Scientists already know that the Greenland ice sheet is melting. But the hidden heat source originating from deep inside the Earth partially responsible for that melting has been a mystery. Now, researchers have pinned down evidence of that heat, revealing yet another force pushing glaciers into the ocean. For more than a decade, researchers have measured temperatures and saltiness in the Young Sound fjord at depths of 650 to 1,100 feet. Fjords are deep, U-shaped valleys connected to the sea and formed by glacial erosion. The region in which the Young Sound fjord is located is filled with hot springs, where water can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit. 

“There is no doubt that the heat from the Earth’s interior affects the movement of the ice, and we expect that a similar heat seepage takes place below a major part of the ice cap in the northeastern corner of Greenland,” Søren Rysgaard, lead author from the bioscience department at Aarhus University said in a statement.

Article by Sydney Pereira on 1/22/18

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