Solved the mystery of the disappearing lake in Greenland. Researchers at MIT have solved a decades-long dilemma by discovering how some of the large lakes found on the Greenland ice sheet can drain thousands of liters of water in a matter of hours.
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Disappearing lake in Greenland, the mystery revealed
Solved the mystery of disappearing lake in Greenland. The researchers of the MIT solved a decade-long dilemma by discovering how some of the great lakes found on the Greenland ice sheet can drain thousands of liters of water in just hours.
In 2006 one of Greenland's lakes, the North lake, had disappeared within hours with nearly 12 billion gallons of water draining across an area of 5,6 square kilometers.
In a subsequent study, the researchers verified that this was possible due to giant hydro-fractures that can form directly under the lake basin and stretch to the bed of the ice sheet, causing an actual emptying of the lake starting from the drainage of the water it contains.
The causes of the development of these fractures remained unknown until now. In a study published this week in the journal Nature in fact, scientists reveal that they have discovered that the hydro-fractures are formed due to the movements of the ice cap. They discovered this thanks to GPS technology. These movements in turn are triggered by the thaw.
The results obtained may help scientists better understand how much the ice cap, with its melting, is contributing to sea level rise. The most recent images show that about 13% of Greenland's lakes drain quickly and empty completely within 24 hours.
Satellite images show the state of a lake on a given day and after 24 hours. In such a short space of time, Greenland's lakes can disappear, as he explained Laura Stevens, author of the study and PhD student at MIT. This study surpassed the previous ones thanks to 16 GPS stations available for the control of the lakes, which allowed to unravel the mystery.
Marta Albè
Photo source: whoi.edu
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