© Getty Images

Monitoring trip -

In April 2024, a team of NASA scientists and engineers were conducting a monitoring trip aboard the aircraft Gulfstream III.

© Getty Images

Thule Air Base -

The team was approximately 240 km (150 mi) from Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as the Thule Air Base, in Greenland. Its use is under agreement between the United States and Denmark.

© Getty Images

Defense of Greenland agreement -

In 1951, the Defense of Greenland agreement was signed between the United States and Denmark, which is what allowed the United States to build the military base in the first place.

© NL Beeld

Under the ice -

Via radar, the scientists spotted something under the ice sheet. They were uncertain as to what it was before uncovering Camp Century.

© Getty Images

Radar used to measure distance -

How did scientists find the site? Radar is able to measure the distance of what’s beneath a surface by sending out radio waves.

© Shutterstock

Mapping -

The time that it takes for the radio waves to reflect back to the sensor allows for a mapping of what’s beneath the ice’s surface.

© Shutterstock

Conventional radar -

This wasn’t the first time an aircraft had detected signs of the base, but in those surveys, the engineers used a conventional radar. That kind of radar creates a 2D profile of the ice sheet.

© NASA Earth Observatory

Beneath the ice -

The 2D view of Camp Century beneath the ice doesn’t allow for an understanding of the solid structures below.

© Getty Images

Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar -

This time, the survey used NASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR), which was placed below the aircraft.

© Getty Images

Similar to ultrasound -

The UAVSAR, functioning in a way similar to an ultrasound, looks down and to the sides, allowing for multidimensional maps to be produced.

© Getty Images

Layout designs -

Following the survey, the map produced by the radar system was subsequently compared with historical designs of the base’s layout.

© Shutterstock

Survey not intended to uncover base -

Despite the scientists’ previous attempts to detect Camp Century, this survey was not specifically geared toward uncovering the former military base.

© Getty Images

Mapping the ice -

The goal of the survey was a test of the UAVSAR system, specifically to map the “ice sheet’s internal layer and the ice-bed interface.”

© Getty Images

Camp Century -

Camp Century, which is also referred to as the “city under ice,” is an American token of the Cold War era, built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

© Getty Images

Network of tunnels -

The military base, constructed in 1959, consisted of a stealthy network of tunnels constructed within Greenland's ice sheet. The project could have expanded to an additional 33 bases of a similar nature.

© NASA Earth Observatory

Vision of Camp Century -

The United States had planned to place 600 missiles in Camp Century’s web of tunnels, corresponding to 60 launch sites. The vision was to have approximately 11,000 soldiers living full-time in the military base.

© Getty Images

Testing site -

The infamous nature of Camp Century is not just because of standard military activity, but due to its dual role as a testing site for nuclear missiles during the Cold War.

© Getty Images

Abandoned -

By 1967, Camp Century had been abandoned. What the American government left behind wasn’t just infrastructure, but a great deal of waste, including at least 200,000 liters of diesel oil and sewage, which is more than 52,000 gallons.

© Getty Images

Buried under snow -

When abandoned, the assumption was that the base would be buried under snowfall. What they failed to consider was climate change.

© Getty Images

Climate change -

The Arctic has faced dramatic consequences of climate change. Global warming has affected the Arctic more than any other place on Earth.

© Getty Images

Ice will melt -

Scientists argue that the ice sheet that covers Camp Century will start to melt within the next several decades. Today, the site is covered by just 30 meters (100 feet) of ice and snow.

© Getty Images

Dangers of waste -

Beyond the unveiling of the site’s infrastructure, the dangers of the waste that was abandoned below the surface are provoking serious concerns for environmentalists.

© Getty Images

Released waste -

Radioactive, biological, and chemical waste released into the Arctic’s environment could have devastating effects on the region’s ecosystems.

© Getty Images

Project sold as geological exploration -

What makes this challenge ironic is that the United States had actually sold the initial project as a geological exploration to study soil, ice cores, and the history of fauna and flora in the area.

© Getty Images

Greenland owned by Denmark -

Although the site is historically American, Greenland was colonized by Denmark, which retains control over the land. Therefore, Greenland wants to hold the Danes responsible for the impending environmental fallout.

© Getty Images

Denmark unaware -

Denmark argues that it was not aware of the American nuclear weapon strategy, “Project Iceworm.”

© Getty Images

Trump wants to buy Greenland -

The impending Trump administration has already expressed interest in buying Greenland from Denmark to further exploit its resources.

© Getty Images

Climate change simulations -

A recent study has used various climate change simulations to try to determine if the waste will remain stable under warming conditions, but they weren't able to conclude precise projections.

© Getty Images

Who should be responsible? -

The ambiguity regarding who is responsible for the harm-reduction strategy and the waste clean-up points to the lack of international regulations to help arrive at a just conclusion in a timely manner.

Sources: (NASA Earth Observatory) (Sky News) (Popular Mechanics) (University of Colorado)

See also: How glass may be used to save Arctic ice 

© Getty Images