Find a cannon under the ice of Greenland

2013/09/03 Etxebeste Aduriz, Egoitz - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

A grand canyon hidden under the ice for millions of years is discovered in Greenland. Researchers at Bristol University have used a radar that crosses the ice. In this canyon there was a river of 750 km that ran from the center of Greenland towards the north coast. To the South, the canyon has a depth of 200 meters and increases to 800 meters as it advances. The width is about 10 km in most of the canyon.

According to researchers, this discovery can explain why there are no lakes under the ice of Greenland. In Antarctica there are abundant submarine lakes, such as the well-known Vosto, but in Greenland there are no. One of the causes can be the cannon they have discovered, since melted water can flow into it instead of forming lakes.

In addition, the cannon can have a great influence on the dynamics of the ice sheet. When the ice melts due to climate warming, the water moves under the ice. When this occurs on a flat surface, the ice slips more easily and reaches the sea faster. But this is not because the water drains through the channels of the sickle.

The discovery has been published in the journal Science.