Overview

• A 21 km² meltwater lake has formed on the surface of the 79°N glacier from accumulating summer runoff.
• Scientists recorded seven abrupt lake drainages since 2016, four of which occurred in the past five years, carving channels dozens of meters wide to the glacier bed.
• Distinct triangular fracture fields, first noted in 2019, persist for years and guide meltwater to deep shafts.
• Ice-penetrating radar detected a subglacial reservoir and an uplifted bubble pushing the overlying ice upward.
• Researchers warn these processes signal growing instability in the glacier’s floating tongue, though its capacity to recover remains uncertain.