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Rotational-Extension Model Explains Antarctica’s Fan-Shaped Basins

6/12/2026

Summary

Story summary

Scientists propose a rotational-extension model to explain Antarctica’s fan-shaped structural pattern.
The model attributes the ~20° deflection between Nimrod and Byrd glaciers to rotation around a pivot point.
It interprets Aurora and Wilkes Basins as twin basins created by opposite fan-shaped extension around an Euler pole.
Low ice-surface velocities (<10 m yr?¹) lead the authors to discount glacial erosion as the primary driver of the fan-like structures.

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Story summary

Scientists propose a rotational-extension model to explain Antarctica’s fan-shaped structural pattern.
The model attributes the ~20° deflection between Nimrod and Byrd glaciers to rotation around a pivot point.
It interprets Aurora and Wilkes Basins as twin basins created by opposite fan-shaped extension around an Euler pole.
Low ice-surface velocities (<10 m yr?¹) lead the authors to discount glacial erosion as the primary driver of the fan-like structures.