•1 min read•from Oceanography News -- ScienceDaily
A Greenland glacier is cracking open in real time
Our take
Recent observations reveal alarming changes to Greenland's 79°N Glacier, where a meltwater lake, formed in the mid-1990s, has begun draining dramatically through cracks and vertical ice shafts. These sudden releases of water have intensified in recent years, resulting in unusual triangular fracture patterns and flooding the glacier's base within hours. Some drainage events have even caused the ice to rise, akin to a blister forming beneath the glacier.
A meltwater lake that formed in the mid-1990s on Greenland’s 79°N Glacier has been draining in sudden, dramatic bursts through cracks and vertical ice shafts. These events have accelerated in recent years, creating strange triangular fracture patterns and flooding the glacier’s base with water in just hours. Some drainages even pushed the ice upward from below, like a blister forming under the glacier. Scientists now wonder whether the glacier can ever return to its previous seasonal rhythm.
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