Every summer near-perpetual sunlight pours down on much of the ice-swaddled island of Greenland. On many parts of the ice sheet, especially at lower elevations, meltwater flows across the surface and collects in deep-blue ponds and lakes, such as the one shown here. Unlike the lakes we swim in, these water bodies can disappear in a wink: a lake that would fill the Superdome in New Orleans more than a dozen times can drain through a crack in the ice in just 90 minutes.

Researchers have fanned out across Greenland to investigate details of how the lakes might affect the ice sheet and sea level in the future. From recent field studies, they know that when the lakes drain suddenly, they can send meltwater down to the bedrock, where it temporarily lubricates the ice sheet's seaward migration, says Sarah Das, a geophysicist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Scientists fear that if the region continues to warm, sudden draining may occur more frequently and over a much broader area of the ice sheet. That could speed the calving of glaciers and contribute to sea-level rise.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ONLINE
For more images by photographer James Balog, see ScientificAmerican.com/aug2012/glacial-lakes

3 Comments

1. 1. krohleder 09:29 AM 8/9/12

   pokerplyer, When you add thermal expansion from deep sea warming the models predict the rise better. Almost 1/3 of the rise is due to thermal expansion.

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2. 2. rowlandw 10:14 PM 8/9/12

   A measurable rise is also attributable to agricultural groundwater extraction in areas such as the US Great Plains.

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3. 3. mggordon 07:50 PM 9/11/12

   Noah, where'd you put your ark?

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