A new study published in Nature Geoscience reports the first documented case of a subglacial lake draining explosively through Greenland’s ice sheet, blasting a roughly 2 km² area and cutting a 85 m‑deep crater in July-August 2014. The researchers estimate the event released about 90 billion litres of meltwater bursting upward through nearly 85–90 m of ice.
The flood left behind uprooted ice blocks up to 25 m high and reshaped the ice sheet from below.
The findings were possible thanks to research activities performed within the 4D Greenland project, and used satellite data from ESA missions including CryoSat, Sentinel‑1 and Sentinel‑2, along with NASA’s ICESat‑2.
The event observed challenges current models of Greenland’s hydrology which assume meltwater only moves downward and drains slowly.
According to lead researcher Dr Jade Bowling, from Lancaster University, the discovery underscores how little is understood about the behaviour of subglacial lakes beneath Greenland and highlights the need to investigate how their sudden drainage could influence ice sheet stability and melting dynamics.
Read the full story on ESA EO pages.
Bowling, J.S., McMillan, M., Leeson, A.A. et al. Outburst of a subglacial flood from the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Nat. Geosci. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01746-9