From Ukraine to Gaza
In April 2024, a team of NASA scientists and engineers were conducting a monitoring trip aboard the aircraft Gulfstream III.
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.
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.
Via radar, the scientists spotted something under the ice sheet. They were uncertain as to what it was before uncovering Camp Century.
How did scientists find the site? Radar is able to measure the distance of what’s beneath a surface by sending out radio waves.
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.
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.
The 2D view of Camp Century beneath the ice doesn’t allow for an understanding of the solid structures below.
This time, the survey used NASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR), which was placed below the aircraft.
The UAVSAR, functioning in a way similar to an ultrasound, looks down and to the sides, allowing for multidimensional maps to be produced.
Following the survey, the map produced by the radar system was subsequently compared with historical designs of the base’s layout.
Despite the scientists’ previous attempts to detect Camp Century, this survey was not specifically geared toward uncovering the former military base.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
When abandoned, the assumption was that the base would be buried under snowfall. What they failed to consider was climate change.
The Arctic has faced dramatic consequences of climate change. Global warming has affected the Arctic more than any other place on Earth.
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.
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.
Radioactive, biological, and chemical waste released into the Arctic’s environment could have devastating effects on the region’s ecosystems.
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.
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.
Denmark argues that it was not aware of the American nuclear weapon strategy, “Project Iceworm.”
The impending Trump administration has already expressed interest in buying Greenland from Denmark to further exploit its resources.
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.
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
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.
A team of NASA engineers aboard the Gulfstream III detected something buried under the ice sheet in Northwestern Greenland. NASA scientists didn't know what it was at first, until discovering it was Camp Century, a Cold War relic built by the United States in the 1950s and abandoned less than a decade later. The 'secret city' became visible via radar. So what is it, and what are the implications?
Curious to know more? Click through the gallery!
NASA uncovers hidden Cold War military base in Greenland
The forgotten 'secret city'
LIFESTYLE Science
A team of NASA engineers aboard the Gulfstream III detected something buried under the ice sheet in Northwestern Greenland. NASA scientists didn't know what it was at first, until discovering it was Camp Century, a Cold War relic built by the United States in the 1950s and abandoned less than a decade later. The 'secret city' became visible via radar. So what is it, and what are the implications?
Curious to know more? Click through the gallery!