A team of NASA Scientists have made a surprising discovery during the survey. Greenland Ice Sheet in April 2024. During their attempt to map the ice, they stumble upon something completely unexpected—Camp Century, an abandoned U.S. military base buried beneath the ice. The discovery, made as part of a routine survey, provides an unprecedented look into the history of the Cold War. Alex Gardner, a cryospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who was part of the team, described the moment: “We were exploring the ice bed and pulling out Camp Century. ” Initially, scientists were unsure of what they had discovered, as the site had been buried for decades.
New radar technology unveils Camp Century’s hidden structure
This important discovery was made possible by the use of advanced radar technology. While previous radar surveys had detected the presence of Camp Century, it was only with the new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) that the base’s individual structures became so clearly visible. Unlike conventional radar, UAVSAR allowed for more detailed and accurate imagery of the base. “Individual structures in the secret city look like they’ve never been seen before,” noted Chad Green, another scientist involved in the project. This breakthrough technology revealed a hidden piece of history that had long been lost under the ice.
History of Camp Century
Camp Century was built by the US Army in 1959 during the Cold War. Its official purpose was to test construction techniques and conduct scientific research in the harsh Arctic conditions, but it also had a top secret military agenda. The base was used to explore the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from the Arctic, a strategy seen as a potential advantage during the Cold War arms race.
The base was located deep within the Greenland Ice Sheet, and was powered by a nuclear-powered generator. It housed 85 to 200 soldiers at any given time. Over the years, Camp Century became a center of research and testing, and core ice samples taken from the site are still valuable to climate scientists today. Despite his scientific contributions, Bess’s military role remained shrouded in secrecy. In 1967, when the U.S. military abandoned the idea of using the base for nuclear missile launches, Camp Century was decommissioned. The Army Corps of Engineers removed the nuclear reactor, but left behind much of the infrastructure, including various forms of waste.
Environmental hazards from snowmelt at Camp Century
The discovery of Camp Century has raised significant environmental concerns, particularly in the context of climate change. Scientists fear that a melting ice sheet covering the base could lead to the release of toxic waste buried beneath the ice. William Colgan, a climate and glacier scientist who co-authored a study on Camp Century, emphasized the potential danger. Climate simulations suggest that as early as the 2090s, the site could transition from a net snowfall environment to a net melt environment, he explained. If that happens, waste that has been safely locked in ice for decades could begin to leak into the atmosphere.
As the ice melts, the material that was once there can leach out, causing environmental damage. The waste buried at Camp Century included a dangerous mix of chemicals: 53,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 63,000 gallons of wastewater, and an unknown amount of low-level radioactive coolant from the nuclear reactor. The estimated 136 acres of waste at the site could eventually pose a significant threat to the local ecosystem and beyond.
The scale of waste buried at Camp Century and its potential impacts
Camp Century’s waste is no small problem. Scientists estimate that the site contains 136 acres of waste buried under about 100 feet of snow. This includes not only chemicals like diesel fuel and wastewater, but also radioactive materials. Melting snow can bring these toxins to the surface, potentially causing irreversible environmental pollution. If the base is exposed as the ice continues to melt, it would be a major environmental crisis that could affect the surrounding Arctic ecosystem and contribute to broader climate-related problems.
How Climate Change Could Release Hazardous Waste from Camp Century
The discovery of Camp Century under the Greenland Ice Sheet serves as a stark reminder of the long-term consequences of human activity on the environment. The fact that hazardous waste has been buried in ice for decades—and that it could soon be released due to climate change—underscores the dangers of leaving past pollution unaddressed. Scientists fear that climate change could worsen the situation and lead to an unsustainable spread of pollution in the coming decades.
The issue also underscores the broader challenges posed by climate change in the Arctic region, where ice sheets are melting at a faster rate due to rising temperatures. The potential release of waste from Camp Century is just one example of how climate change can reveal previously hidden hazards, with potentially far-reaching impacts on both the environment and human health.
The Camp Century discovery sheds light on the environmental legacy of past human actions.
The discovery of Camp Century beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet not only uncovers a hidden chapter in Cold War history, but also raises serious concerns about the environmental consequences of past human actions. The potential release of toxic waste from the site due to climate change serves as a powerful reminder of the long-lasting effects of human activity on the planet. As the ice melts and reveals what was buried, scientists and ecologists must continue to monitor and address these emerging threats. The situation at Camp Century exemplifies the confluence of historical heritage and modern-day climate challenges, underscoring the need for urgent action to combat climate change and mitigate its impacts.
Read this also The James Webb Space Telescope captured a stunning image of the hat-shaped Sombrero Galaxy