All glaciers are formed in the same way: it is necessary for the air temperature to drop, and when precipitation falls at this temperature, a layer of snow accumulates, which is then compacted into firn. Firn freezes, changes its structure and becomes a thin layer of ice. When the pressure of the layers of ice formed on top increases, it becomes even thinner. The Antarctic Ice Sheet accumulates its layers in a relatively remote part of the planet, so we can count on an untouched data archive.

This is how the ice cap was formed over Antarctica. The formation of the glacier began about 45.5 million years ago. Over the next millennia, a constant current arose around Antarctica, and the climate developed in such a way that the glaciers grew and grew.

All ice sheets of the Earth, including partly the Antarctic sheet, have melted and re-formed many times. This, for example, happened with the Scandinavian ice sheet. The glaciers in the mountains, which became the basis of this powerful glacier, began to grow, and the ocean level at the same time dropped - due to the fact that the water was held by the glaciers. Because of this, the contours of the continents even changed: for example, there was a period when Eurasia was connected with North America - at this time the sea level dropped so much that people could cross the isthmus and get from Eurasia to America.