Water Power Cracks Ice Sheet

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04/18/2008

Apr. 18, 2008

Water Power Cracks Ice Sheet

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Scientists studying glaciers in Greenland have found that lakes of water on the surface of a glacier can quickly and completely cut all the way through to the base of the ice. "If there is a crack or defect in the surface that is large enough, and a sufficient reservoir of water to keep that crack filled, it can create a conduit all the way down to the bed of the ice sheet," said Sarah Das, one of the scientists on the project.

Writing in the journal Science, a team of researchers describe a lake of meltwater covering 2.2 square miles containing 11 billion gallons of water draining completely within 24 hours -- a flow rate exceeding that of Niagara Falls. The water from that lake appears to have cut completely through over 3200 feet of ice to the base of the glacier. The researchers are working to understand how events like this one affect the ice itself and its movements. In this segment, Ira talks with Ian Joughin of the University of Washington and Sarah Das of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution about the team's findings, and what it is like to conduct research on the ice.

Produced by Karin Vergoth

Guests

Ian Joughin
Glaciologist, Polar Science Center

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington
Sarah Das
Assistant Scientist, Geology
& Geophysics

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Apr. 18, 2008