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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Scientists’ drill accidentally unleashes a flood of icy water — and data

A borehole in an ice cap gives researchers an unexpected close-up of a glacial flood, or jökulhlaup.
Aerial image of subsidence and crevassing on the Vatnajókull ice cap over the western Skaftákatlar subglacial lake.

An effort to sample lakes beneath Iceland’s Vatnajökull ice cap (pictured) triggered a deluge into a nearby river. Credit: Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson/Icelandic Meteorological Office

Researchers drilling a borehole through a glacier inadvertently triggered an outpouring of frigid water into a nearby river — providing an unusual chance to examine an enigmatic type of natural flood.

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Nature 587, 333 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03216-1

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