Scientists aren't sure how it got there. This isn't the first time it's appeared. The hole is a type of polynya. Polynyas are regions of open water surrounded by sea ice. But the Weddell Polynya ...

A study published in Science Advances reveals a key process that had eluded scientists as to how the opening, called a polynya, was able to form and persist for several weeks. The paper is titled ...

The team, from the University of Southampton, the University of Gothenburg and the University of California San Diego, examined the Maud Rise polynya, named after a submarine mountain-like feature ...