The Greenland ice sheet (GIS) is losing mass at an increasing rate due to surface melt and flow acceleration in outlet glaciers. Currently, there is a large disagreement between observed and simulated ice flow, which may arise from inaccurate parameterization of basal motion, subglacial hydrology or geothermal heat sources. Recently it was suggested that there may be a hidden heat source beneath GIS caused by a higher than expected geothermal heat flux (GHF) from the Earth’s interior. Here we present the first direct measurements of GHF from beneath a deep fjord basin in Northeast Greenland. Temperature and salinity time series (2005–2015) in the deep stagnant basin water are used to quantify a GHF of 93 ± 21 mW m−2 which confirm previous indirect estimated values below GIS. A compilation of heat flux recordings from Greenland show the existence of geothermal heat sources beneath GIS and could explain high glacial ice speed areas such as the Northeast Greenland ice stream.
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机译：由于出口冰川的表面融化和流动加速，格陵兰冰原（GIS）的质量损失正在增加。当前，观测到的冰流与模拟的冰流之间存在很大分歧，这可能是由于基础运动，冰河水文学或地热热源的参数设置不准确而引起的。最近有人提出，由于来自地球内部的地热通量（GHF）高于预期，导致GIS下方可能存在隐藏的热源。在这里，我们展示了东北格陵兰岛深峡湾盆地下方首次对GHF的直接测量。滞流深水中的温度和盐度时间序列（2005-2015年）用于量化93±21 mW m -2 的GHF，这证实了先前低于GIS的间接估计值。格陵兰岛的热通量记录汇编显示了GIS下的地热热源的存在，并且可以解释高冰川冰速地区，例如东北格陵兰岛的冰流。
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