New research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters details the first subglacial lakes to be identified in Greenland.

 

Two lakes lie about 800 meters below the Greenland Ice Sheet according to researchers at the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) at the University of Cambridge. The area of the two lakes is between 8 and 10 kilometers squared, but at one point the bodies of water may have been up to three times their current size.

 

The discovery of the lakes will help researchers better understand how Greenland's ice sheet will respond to changing environmental conditions, as the subglacial lakes are likely to influence the flow of the ice sheet and impact global sea level change.

 

The structure of the Greenland subglacial lakes is unusual compared to similar lakes detected beneath the Antarctic ice sheets, suggesting that the bodies of water formed in different manners.

 

The researchers suspect that, unlike in Antarctica, where surface temperatures remain below freezing all year, the Greenland lakes are likely fed by melting surface water draining through cracks in the ice overhead. Another theory is that nearby surface lakes may resupply the subglacial lake during warmer months.

 

The researchers suggest that this open, surface-connected structure makes the Greenland lakes different from Antarctic lakes, which are typically isolated ecosystems.

 

While more than 400 subglacial lakes have been detected in Antarctica, these two in Greenland are the first of their kind to be detected, the researchers said in a statement, adding that the relatively steeper ice surface on Greenland has been used to explain a lack of subglacial lakes on the landmass.