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# Two Massive Lakes Under the Greenland Ice Sheet Drained Away in Weeks
by
[Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/)
## Rishi Iyengar
Jan 22, 2015 5:12 AM UTC
Part of the glacial ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of the country is seen on July 17, 2013 on the Glacial Ice Sheet, Greenland.
Part of the glacial ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of the country is seen on July 17, 2013 on the Glacial Ice Sheet, Greenland.Joe Raedle—Getty Images
by
[Rishi Iyengar](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/)
## Rishi Iyengar
Jan 22, 2015 5:12 AM UTC
Two lakes underneath the ice in Greenland that previously held billions of gallons of water were [rapidly drained](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150121135156.htm), probably in a matter of weeks, researchers discovered recently.
Researchers from various universities involved in a comprehensive mapping effort of the Greenland Ice Sheet discovered two craters over a mile wide that used to be sub-glacial lakes, _Science Daily_ reports.
The findings, published separately in scientific journals _The Cryosphere_ and _Nature_, signal an environmental shift that Ohio State earth sciences professor Ian Howat described as “catastrophic.”
**MORE** [These Are the Best Places to See the Northern Lights](http://time.com/3656078/places-see-northern-lights/)
Howat led the team that discovered the first lake, described in _The Cryosphere,_ which previous satellite images showed had been intact for about 40 years and held 6.7 billion gallons of water. However, more recent images indicate it probably dried up sometime in 2011.
The second, even larger lake has reportedly drained and refilled twice in the last two years, indicating a sharp rise in meltwater that is affecting the glacial drainage system. The depletion and refilling of the lakes brings with it a lot of stored heat that researchers say may adversely impact the ice sheet itself.
“The fact that our lake appears to have been stable for at least several decades, and then drained in a matter of weeks — or less — after a few very hot summers, may signal a fundamental change happening in the ice sheet,” said Howat.
\[[_Science Daily_](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150121135156.htm)\]
_Read next:_ [_The Microsoft HoloLens Is Going to Let Scientists Walk Around Mars_](http://time.com/3677905/hololens-mars-nasa-microsoft/?xid=time%5Freadnext)
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### Melting Away: One Photographer's Journey to Preserve the Polar Regions
Evigheds Fjord, Eternity GlacierWestern Greenland, September 2009 Camille Seaman
Iceberg Detail with Kittiwake Gulls Eastern Greenland, August 2006 Camille Seaman
Trapped IcebergEastern Greenland, August 2006 Camille Seaman
Grand Pinnacle Iceberg DetailEastern Greenland, August 2006 Camille Seaman
Breaching IcebergGreenland, August 2008 Camille Seaman
The Kings of South GeorgiaSouth Georgia, March 2010 Camille Seaman
Tabular Iceberg ReflectedCape Adare, Antarctica, December 2006 Camille Seaman
On the EdgeSvalbard, June 2010 Camille Seaman
Sea Ice Remnant Svalbard, July 2008 Camille Seaman
Antarctic Storm Antarctic Peninsula, December 2008 Camille Seaman
Two Massive Lakes Under the Greenland Ice Drained Away in a Few Weeks
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