Submarine discovered something amazing in Antarctica – and then vanished without a trace

A robotic research submarine named 'Ran' mapped the underside of an ice shelf in Antarctica, revealing extraordinary structures such as giant staircases and teardrop-shaped cavities. Shortly afterward, during a follow-up mission in early 2024, contact was lost and it remained trapped under hundreds of meters of ice.

A bright orange autonomous robotic submarine named 'Ran' managed to reach a place no vehicle or satellite can see – hundreds of meters beneath a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. During a nearly month-long research expedition, the submarine mapped the underside of the ice and revealed a hidden world: in some areas, giant flat 'staircases' hundreds of meters wide were discovered, formed by slow melting; in other areas, teardrop-shaped cavities averaging 68 meters in width were carved by warm water currents causing melting at a rate of 15 meters per year. Deep cracks were also found, some ancient and others new. The international research team, led by Prof. Anna Wåhlin from Sweden, sought to understand how warm ocean water penetrates beneath glaciers and breaks them apart from within. In early 2024, the researchers returned to Antarctica for additional scans, but the submarine managed to complete only one dive. On the next mission, it failed to reach the rendezvous point, and all contact was lost. An extensive search operation using helicopters, drones, and listening devices found no clue to its fate. It is believed the submarine remains trapped under hundreds of meters of solid ice. The maps and measurements it collected became the most detailed record of that hidden landscape.