A huge flood triggered by the rapid draining of a lake beneath the Greenland ice sheet occurred with such force that it fractured the ice above and burst out across its surface.
A huge flood triggered by the rapid draining of a lake beneath the Greenland ice sheet occurred with such force that it fractured the ice above and burst out across its surface.
This phenomenon, observed for the first time in Greenland and detailed in research published today in the journal Nature Geoscience, sheds new light on the destructive potential of meltwater stored beneath the ice sheet.
It reveals how, under extreme conditions, water flooding underneath the ice can force its way upwards through the ice and escape at the ice sheet surface.
This phenomenon is not considered by numerical models that aim to predict the future evolution of the Greenland ice sheet, and this new work raises questions about whether this type of mechanism deserves greater attention in the future.
Read more at Lancaster University
Photo Credit: Barni1 via Pixabay
