So, does this mean that the “health” of the Greenland ice sheet is in danger because of geothermal activity ? Does this mean that lava and CO2 are conspiring together to destroy mankind ? Is it worse than we thought ?
It’s always worse than we thought !
Unless we don’t think about it. Then, it’s not too bad.
It’s always worse than we thought, and much, much later …
Ice-penetrating radar and ice core drilling have shown that large parts of the north-central Greenland ice sheet are melting from below. It has been argued that basal ice melt is due to the anomalously high geothermal flux that has also influenced the development of the longest ice stream in Greenland. Here we estimate the geothermal flux beneath the Greenland ice sheet and identify a 1,200 – km-long and 400 – km-wide geothermal anomaly beneath the thick ice cover.
Nature – Geosciences
Background