Under the Greenland ice, NASA reveals Camp Century, a secret Cold War military base exposed by melting ice.
Using onboard radar, NASA has uncovered Camp Century, a secret American military base built under the Greenland ice during the Cold War. Intended for Project Iceworm, the base included tunnels housing nuclear missiles, which were abandoned in 1967. Today, melting ice threatens to release the buried waste, posing major environmental risks. This discovery underlines the impact of climate change on the polar regions.
The history of Camp Century: an ambitious military project
Camp Century was built in 1959 under the ice of Greenland as part of Project Iceworm, a secret program to establish a 4,023 km network of tunnels to deploy nuclear missiles. These tunnels, dug 8.5 m below the surface, were designed to house modified Minuteman missiles capable of penetrating the ice. The strategic objective was to bring the weapons closer to the Soviet borders, while exploiting Greenland’s geographical isolation.
The cost of building Camp Century, adjusted for inflation, would represent around 250 million euros today. However, the complexity of working in extreme polar conditions, combined with the instability of the ice, led to the project being abandoned in 1967. This monumental infrastructure, invisible until recently, lay dormant under the ice until rediscovered by a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) onboard a NASA Gulfstream III aircraft in April 2024.
A latent environmental threat
When it was abandoned, Camp Century left behind a large quantity of waste: weapons, fossil fuels and contaminated wastewater. These materials, initially preserved by frost, are at risk of being released due to rapid ice melt. According to a 2017 study, around 200,000 liters of diesel and 10,000 tons of materials remain buried.
The melting of the Greenland ice cap, which is accelerating as a result of global warming, exposes these contaminants to the environment. This represents a potential danger to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. In 2017, the US government recognized these risks and initiated discussions with Denmark and Greenland authorities to manage this issue.
The importance of radar data for science
The Camp Century discovery illustrates the usefulness of radar as a scientific tool. By mapping ice thickness and underlying structures, scientists can better understand the dynamics of ice caps. NASA scientist Alex Gardner points out that accurate ice thickness data is essential for predicting rates of sea-level rise. At present, Greenland contributes 1 mm per year to the global rise, but this figure could increase.
The technology used, synthetic aperture radar, also makes it possible to identify other sub-glacial structures or remains, offering unprecedented insight into the geological and anthropic history of the polar regions.
Geopolitical issues surrounding Greenland
Greenland, with its strategic position and natural resources, is attracting growing geopolitical interest. The Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, plays a key role in space defense and missile surveillance. Control of this region is crucial for the great powers, not least because of the emerging sea routes due to melting ice.
Camp Century’s legacy illustrates past tensions, but also reflects future challenges linked to waste management and international cooperation in the polar regions.
Lessons learned and future implications
Camp Century symbolizes the intersection between technology, the Cold War and climate change. This discovery offers a unique opportunity to study the human impact on the polar regions and the consequences of global warming. Melting ice could release other forgotten bases or infrastructures, raising new environmental and political questions.
Efforts to monitor and model ice caps need to be stepped up. Investing in detection and clean-up technologies could prevent major environmental disasters. Estimates show that a waste management plan for Camp Century would cost between 50 and 70 million euros.
War Wings Daily is an independant magazine.