(VIDEO) Water in Greenland flowed upwards and surprised scientists

(Patria) - Instead of flowing downwards, as expected, water from an underground lake in Greenland flowed upwards, broke through the ice sheet and created a huge crater on the surface. Scientists discovered this rare natural event using satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA.

This is the first known case in Greenland where water from a lake hidden under the ice, under immense pressure, penetrated hundreds of meters of thick ice and erupted to the surface. In just ten days, 90 million cubic meters of water were released from the lake, equivalent to the flow of Niagara Falls over nine hours.

This explosive flood caused serious damage: an 85-meter-deep crater was formed, the ice broke into blocks 25 meters high, and the surface was scarred with deep fissures.

Even greater surprise for scientists was that all this happened in a region where it was believed that the ground beneath the ice was completely frozen, without the presence of liquid water. The discovery shows that internal pressure is sufficient to create cracks and channels through which water can move upwards – something that had not been taken into account in climate models until now.

This event changes the current understanding of the behavior of the Greenland Ice Sheet. It shows that meltwater does not have to flow exclusively downwards, but that under certain conditions it can break through the upper layers of ice. Scientists warn that the ice sheet could be more susceptible to sudden fracturing, movement, and accelerated melting than previously thought – increasing the risk of faster sea-level rise worldwide.