First-ever map documents 33 glacial lakes hidden under the Canadian Arctic
Water hidden beneath Arctic glaciers is moving far more than scientists realized. Now there is a map to prove it. Researchers have identified 37 active subglacial lakes across the Canadian Arctic, including 33 bodies of water that had not been documented before. The lakes sit beneath or partly beneath glaciers. Furthermore, some of them drain or refill so quickly that the ice above them can rise or fall by more than 100 meters in less than a year. The work offers the first decadal inventory of active subglacial lakes in the region. It also adds a new layer to the picture of Arctic ice loss in one of the world’s fastest-changing glacier zones. “Now we can further characterize the way the Arctic environment is changing, which can be an indication of climate change impacts on the region,” said Dr. Wesley Van Wychen, a professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. “Changes in water storage are important in terms of understanding how the speed of glaciers may change. By measuring the draining …
