Lakes of meltwater can crack Greenland's ice and contribute to faster ice sheet flow

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Researchers captured this first sunset of summer over the Greenland ice sheet on July 22 2007. A meltwater drainage channel lurks below. Credit: Ian Joughin UW
Researchers captured this first sunset of summer over the Greenland ice sheet on July 22, 2007. A meltwater drainage channel lurks below. Credit: Ian Joughin, UW

Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of Washington (UW) have for the first time documented the sudden and complete drainage of a lake of meltwater from the top of the Greenland ice sheet to its base. From those observations, scientists have uncovered a plumbing system for the ice sheet, where meltwater can penetrate thick, cold ice and accelerate some of the large-scale summer movements of the ice sheet.


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