A huge lake, around 60 miles (100km) long by 6 miles (10km) wide, may be buried beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet.

Evidence of the lake can be seen in a series of grooves, which seem to cut across more than 600 miles (1000km) of Princess Elizabeth Land.

If it exists, scientists say it could harbour unique life forms that may have evolved on their own under ice for millions of years.

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Deep below the thick ice that covers the Antarctic region, geologists have discovered hints of a subglacial lake and the world's biggest canyon measuring a staggering 621 miles long (1,000km). The previously unknown chasm (marked between the black lines) 'is said to bigger than the UK'

The first hints of the lake were presented at the European Geosciences Union Meeting in Vienna this week.

Researchers say the linear grooves, which were spotted in satellite imagery, may have been created from the outflow from the lake.

The long channels appear o spread for more than 600 miles (1,000km) towards the eastern coast of Antarctica on Princess Elizabeth Land, between Vestfold Hills and the West Ice Shelf.

The estimate the ribbon-shaped subglacial lake covers an area nearly 400 square miles (1000 square kilometers).

This makes it more than 80 times as big as Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

'We've seen these strange, linear channels on the surface, and are inferring these are above massive, 1000-kilometre-long channels, and there's a relatively large subglacial lake there too,' Martin Siegert of Imperial College London told New Scientist.

A huge lake, around 60 miles (100km) long by 6 miles (10km) wide, may be buried beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet. It is believed to be close to the Vostok station (pictured), a Russian Research Station located in Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica

The canyon is located in the white box shown on Princess Elizabeth Land (pictured top). Its general location is marked using the yellow box bottom. The canyon is believed to have been carved by water but it's not known whether the canyon was formed before the ice sheet grew, or if it was created by water flowing after

In size, it is second only to Lake Vostok, the fourth deepest lake on Earth and the largest of Antarctica's subglacial lakes.

But the new lake may be buried much closer to a research station, allowing scientists more opportunity to study its features.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST CANYON The news follows an announcement in January that geologists had discovered the world's biggest canyon measuring 621 miles long. The previously unknown chasm 'is said to bigger than the UK' and around half a mile (1km) deep in places. It is located in Princess Elizabeth Land in Antarctica. The previous record for the longest canyon in the world was achieved in 2013 - also below the ice - but in Greenland. That mega canyon was found to be 750km (460miles) long. The canyon is believed to have been carved by water. It is not known whether the canyon was formed before the ice sheet grew or if it was created by water flowing and eroding beneath the ice. Experts also believe the canyon may be connected to another previously undiscovered, underground feature - a vast subglacial lake that at 482 square miles (1,250 square km) is more than 80 times as big as Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Advertisement

'It's really nice to see some new techniques for revealing the characteristics of the last 'pole of ignorance',' says Christine Dow, of the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center in the US.

'The potential discovery of large canyons and lakes could have a big impact on our understanding of tectonic and hydrological evolution in this part of the ice sheet.'

The news follows an announcement in January that geologists had discovered the world's biggest canyon measuring a staggering 621 miles long (1,000km).

The previously unknown chasm 'is said to bigger than the UK' and around half a mile (1km) deep in places.

The record for the longest canyon in the world was achieved in 2013 - also below the ice - but in Greenland. That mega canyon is a mere 460miles (750km) long.

The Grand Canyon, in Arizona, while of a similar depth, at 277 miles (445km) long is also dwarfed in comparison.

This involves sending radio waves through the ice to map the rock contours below.

Because very few measurements of the thickness of the ice have been carried out in this area, it has been dubbed by scientists one of Antarctica's 'two poles of ignorance'.

The canyon is believed to have been carved by water.

It is not known whether the canyon was formed before the ice sheet grew or if it was created by water flowing and eroding beneath the ice.

Experts also believe the canyon may be connected the vast subglacial lake.

Canyons above land are typically formed by rivers over the course of millions of years.

These waterways gradually eroded the rock walls and carried the pieces downstream.

For example, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is believed to have been carved out by the Colorado River.

A team led by British scientists said that the discovery shows how we know less about parts of the Earth than we do of the surface of Mars.

The as-yet unnamed canyon was discovered by examination of satellite imagery. Radio echo-sounding was carried out on sections the canyon. This involves sending radio waves through the ice to map the rock contours below. The canyons beneath the sheet are highlighted using the black lines

Experts also believe the canyon may be connected to another previously undiscovered, underground feature - a vast subglacial lake that at 482 square miles (1,250 square km) is more than 80 times as big as Lake Windermere in the Lake District. An illustration showing the spread of the ice sheet is pictured

WHAT IS RADIO-ECHO SOUNDING? Radio-echo sounding (RES) is also known as radioglaciology and is the study of glaciers and ice sheets using radar. It is sometimes referred to as 'ice-penetrating radar' and uses a similar method to ground-penetrating radar (GPR). GPR uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of frequencies on the radio spectrum, and detects the signals from structures found beneath the surface. The type of signals vary depending on their source. For example, rocks had a different signature to soil, ice and water. The application of radio-echo sounding to measure the thickness of glacial and sheet ice has been used since the early 1960s. Advertisement

Lead researcher, Dr Stewart Jamieson, from the Department of Geography at Durham University in the UK, said: 'Our analysis provides the first evidence that a huge canyon and a possible lake are present beneath the ice in Princess Elizabeth Land.

'It's astonishing to think that such large features could have avoided detection for so long.

'This is a region of the Earth that is bigger than the UK and yet we still know little about what lies beneath the ice.

'In fact, the bed of Antarctica is less well known than the surface of Mars. If we can gain better knowledge of the buried landscape we will be better equipped to understand how the ice sheet responds to changes in climate.'

Radio-echo sounding (RES) is also known as radioglaciology and is the study of glaciers and ice sheets using radar.

It is sometimes referred to as 'ice-penetrating radar' and uses a similar method to ground-penetrating radar (GPR).

GPR uses uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of frequencies on the radio spectrum, and detects the signals from structures found beneath the surface.

This graphic shows where Princess Elizabeth Land is in relation to the South Pole, in East Antarctica. It also shows the boundaries of where researchers believe the canyons lie, as well as the sub glacial lake

The type of signals vary depending on their source. For example, rocks had a different signature to soil, ice and water.

The application of radio-echo sounding to measure the thickness of glacial and sheet ice has been used since the early 1960s.

Co-Author Dr Neil Ross from Newcastle University, said: 'Antarctic scientists have long recognised that because the way ice flows, the landscape beneath the ice sheet was subtly reflected in the topography of the ice sheet surface.

'Despite this, these vast deep canyons and potential large lake had been overlooked entirely.

Professor Martin Siegert, from the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, UK, said further research to confirm the discovery is underway and the team hopes to announce further findings at a conference at Imperial College later this year.

The British researchers formed part of a research team including the University of Texas at Austin, University of Western Australia, University of Tasmania in Australia, and the Polar Research Institute of China.