A University of Ottawa-led team has pierced Greenland's icy veil with unprecedented 3D temperature models of Earth's subsurface, blending data from satellites,
seismic readings and heat flow to map thermal quirks under the ice sheet and northeast Canada. PhD grad Parviz Ajourlou, first author, crunched hundreds of thousands of simulations on Digital Research Alliance of Canada supercomputers alongside Dutch colleagues from University of Twente and GEUS experts. The work spotlights stark lateral heat shifts revealing Greenland's ancient sashay over the Iceland hotspot. These variations rewrite the island's geological tale, showing how past fire from below warped underlying rocks and now tweaks ice flow. Ajourlou explains: "Our new regional temperature models reveal significant lateral variations... which provide important information on the island's passage over the Iceland hotspot." Prof. Glenn Milne, uOttawa Earth Sciences chair, adds the payoff: "Temperature variations directly influence the interaction between the ice sheet and the bedrock... to interpret observations of land motion and gravity changes."
Tectonic Ghosts Fuel Climate Models
The models sharpen ice-earth interplay, vital as warming accelerates Greenland's melt dumping billions of tons into oceans yearly. Milne stresses: "This research advances our understanding of the Earth's internal structure beneath Greenland." Past hotspot scorch left hotter zones easing ice slip, cooler spots gripping tighter—nuances models missed till now.
Supercomputing fused gravity anomalies, seismic speeds and flow data into coherent heat portraits. Ajourlou ties it to planning: "By improving how we model ice-earth interactions, we can better forecast future sea level rise." Greenland sheds 270 gigatons annually; precise bedrock temps refine projections.
Findings bolster forecasts as Arctic heat soars, ice quakes rumble and calving surges. Twente's geo-skills meshed with GEUS ice intel for robust output. Ottawa's Milne hails solid Earth-climate bridge. Global coasts brace; refined models guide defenses from Miami to Mumbai. The study spotlights subsurface sway on surface doom, urging sharper vigilance.
