A Dark River Nearly 1,000 Miles Long May Be Flowing Beneath Greenland's Ice

[Judi Lynn]

By Mindy Weisberger - Senior Writer 2 days ago



The model on the right shows water flow in northern Greenland in the presence of a valley extending under glacial ice.
(Image: © Chambers et al.)

SAN FRANCISCO — Far below the frozen cover of the Greenland ice sheet sprawls miles of bedrock — and extending through that bedrock for close to 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) is a valley that may contain a subterranean river, transporting water from central Greenland to the northern coast.

In the past, planes flying overhead had partially mapped a rocky, subsurface valley under the ice, but their radar coverage of the region left gaps, said Christopher Chambers, a researcher at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan.

To build a clearer picture of what lurks below Greenland's surface, Chambers and his colleagues created simulations to explore the valley at different depths and model how water might melt from the surface of a glacier to the depths below — perhaps creating a flowing river, Chambers told Live Science. He presented their findings on Dec. 9 here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Radar maps showed that the valley floor was extremely level at depths of 980 feet and 1,640 feet (300 meters and 500 meters) below the surface, Chambers said. This is highly unusual for a feature that is so long, "and that in itself is like a potential smoking gun that this could be" a spot with active erosion or sediment deposition, such as a river, he explained.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/hidden-subglacial-river-greenland.html

[Dream Girl]

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You always post such cool, interesting stuff. just saying. 😄

[safeinOhio]

2. Judi is a DU treasure.