European team surveys hidden South Pole

The last major unknown region on Earth has just been surveyed: the South Pole.

Although the Americans have had a base at the bottom of the planet for decades, what lies underneath the thick ice there has been a mystery.

Now, European scientists have flown instruments back and forth across the pole to map its hidden depths.

As well as finding previously unknown valleys and mountains, the team says it has acquired important data that will have uses far from Antarctica.

PolarGAP team-member Fausto Ferraccioli discussed the project with our correspondent Jonathan Amos.