Incredible Fossils Found Under a Frozen Army Base

In a recent interview, geologist Paul Bierman discussed his groundbreaking findings regarding Greenland's ice sheet, as detailed in his new book, "When the Ice Is Gone." Bierman revealed that deep within a glacier lie remnants of Camp Century, a U.S. Army project initiated in 1959 during the Cold War. This initiative aimed to create a network of tunnels for potential nuclear missile launches, but it has since provided invaluable ice and sediment samples that shed light on the planet's climatic history. Historically, scientists believed that Greenland's ice sheet had remained stable for approximately 2.6 million years. However, Bierman's research indicates otherwise, suggesting that the ice sheet has experienced significant melting in the past. The samples extracted from beneath Camp Century have been crucial in challenging long-held assumptions about the stability of Greenland's ice. Bierman emphasized the importance of these findings, noting that without the Army's activities in Greenland, such samples might never have been collected. The strategic location of Greenland, being upwind of Europe, necessitated a U.S. presence for weather forecasting, inadvertently leading to discoveries that could reshape our understanding of climate change. As the conversation unfolded, Bierman highlighted the implications of his research for current climate models, suggesting that the historical data from Greenland could inform future predictions about ice melt and global sea-level rise. His work underscores the interconnectedness of military history and environmental science.