‘Oh my God, what is that?’: How the maelstrom under Greenland’s glaciers could slow future sea level rise

A pioneering mission, involving Irish marine research vessel Celtic Explorer, into a mysterious and violent world may reveal ‘speed bumps’ on the way to global coastal inundation

A visitor looks out at melting icebergs crowding the Ilulissat Icefjord near Ilulissat, western Greenland. Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty

There are stadium-sized blocks of ice crashing from the soaring face of the Kangerlussuup glacier in western Greenland. Fierce underwater currents of meltwater are shooting out from its base, and visibility below the surface is virtually zero thanks to a torrent of suspended mud and sand. It’s little wonder scientists have never explored this maelstrom.

Yet today, they are sending in a multimillion-dollar remotely operated submarine — potentially to its death. As the scientists onboard the Celtic Explorer research ship repeatedly say: “It’s a high risk, high reward mission.”