Northern Greenland ice dome melted before and could melt again
The Prudhoe ice dome disappeared during a warm period 7000 years ago. Global warming could cause similar temperatures by 2100, showing the Greenland ice sheet’s vulnerability
Environment
The Prudhoe ice dome disappeared during a warm period 7000 years ago. Global warming could cause similar temperatures by 2100, showing the Greenland ice sheet’s vulnerability
By Alec Luhn
5 January 2026
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A glacier near the edge of the Greenland ice sheet in the vicinity of Prudhoe Dome
Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images
An ice dome in northern Greenland once melted completely at temperatures the region could experience again this century, a finding that will begin to paint a more accurate picture of how fast the melting Greenland ice sheet could raise global sea levels.
Researchers drilled 500 metres down through the centre of Prudhoe Dome, a bulge of ice the size of Luxembourg in the north-western corner of Greenland, to collect a 7-metre core of sediment and bedrock. A dating technique using infrared light showed that sand at the surface of the core was bleached by the sun about 7000 years ago. That means the dome was completely melted at that time.
Summers in the area then were 3°C to 5°C warmer than today, temperatures they could reach again by 2100 under human-made climate change.
