London, April 19 (Reuters): Rivers as big as the Thames in England that may connect sub-glacial lakes have been found deep under the Antarctic ice, scientists said today.

British researchers who discovered the plumbing system that moves water hundreds of miles said it challenges the notion that the lakes under the Antarctic ice evolved independently and could support ancient life.

“Previously, it was thought water moves underneath the ice by very slow seepage,” said Prof. Duncan Wingham of University College London (UCL) who headed the research team.

“But this new data shows that, every so often, the lakes beneath the ice pop off like champagne corks, releasing floods that travel very long distances.” Scientists had plans to drill through the ice to take samples from the lakes.