Researchers stumble upon Canadian glacier that could be millions of years old
Researchers have made an incredible discovery in the Canadian Arctic: the remains of an ancient glacier that could be more than a million years old.
Found preserved in permafrost on Bylot Island in Nunavut, Canada, the glacier was an accidental discovery. Daniel Fortier, a geomorphologist at the University of Montreal, had been studying a fossilized forest on the island with colleagues in 2009.
Melting permafrost caused landslides in the area, revealing a translucent layer of ice just above the fossilized forest. Fortier told Science News that he was surprised when carbon dating showed that the organic matter trapped in the glacier was over 60,000 years old. A research paper co-authored by Fortier and published this year on GeoScienceWorld suggests that the ice is over 770,000 years old.
Bylot Island near Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada (GROGL/Shutterstock)
“As such, this represents the oldest glacier ice preserved in Arctic permafrost landscapes and the earliest evidence of a Pleistocene glaciation in the eastern Canadian Arctic,” reads the paper.
However, research on the fossilized forest beneath suggests that the glacier could be even older. The forest is estimated to be around 2.8 to 2.5 million years old, which could also be the glacier’s maximum age.
The discovery of the remnants of this glacier is significant as it’s essentially a frozen time capsule. The glacier could contain trapped particulates and gas bubbles, offering a glimpse of Earth’s ancient history. It could also give researchers insight into the climate of over a million years ago.
According to Fortier, their findings are also important because, although studies suggest that permafrost will thaw in several regions by the end of the century, their discovery highlights its resiliency.
“I donāt think permafrost will disappear so fast. The system is more resilient than we think,” he said.