10 Mysterious Places on Earth Where Water Vanishes

3. Greenland Ice Sheet: Disappearing Lakes on a Massive Scale

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Spread across 660,000 square miles, the Greenland Ice Sheet is speckled each summer with bright blue supraglacial lakes. In 2015 two long-standing lakes vanished within weeks, draining billions of gallons through vertical cracks called moulins. Once meltwater reaches the bedrock it lubricates the ice, speeding its slide toward the sea and boosting sea-level rise. As temperatures climb, more lakes form, grow, and disappear, making their study vital for predicting the ice sheet’s future and its impact on coastal communities worldwide.