Hidden beneath the vast icy expanse of Greenland lies a secret Cold War base: Camp Century. Established in 1959, this covert military facility served as the center of the Iceworm Project, a top-secret program of the United States Army.
Nuclear Secrets and Hidden Tunnels
The Iceworm Project is often considered a prime example of the term “top secret.” Although it was initiated in the late 1950s and operational by around 1960, its existence was only officially confirmed in 1996 with the declassification of government documents. It was from these revelations that the public learned the truth about the project and its label, Camp Century.
Initiated by the United States Army, the primary objective of the Iceworm Project was to deploy a network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites beneath the ice sheet of Greenland, Denmark. The purpose behind this project was to enhance America’s nuclear capabilities against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
This project established secret infrastructures capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from within the Arctic region. Essentially, it was a covert nuclear base, hidden beneath the ice.
The Iceworm Project is classified as top secret, and even the Danish government was unaware of the full extent of operations at Camp Century.
The plan of this project was to construct a tunnel system approximately 4,000 km long hidden beneath Greenland. These tunnels could deploy up to 600 nuclear missiles and would be relocated periodically in case the Soviet Union became aware of their existence. This project was shrouded in secrecy, and even the Danish government was largely oblivious to it.
Of course, deploying such a network was not only a significant engineering feat but also extremely costly. Nevertheless, the U.S. believed it would yield certain strategic advantages.
- First, they hoped that if successful, the project would allow the military to surprise and defeat potential adversaries while making it difficult for enemies to detect and target U.S. missile bases.
- Second, throughout the Cold War, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union made significant efforts to project power in the Arctic region for strategic, military, and economic reasons. It was hoped that if the Soviet Union gained an advantage in this specific race, the Iceworm Project could provide a buffer against potential Soviet attacks.
- Finally, in the 1950s and 60s, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union were concerned with expanding their respective nuclear arsenals. The Iceworm Project would give the U.S. an edge in the polar region and enhance its overall strategic posture. The broader their nuclear reach, the greater their deterrent capability.
Structure of Camp Century.
Camp Century
The construction of Camp Century began in 1959 and the camp operated until 1967. When Americans approached the Danish government regarding this matter, they were not entirely truthful about everything.
They presented Camp Century to the Danish government as a site for testing construction techniques in Arctic conditions and to demonstrate the feasibility of military outposts on cheap ice. They also claimed that the camp would conduct “scientific experiments” and test the efficiency of the mobile nuclear reactor (PM-2A).
A thermal drill installed at Camp Century, used to drill through the Greenland ice cap.
To be fair, the U.S. was not entirely dishonest. A total of 21 tunnels with a combined length of 3,000 meters were carved out of the ice and covered with roofs. At the same time, no nuclear missiles were installed in these locations.
These tunnels were filled with prefabricated buildings, housing a variety of functions from hospitals, stores, to theaters and chapels. It could be considered a small town beneath the ice, with about 200 researchers and military personnel living there at any one time.
This site was also used to test the world’s first mobile nuclear reactor, which powered the facility from 1960 to 1963. For the most part, researchers stationed there studied nearby melting glaciers and drilled ice cores to search for bacteria and viruses such as the plague. This research continued to be utilized by climate scientists until late 2005.
However, in reality, all this surface research masked the main goal of the U.S. government.
Camp Century realized that it could only survive for about two more years.
The ice cores drilled were actually less about climate research and more about ensuring the long-term stability of the tunnels as the ice sheet shifted.
Initially, it seemed that Camp Century had demonstrated the feasibility of the Iceworm Project, but things soon began to change. After about three years, observations and actual research showed that the ice was not as stable as initially thought. In fact, snow and ice are viscously elastic, meaning they move and deform over time.
The U.S. underestimated how quickly this process occurred, and geologists studying at Camp Century found that it was likely the site could only last about two more years before its tunnels began to collapse. And this indeed happened in 1962 when the ceiling of the camp’s reactor began to bulge and had to be raised by 5 feet (1.5 m) to prevent damage to the reactor.
A year later, the project was permanently closed, and the Iceworm Project was no longer feasible. (Illustrative image).
This raised safety concerns, and in July 1963, the military decided to permanently shut down the reactor. In 1965, the reactor was dismantled and the camp was evacuated.
A year later, the project was permanently closed. The U.S. government determined that with the pace of the glacier’s movement, the Iceworm Project was no longer viable.
The Ghost of the Iceworm Project
When the camp ceased operations in 1967, most of the area, including waste, was simply abandoned beneath the ice of Greenland. It was believed that it would remain there, safe under tons of ice and snow for the foreseeable future.
However, many things have changed since the 1960s: Specifically, we now understand much more about climate change than at that time. A 2016 study indicated that in the coming decades, the ice sheet in Greenland would begin to melt.
There are concerns that this will start to release the waste left behind at Camp Century – that is, nuclear waste, 200,000 liters of diesel fuel, PCBs, and a massive amount of sewage that could be discharged into the local environment. Although estimates vary, it is believed that as early as 2090 or as late as 2179, all this waste will be released, further harming the surrounding environment.
Global warming means that all the unpleasant things left by the Iceworm Project could soon thaw and cause untold damage to the environment.
In retrospect, the Iceworm Project can be seen as an ambitious experiment, but its ultimate collapse highlighted the daunting challenges posed by the Arctic environment and the complexities of maintaining secret military infrastructure. Even the United States, with all its technology and resources, could not withstand the forces of Mother Nature.
