🧲 Geoscientists have offered a clearer explanation for the unusually low-gravity region centered near Antarctica—often described as Earth’s strongest “gravity hole” 123. Across the reports, the new work points to deep-Earth processes rather than anything happening at the surface: slow movement of rock in Earth’s interior over tens of millions of years can shift mass around and, in turn, shape the gravity field measured above Antarctica 213.
Sources
- Earth’s Strongest Gravity Hole Sits Beneath Antarctica—And Now We Know How It Got There [scienceblog.com] (2026-02-16)
- Geoscientists Pinpoint Ancient Forces behind Antarctica’s Gravity Hole [sci.news] (2026-02-16)
- Antarctica sits above Earth's strongest 'gravity hole.' Now we know how it got that way - Phys.org [google.com] (2026-02-16)
Highlights
- Who did it: Coverage describes a team of geoscientists from the University of Florida and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris 2.
- What it’s called: Scientists often nickname it a “gravity hole,” but the reports refer to the feature as the Antarctic Geoid Low 213.
- Why it matters: Linking a major gravity/geoid anomaly to mantle-scale dynamics can help researchers use geoid and gravity measurements to study deep-Earth structure and motion 23.