A composite image shared by NASA’s Earth Observatory on Nov. 25, 2024 shows, at top, a view of the Greenland Ice Sheet taken from the window of a NASA Gulfstream III plane in April 2024 and, below, imagery created using data from a UAVSAR radar unit on the plane, revealing structural elements of Camp Century, an abandoned U.S. military base buried under the ice.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison, Jesse Allen, Chad Greene
“Scientists have used maps acquired with conventional radar to corroborate estimates of Camp Century’s depth — part of an effort to estimate when melting and thinning of the ice sheet could re-expose the camp and any remaining biological, chemical, and radioactive waste that was buried along with it,” NASA’s Earth Observatory said in its article this week. “The scientific utility of the new UAVSAR image of Camp Century remains to be seen; for now, it remains a novel curiosity acquired by chance.”
A 2016 study of the abandoned base suggested that the facility could no longer be considered “preserved for eternity,” due to climate change increasing the rate at which Arctic ice is melting.
CBS News’ Walter Cronkite visited Camp Century for a tour of the still-under-construction facility for a program that aired in 1961. The camp’s commander, Captain Tom Evans, explained to him that the goals of the program were three-fold: “The first one is to test out the number of promising new concepts of polar construction. And the second one is to provide a really practical field test of this new nuclear plant. And, finally, we’re building Camp Century to provide a good base, here, in the interior of Greenland, where the scientists can carry on their R&D activities.”
CBS News’ Walter Cronkite is seen on the Greenland Ice Sheet during a visit to Camp Century, for a CBS documentary program that aired in 1961.
CBS
The exact nature of that research and development work wasn’t discussed in Cronkite’s report for the CBS documentary show “The Twentieth Century.” (An abridged version of that report can be viewed at the link above.)
Speaking with 60 Minutes in 2016, as that show revisited Cronkite’s decades-old trip to Camp Century, producer Daniel Ruetenik said the trip was fascinating, and he marveled at the evolution of human interest in the vast, frozen expanse of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
“At the time [of Camp Century], the Cold War was considered to be the greatest threat to humanity,” Ruetenik said. “And now, the area has become a destination for climate scientists trying to study changes in the environment. So, it has a second purpose now.”
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Publish date : 2024-11-27 02:46:00
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