NASA's bleeding-edge radar has captured a secret Cold War base under Greenland's receding ice sheet

[Alfonso Maruccia]

In context: Greenland hosts the second-largest body of ice in the world. During the Cold War, the US Army wanted to use this glacier to hide a nuclear base that could quickly strike the Soviet Union in the event of a nuclear conflict. The base can still be seen in great detail using NASA's latest penetrating radar technology.

NASA performed a scientific mission earlier this year, surveying Greenland's massive ice sheet to test the limits and capabilities of its Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) technology. The agency didn't expect to "see" anything interesting down there, yet they rediscovered a long-abandoned base built by the US during the Cold War.

The UAVSAR technology is an imaging radar instrument designed to collect measurements of Earth's deformation. In April 2024, NASA deployed the device on a Gulfstream III aircraft flying over Greenland's territory. The US space agency planned to calibrate, validate, and test the device, drawing new maps of the ice sheet's internal layers down to the solid bedrock.

During the test, NASA researchers got an unprecedented view of a former US base known as Camp Century. The secret site hosted a Cold War program known as Project Iceworm, which planned to build 2,500 miles of "underground" tunnels to hide nuclear ballistic missiles. These modified "Iceman" missiles were designed to launch through the ice sheet, striking sensible targets within Soviet Union territory.

The US Army chose Greenland for Project Iceworm because of the country's proximity to Russia. Construction on Camp Century began in 1959 but was abandoned in 1967 because the tunnels faced the constant threat of shifting ice. Before abandoning the project, Washington planned to hide 600 nuclear missiles 100 feet below the icy surface.

NASA rediscovered Camp Century base through changes in the ice. The April 2024 mission helped confirm that the UAVSAR technology can effectively measure Earth's surface. The secret "city under the ice" had previously been surveyed by other airborne missions. However, UAVSAR detected individual structures in the base that had never been seen before.

Greenhouse emissions and global warming are quickly melting Greenland's ice sheet, and scientists estimate that the glacial formation will likely disappear entirely within 10,000 years. Millions of cubic kilometers of water will be lost, and the polluting materials hidden underground at Camp Century could take generations to clean up.

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NASA's bleeding-edge radar has captured a secret Cold War base under Greenland's receding ice sheet

 

[VitalyT]

US MO these days is to lay blame on Russia for everything, to conceal its own incompetence and political agendas. So sick of it.

 

[Vanderlinde]

Hiding 600 nuclear warheads; that's no casual strike - that is complete destruction if launched all together.

 

[scavengerspc]

US MO these days is to lay blame on Russia for everything, to conceal its own incompetence and political agendas. So sick of it.

Blame goes where it belongs. Besides, what is your solution? Hide in the darkest places we can find and cower like frightened rabbits? Most of Europe has that covered.
And, no thanks.

 

[seeprime]

How much has the ice sheet thinned over the base? Was it the thinning that made the discovery easier, or is the new tech so advanced that the ice thickness made no real difference in its doscovery?

 

[scavengerspc]

How much has the ice sheet thinned over the base? Was it the thinning that made the discovery easier, or is the new tech so advanced that the ice thickness made no real difference in its doscovery?

"NASA rediscovered Camp Century base through changes in the ice."

 

[wpontius]

"Millions of cubic kilometers of water will be lost...". Isn't the melting ice supposed to raise Ocean levels and cause catastrophic flooding? We have been told for 20 - 30 years we don't have much time, now it's 10,000 years out that the ice will vanish. Give it up on this Climate Change scam!!

 

[scavengerspc]

"Millions of cubic kilometers of water will be lost...". Isn't the melting ice supposed to raise Ocean levels and cause catastrophic flooding? We have been told for 20 - 30 years we don't have much time, now it's 10,000 years out that the ice will vanish. Give it up on this Climate Change scam!!

Do you really not know how the melting of glaciers could result in lost water?

The "20–30 years" figure has always been when we would start seeing rising ocean levels.
And we have, and currently are.
The 10000-year figure was an estimate of when the glaciers could COMPLETELY disappear.

But I agree on one thing, and that's the scam part.
But it's the deniers that are the scammers, with not a single counter fact or piece of evidence that proves a thing beyond the scammers lack of the ability to think and learn for themselves.

Can't 'See' Sea Level Rise? You're Looking in the Wrong Place - NASA Science

Recently I stayed in a lovely vacation rental at the eastern end of Ocean Isle Beach, a small town on North Carolina’s southern coast not far from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Located on a 5-mile-long (8-kilometer-long) barrier island, the community is separated from the mainland by the...

science.nasa.gov

"Each year, global warming is currently adding about 750 gigatons of water to the ocean – enough to cover my home state of Texas about 1 meter (more than 3 feet) deep".

 

[ZedRM]

US MO these days is to lay blame on Russia for everything, to conceal its own incompetence and political agendas. So sick of it.

Your complaint would be valid if it were at all true. It's not. The Soviets were responsible for many unpleasant things and the remnants of that regime are still making trouble.

 

[ZedRM]

Blame goes where it belongs. Besides, what is your solution? Hide in the darkest places we can find and cower like frightened rabbits? Most of Europe has that covered.
And, no thanks.

Well said!

 

[mbk34]

Hide in the darkest places we can find and cower like frightened rabbits? Most of Europe has that covered.
And, no thanks.

Europe is currently gearing itself into a potential war with Russia. Arms and aid are constantly being sent to Ukraine. Turkey backed rebels have just pushed Russia out of Syria. France has been battling (and losing) a cold war with Russia in Northern Africa. Meanwhile the US seems to think that just giving Russia the territory it's taken is a good plan. This war would of finished ages ago if the US hadn't told Ukraine not to fire missiles into Russia.

 

[Dimitrios]

US MO these days is to lay blame on Russia for everything, to conceal its own incompetence and political agendas. So sick of it.

Correct. This comes to mind.

LP-BHO FOIA 1/20/2022 Havana Syndrome 22-16573-F

 

[ZedRM]

This war would of finished ages ago if the US hadn't told Ukraine not to fire missiles into Russia.

Wrong. The world would be a nuclear wasteland. Putin is a madman completely lacking any and all common sense.

Correct. This comes to mind.

LP-BHO FOIA 1/20/2022 Havana Syndrome 22-16573-F

Are you two deliberately trying to spread disinformation?

 

[seeprime]

"NASA rediscovered Camp Century base through changes in the ice."

I suspect that in 60 years,bradar advancements have been significant.

 

[toooooot]

"Millions of cubic kilometers of water will be lost...". Isn't the melting ice supposed to raise Ocean levels and cause catastrophic flooding? We have been told for 20 - 30 years we don't have much time, now it's 10,000 years out that the ice will vanish. Give it up on this Climate Change scam!!

A rational person should consider negative impact we make on the earth.
I don't say we need to have panic attacks because the oceans will evaporate, but you know,
do the things to care for our only place in the universe fit to live for humanity.
We should: dicreaseco2, recycle our waste, protect nature and so on.
And we must not do it with fanatics who would literally destroy our economy trying to safe the planet, we should do it with other reasonable people.
We can do a lot of good things. But they would take effort time and smart people managing them. Green activists often do more damage than good for this cause. Which is why we need a more practical agency with people set on practical solutions.

 

[scavengerspc]

Europe is currently gearing itself into a potential war with Russia. Arms and aid are constantly being sent to Ukraine. Turkey backed rebels have just pushed Russia out of Syria. France has been battling (and losing) a cold war with Russia in Northern Africa. Meanwhile the US seems to think that just giving Russia the territory it's taken is a good plan. This war would of finished ages ago if the US hadn't told Ukraine not to fire missiles into Russia.

We all know how Europe prepares, and I feel safe saying we are not impressed.
But while I have seen the aid the entire continent has sent to Ukraine, who's overall effectiveness is questionable, they have left the actual dirty work for others, in this case, Turkish rebels, of all things. Send them weapons, and let them use them how they please, and then I could see the point.

As for the US wanting Ukraine to give up land captured by Russia, My opinion is Ukraine's NATO membership would be easier if the dispute ended. And I myself think that is true because then there would be easily identifiable borders with no dispute.

EDIT:
Ok, here is what I am saying:

Zelenskyy says NATO offer for Ukraine-controlled territory could end 'hot stage' of war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says an offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control would end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine.

apnews.com

At their summit in Washington in July, the 32 members declared Ukraine on an “irreversible” path to membership. However, one obstacle to moving forward has been the view that Ukraine’s borders would need to be clearly demarcated before it could join so that there can be no mistaking where the alliance’s pact of mutual defense would come into effect.
“You can’t give an invitation to just one part of a country”

 

[mbk34]

As for the US wanting Ukraine to give up land captured by Russia, My opinion is Ukraine's NATO membership would be easier if the dispute ended. And I myself think that is true because then there would be easily identifiable borders with no dispute.

So we should placate Russia by giving it the territory it's taken?? And you guys are calling Europeans frightened rabbits? Putin has already stated his long term aim is to retake all the territories belonging to the old USSR (that includes 4 NATO countries). He will simply rebuild his forces while undermining NATO alliances then renew his attacks. Allowing Russia to take territory would also indicate to China that the US won't stop them from taking Taiwan.

I believe it's better is to remove the threat completely. Taking out Russia's oil pipelines in winter would halt Russian oil sales for decades. That would stop China and India supporting Russia as they'd no longer get cheap oil. Taking out civilian infrastructure, in the same way that Russia has in Ukraine, would allow Russian citizens to feel the true impact of the war in the same way that Ukrainian citizens are having to.

At the moment Russia is having to import arms from North Korea to keep up. It's having to pay a fortune to people to fight in their "meat attacks". The rubble is rapidly losing value. Now is the time to fight harder, not to embarrass yourself by giving in.

 

[scavengerspc]

So we should placate Russia by giving it the territory it's taken??

No. I mean that I understand why they said that. I don't agree with it and in the article I quoted, which you left out, it seems Zelenskyy might be leaning that way too. And NATO agrees.
But no, Russia needs to be cleared out, and its people given a new chance.
Maybe we can even call the new territory "This is your last chance-a-stan".

And you guys are calling Europeans frightened rabbits?

Yes. Yes I am.

I believe it's better is to remove the threat completely. Taking out Russia's oil pipelines in winter would halt Russian oil sales for decades. That would stop China and India supporting Russia as they'd no longer get cheap oil. Taking out civilian infrastructure, in the same way that Russia has in Ukraine, would allow Russian citizens to feel the true impact of the war in the same way that Ukrainian citizens are having to.

And I agree with all of that. And well put by the way.

 

[Rudyduu]

US MO these days is to lay blame on Russia for everything, to conceal its own incompetence and political agendas. So sick of it.

Who blamed anyone for anything in this article? Why do you feel the need to find anything related to Russia and trying to protect a tyrannical, but somehow so delicate it needs random people on the internet to come to their defense, government?

 

[mbk34]

No. I mean that I understand why they said that. I don't agree with it and in the article I quoted, which you left out, it seems Zelenskyy might be leaning that way too. And NATO agrees.
But no, Russia needs to be cleared out, and its people given a new chance.
Maybe we can even call the new territory "This is your last chance-a-stan".

As I understand it, you can't add a country to NATO if it has border issues. The reason for that is that NATO doesn't want to "inherit" potential wars. Accepting Ukraine in NATO falls firmly into this category. Russia will never be happy with just the Donbas region but will simply rearm and then push further when it can. It's future aims are to take the whole of Ukraine, the Balkan countries and Poland (ie the old USSR). This was stated in a past speech by Putin.

The simple choice is to give Ukraine the means to fight back against Russia or to just give in, give Putin the Donbas and then wait for him to push into the NATO countries around Ukraine. I appreciate Putin keeps talking about nuclear red lines but he's been talking about red lines for years.

I should also mention that Ukraine used to be a nuclear power also but in 1994 it signed an agreement to give up it's nuclear missiles for assurances from Russia, the US and the UK to respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty of it's existing borders. It was called the Budapest memorandum. That seems to of gone out the window.

 

[scavengerspc]

As I understand it, you can't add a country to NATO if it has border issues. The reason for that is that NATO doesn't want to "inherit" potential wars. Accepting Ukraine in NATO falls firmly into this category.

Yep, and like I said, I believe that is why the idea of just conceding what Russia took in 2014 is even a discussion. And again, I'm not in agreement, but I can see why it is being considered.
Once we get Ukraine in NATO, a Russian attack is an attack on all NATO nations.
And all NATO nations can join the fight.
And really, that has been one of Puties fears from the start.

 

[John Staerck]

Europe is currently gearing itself into a potential war with Russia. Arms and aid are constantly being sent to Ukraine. Turkey backed rebels have just pushed Russia out of Syria. France has been battling (and losing) a cold war with Russia in Northern Africa. Meanwhile the US seems to think that just giving Russia the territory it's taken is a good plan. This war would of finished ages ago if the US hadn't told Ukraine not to fire missiles into Russia.

Well said.