Study finds hidden lake network beneath Arctic glaciers as climate change accelerates (www.cbc.ca)
from HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to world@lemmy.world on 11 Apr 14:11
https://sh.itjust.works/post/58354637

Researchers have identified 37 subglacial lakes beneath glaciers in Canada’s Arctic, 35 of them previously unknown, revealing a hidden water system that could help scientists better understand how glaciers move and lose ice.

Scientists say knowing where the lakes are, and how they fill and drain, could improve our understanding of how quickly glaciers are melting and sea levels are rising. The lakes form a complex network of interconnected water bodies flowing beneath the ice, largely hidden until now.

The lakes identified in the new study are mostly small, ranging from 0.3 to 15 square kilometres, and they fill up over the course of multiple years. When they drain, though, it can happen relatively quickly — within a year, sometimes in a few months.

In some cases, the rapid drainage of a subglacial lake caused the glacier’s surface to drop by more than 100 metres in just three to four months, said study co-author Wesley Van Wychen, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo.

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