Scientists have uncovered the mystery behind Greenland's hidden ice plumes.
Deep beneath the ice sheet lie enormous and unusual structures which baffled researchers for many years.
But a new study published in the journal Cryosphere now somewhat revealed the mystery.
It revealed that these plumes likely form through convection, process where heat causes slow movements which is similar to the motion of hot rock in Earth's mantle.
Convection happens when hot materials rises and cool material sinks, creating a cycle.
Scientists found that a similar process may happen in Greenland's ice, suggesting that some parts of the ice sheet are softer than previously thought.
This matters because Greenland's ice, which is over 650,000 square miles, is melting rapidly and understanding its internal behaviour is crucial for predicting how quickly it will continue to melt as the climate warms.
If it all melted, global sea levels could rise by about 24 feet.
Andreas Born, a professor of Earth science at the University of Bergen in Norway, in a statement, noting,“We typically think of ice as a solid material, so the discovery that parts of the Greenland ice sheet actually undergo thermal convection, resembling a boiling pot of pasta, is as wild as it is fascinating."
Scientists said that the discovery could help reduce uncertainties in predicting future ice sheet changes and sea-level rise.
