrator: It appears that the movement Of the underground water

Caused a slump In the surface ice,

Creating the giant hole.

It is still unknown how far

The underground network Of lakes and rivers extends.

There's even speculation That unknown life forms

May be lurking

In these million-year-old Subterranean seas,

But so far, This is unconfirmed.