New Grand Canyon lies under Greenland’s ice

A VAST rent in the Earth on the same scale as the Grand Canyon lies buried under ice in Greenland, scientists have learned.

The hidden canyon is at least 466 miles long and up to 2,624ft deep in places.

The feature, resembling a meandering river channel, is believed to pre-date the ice sheet that has covered Greenland for millions of years.

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Prof Jonathan Bamber, from the school of geographical studies at Bristol University, said: “With Google Streetview available for many cities around the world and digital maps for everything from population density to happiness, one might assume that the landscape of the Earth has been fully explored and mapped. Our research shows there’s still a lot left to discover.”

The canyon is believed to play an important role transporting huge quantities of sub-glacial meltwater from Greenland’s interior to the edge of the ice sheet.

Scientists have also suggested that Greenland may start to become forested again as early as 2100 as global warming melts more of the ice sheets and glaciers flow more freely thanks to the increase in meltwater.

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