A study published on November 27th 2013 in the Geophysical Research Letter has recently discovered 2 subglacial lakes under the Greenland Ice Sheet. These two lakes are 800 meters beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet. They are also each approximately 8-10 kilometers and are said to have been triple their current size in past years. Subglacial Lakes are highly favorable to influence the movement of ice sheets, having an impact on global sea level change.
This study was conducted at the Scott Polar Research Institute(SPRI) at the University of Cambridge which is located in the United Kingdom. They used airborne radar measurements to reveal the lakes underneath this great ice sheet. The lead author, Dr. Steven Palmer who was formerly of SPRI, and currently at the University of Exeter (which is also in the United Kingdom) said, ""Our results show that subglacial lakes exist in Greenland, and that they form an important part of the ice sheet's plumbing system. Because the way in which water moves beneath ice sheets strongly affects ice flow speeds, improved understanding of these lakes will allow us to predict more accurately how the ice sheet will respond to anticipated future warning.""
These lakes are different than those detected under the Antarctic Ice sheets, hinting that these lakes may have formed in a different manner. the researchers hypothesize that the recently discovered lakes are most likely fed by melting surface water dripping through the cracks in ice. A surface lake settled nearby might also relinquish the subglacial lakes throughout warm summers. This means that these lakes under the Greenland Ice Sheet a part of an open system and are connected to the surface, which is unlike the Antarctic lakes that are usually isolated ecosystems.
website: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127130929.htmpicture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Greenland-ice_sheet_hg.jpg
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