Mega-Canyon Discovered Beneath Greenland Ice Sheet

Thursday, August 29, 2013 - 16:30 in Earth & Climate

And it's on the same scale as parts of the Grand Canyon! A previously unknown canyon has been discovered in Greenland, hidden beneath the ice. It is at least 750 kilometres long. To put that in perspective, imagine a ten kilometre wide gorge, up to 800 metres deep, running from the Southern coast of England and into Scotland. This is on the same scale as parts of the Grand Canyon. Jonathan Bamber, who led the research, was originally mapping Greenland's bedrock, which was previously thought to be relatively flat and smooth. "Unexpectedly, we found an enormous apparent formation," he said. "We looked at it in more detail, and realised it was a canyon." The canyon, which is thought to predate glaciation, has remained hidden beneath two kilometres of ice for more than four million years. It has the characteristics of a meandering river channel, an ancient river system that Bamber thinks hasn't...

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