Sudden draining of glacial lakes explained
Wednesday, June 3, 2015 - 13:20
in Earth & Climate
In 2008 scientists documented for the first time how the icy bottoms of lakes atop the Greenland Ice Sheet can crack open suddenly -- draining the lakes completely within hours and sending torrents of water to the base of the ice sheet thousands of feet below. Now they have found a surprising mechanism that triggers the cracks.