Scientists were shocked when a glove-shaped handprint suddenly appeared in satellite data capturing the uninhabited region of Greenland.
According to Live Science, the shape on the ice resembles a giant wearing thick gloves that pressed down into the surface of Greenland, creating a glove-shaped depression that is 3 km long, 2 km wide, and up to 70 m deep.
This formation appeared very abruptly, and until now, NASA scientists have only been able to draw preliminary conclusions about its origin.
Ghost hand suddenly appears in the icy region of Greenland – (Photo: NASA).
According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, this structure quietly emerged at some point between August 16 and September 6, 2011, while the area it occupies was covered by clouds.
NASA has conducted years of monitoring to uncover the mystery of the ghost hand. They concluded that the depression formed when an underground lake rapidly drained, leaving behind a quickly collapsing underground cavern right beneath the location of the ghostly hand.
At the peak of this drainage event, scientists estimated that 215 cubic meters of water drained from the lake every second.
Data from 2022 indicates that this lake is gradually refilling and continues to recover, interspersed with smaller water loss events.
Initially, researchers believed that most of the water flowing back into the lake came from surface meltwater draining underground.
However, the latest calculations suggest that meltwater could only account for 65% of the water in the lake, meaning some unidentified water sources are also flowing into the lake.
It remains unclear why the underground lake drained so quickly in 2011, but climate change is believed to play a significant role.
In a recent interview with Live Science, Kelly Brunt, a glaciologist at NASA’s Ice Science Laboratory, indicated that this might be the first recorded instance of rapid drainage from an underground lake beneath the ice in Greenland.
Some underground lakes in Antarctica have also experienced similar drainage in recent years, and scientists are concerned that the water loss could accelerate ice loss in certain areas.
Therefore, the emergence of the ghost hand or any similar concave structure in the future in icy regions would be considered a “bad omen.”
