Scientists have solved a long-standing mystery inside Greenland’s ice sheet. They found that hidden plumes are likely caused by slow, churning motion. This motion is driven by temperature differences.
This discovery suggests the deep ice is softer than expected. It could also improve predictions of future sea-level rise.
Hidden Plumes Beneath the Ice
Far beneath Greenland’s vast ice sheet, scientists found enormous swirling, plume-like formations. These structures have puzzled researchers for over ten years. Now, scientists at the University of Bergen (UiB) believe they have an explanation. They used mathematical models similar to those that study how continents slowly separate.
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Start Your News DetoxNew research suggests these plumes are created by thermal convection. This is a slow, circulating motion. It's driven by temperature differences between deeper and shallower layers of ice. This type of movement is usually seen with the intense heat and flow inside Earth’s mantle.
Andreas Born, a professor at the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research and UiB, commented on the findings. "We typically think of ice as a solid material," he said. "So the discovery that parts of the Greenland ice sheet actually undergo thermal convection, resembling a boiling pot of pasta, is as wild as it is fascinating." Born has studied ice sheets for over 15 years.
Softer Ice, Better Predictions
The idea that ice can behave this way challenges common expectations. However, the underlying physics supports it.
"Finding that thermal convection can happen within an ice sheet goes slightly against our intuition," said glaciologist Robert Law. "Ice is at least a million times softer than the Earth’s mantle, though, so the physics just work out. It’s like an exciting freak of nature." Law is the first author of the study.
The study was published in The Cryosphere. It was chosen as a 'highlight paper' due to its importance.
Born noted that the findings could improve how scientists model the future of ice sheets and rising sea levels. "Our discovery could be key to reducing uncertainties in models of future ice sheet mass balance and sea-level rise," he explained.
The research indicates that ice deep within northern Greenland may be about ten times softer than previously believed. However, this does not automatically mean that melting will accelerate.
"Improving our understanding of ice physics is a really major way to be more certain about the future," Law said. "But on its own, softer ice does not necessarily mean that the ice will melt faster or that sea level rise will be higher. We need further studies to fully isolate that."
Law emphasized that these findings do not signal an impending crisis. Instead, they reveal how complex and dynamic the ice sheet truly is. "The more we learn about the hidden processes inside the ice, the better prepared we’ll be for the changes coming to coastlines around the world," he concluded.
Deep Dive & References
Exploring the conditions conducive to convection within the Greenland Ice Sheet - The Cryosphere, 2026
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Bergen, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the University of Oxford, and ETH Zurich.
