(CNN) A new study shows that the deepest point on land is under the Denman Glacier in East Antarctica. Glaciologists at the University of California, Irvine, were mapping the area only to find that the trough under the glacier went far deeper than they had imagined.

The trough is about 3.5 km (about 2 miles) below sea level but there is no ocean water there. Instead, it is filled with ice flowing from the interior of the ice sheet towards the coast. The trough measures about 100 km in length and is 20 km wide, according to the study.

This new discovery was presented at the American Geophysical Union's Fall Meeting in San Francisco.

Dr. Mathieu Morlighem, an associate professor in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California at Irvine, is leading this project.

"The biggest challenge about the project is that Antarctica is HUGE!" he said, excitedly. "It's bigger than the U.S. and Mexico combined."

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