Greenland ice sheet acts like ‘churning molten rock,’ scientists find

The scientists in a recent discovery have found the real nature of massive, upward-warping plumes deep within the Greenland ice sheet.

For over a decade, the mysterious nature and origin of plumes have puzzled the researchers.

New research study suggests that these are not just random distortions. In fact, they are caused by thermal convection, mirroring the same process that moves molten rock within Earth’s mantle.

This heat warms the bottom of the ice, making it soft enough to rise in columns (convection), even though the ice remains solid.

According to glaciologist Robert Law of the University of Bergen in Norway, “Finding that thermal convection can happen within an ice sheet goes slightly against our intuition and expectations. Ice is at least a million times softer than the Earth's mantle, though, so the physics just works out.”

“It's like an exciting freak of nature,” Law added.

As per findings published in The Cryosphere, the energy driving this movement comes from Earth’s natural geothermal heat caused by the radioactive decay and residual heat from the planet’s formation.

In 2014, the scientists found these puzzling structures buried deep in the northern Greenland ice sheet. Since then, they have been trying to solve the puzzle.

"We typically think of ice as a solid material, 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," climatologist Andreas Born of the University of Bergen said.

The discovery will help the researchers to better understand hidden internal processes and to predict how Greenland will contribute to rising sea levels in future.