Chinese researchers taking part in the 32nd scientific expedition to the Antartic have confirmed the discovery of a 1,000 kilometer-long canyon beneath the Antarctic.

This discovery plays a major role in Antarctic research seeing as not much is known about what lies underneath the vast ice covered area. It is said that the landscape beneath Antarctica is less well known than the landscape on Mars. 

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On Monday, Xinhua reported that the discovered canyon is bigger than the well known US tourist spot, The Grand Canyon. 

The Antarctic Canyon, which is the first ever of its kind to be found in the region, was found near an Island called Princess Elizabeth and is said to be more than 1,000 kilometers in length which is equivalent to 10,000 football fields and reportedly has a depth of 1,500 meters.

According to Sun Bo, the director of the 32nd Scientific Expedition team, aside from the canyon, two other discoveries were made.

"Aside from what could possibly be the world's largest canyon, we also discovered numerous sub-glacial lakes and water channels, both were also found beneath the Antarctic sheet. All the lakes and bodies of water around the Antarctic area are interconnected. We also concluded that the deep ice temperature of land in the Princess Elizabeth Island is much higher than that in the surrounding areas which explains that the fact that there are more lakes and water systems around the area," Sun said.

It is not known if the surface area of the Canyon found will still increase and the scientists are open to the possibility of discovering even more canyons and lakes underneath the Antarctic ice. 

Tags Antarctic, 32nd Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic, Science