A logistical cargo carrier drops off supplies at camp century in greenland in 1959. Project iceworm was a top secret united states army program of the cold war, which aimed to build a network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites under the greenland ice sheet. The reactor had a thermal power of 10 mw that was used for electricity 1. The large island greenland is almost entirely frozen and inhospitable.
This story was originally published by fusion and is reproduced here as part of. Army corps of engineers built a base, called camp century, in the greenland ice sheet. Variations in microparticle concentration, size distribution and elemental composition found in camp century, greenland, and byrd station, antarctica, deep ice cores l. One thousand centuries of climatic record from camp. Leskovitz camp centuryaka project icewormwas a city under ice, according to the u. In about 6,000yearold ice from camp century, greenland, the co. In this remote setting, less than 800 miles from the north pole, camp century is a symbol of mans unceasing goal to conquer his environment, to increase his ability to live and fight if necessary under polar conditions. Dansk og amerikansk sikkerhedspolitik 194568 greenland during the cold war.
Built in 1959 and decommissioned in 1967, camp century was built into the greenland ice shelf as a top secret cold war military base with dual missions. Greenland, cold war, us army, camp century, popular culture sad and hurt. Camp century was part of a top secret us plan to deploy nuclear weapons beneath greenlands ice sheet. Army corps of engineers in 1959 in the nearsurface layers of the greenland ice sheet at 77. Camp century, blev i 1958 pabegyndt som en base under indlandsisen ca. Army, a nuclearpowered research center built by the army corps of engineers under the icy surface of greenland, as frank j.
Camp century is located in the northwest corner of the greenland ice sheet, approximately 200 km east of thule air base. The camp century, greenland, deep ice core reveals seasonal variations in the isotopic composition of the ice back to 8,300 years bp. Climate change may expose waste from a us military base. Conventional and radioactive wastes arising from the operation of the camp were discharged into the greenland ice sheet. The site was constructed under more than 26 feet 8. A correlation of time with depth has been evaluated for the camp century, greenland, 90 meter deep ice core. Thus willi dansgaard, the prominent danish glaciologist, visited camp century in 1964 without questioning its civilian character. It is situated at 1886 m above sealevel, where ice thickness is 87 m, with a coastward iceflow velocity of approximately 4 m yr. Sep 27, 20 camp century is buried below the surface of this ice cap.
In such a pristine environment, we take every care to ensure that our footprint is minimal. Back then, military planners assumed the hazardous stuff buried at camp centuryincluding diesel fuel, pcbs, and some radioactive coolantwould stay locked up in the greenland ice sheet, essentially forever. Camp century was shut down in 1967, and the site was abandoned as project iceworm wound down. New programme for climate monitoring at camp century. Geological survey of denmark and greenland bulletin 41, 2018, 75. In this capacity he was intimately involved in the research efforts described in this report and the development of concepts which led to the construction of camp century. Greenlands receding icecap to expose topsecret us nuclear.
Camp century was excavated at 8m depth in the ice sheets porous nearsurface. A flow model and a time scale for the ice core from camp. Radioactivity in an ice core from camp century, greenland knr. I was a communications operator and provided communication back to camp tuto thule take off camp plus i was the licensed operator for the mars radio to make phone patches back to the states for the men. Camp century was an arctic united states military scientific research base in greenland. The ultimate objective of placing mediumrange missiles under the ice close enough to strike targets within the soviet union was kept secret from the government of denmark. Joseph wooden, lockheed electronics company, houston, texas 77058, u. Oxygen isotope variations spanning the last glacial cycle and the holocene derived from ice. Greenland, cold war, us army, camp century, popular culture. Camp century former american military base in greenland. This video is an actual declassified us army film, documenting the nuclearpowered construction process of camp century, beneath the ice of central greenland. Greenland nature adventure lodging base camp greenland. Media in category camp century the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. Corps of engineers in 1959 in the greenland ice sheet.
Construction of the army nuclear power plant pm2a at camp. Decadal borehole positions from 1960 to 2020 shown in red colgan et al. Au groenland, une base militaire secrete americaine refait surface. Aug 11, 2016 camp century was part of a top secret us plan to deploy nuclear weapons beneath greenland s ice sheet. Camp century had to be abandoned due to the glaciological forces of the moving ice sheet which crushed the tunnels, but also due to changes in cold war politics and the political dif.
A flow model is described for the camp century area in greenland. Camp century, tuto, and the other greenland bases, page 1. A aow model is described fo r the camp century area in greenland. Camp century was a military base constructed by the us. Climatic oscillations with periods of 120, 940, and,000 years are. Us armys top secret nuclear city, camp century, hidden under. To test the feasibility of construction techniques a project site called camp century was started, located at an elevation of 6,600 feet 2,000 m in northwestern greenland, 150 miles 240 km from the us thule air base. Ms delucas i was at camp century in the summer of 1962. The horizontal velocity profile along the core is assumed to be uniform from the surface down to y 400 m above the bottom.
Story from jon freschs trip to camp tuto and camp century. Greenlands receding icecap to expose topsecret us nuclear project this article is more than 3 years old camp century part of project iceworm is. Sep 27, 2016 greenlands receding icecap to expose topsecret us nuclear project this article is more than 3 years old camp century part of project iceworm is an underground cold war network that was. Camp century project iceworm greenland atlas obscura. This climatically hostile base became operational in 1959 until unsteady ice conditions within the ice sheet caused the project to be canceled in 1966. Camp century us top secret base base in greenland strange. New programme for climate monitoring at camp century, greenland. To test the feasibility of construction techniques a project site called camp century was started by the united states military, located at an elevation of 6,600 feet 2,000 m in northwestern greenland, 150 miles 240 km from the american thule air base. This shipment alone consisted of 400 tons of equipment. The abandoned ice sheet base at camp century, greenland, in a.
It was built and publicly promoted as being a base for scientific research, but decades later the facts were discovered that in actuality that was the cover story for project iceworm to install sites for launching nuclear missiles in greenland, a project. Camp century in greenland the city under the ice industrial. It measures 2500 km from north to south and about 750 km from west to east in mid greenland. The last piece of camp century was the installment of the pm2, a portable, medium power nuclear reactor, the first of its kind. A hallmark of base camp greenland is its ecoconscious construction. Oxygen isotopes in approximately 1600 samples throughout the core have been analyzed. Another global warming fraud exposed ice core data show no. Usselman, department of geological sciences, state university of new york at buffalo, amherst, new york 14226, u.
Camp century the nuclear city of ice most odd facts. The american radar and air base at thule had been in active use since 1951. The general existence of camp century was understood by both the danish and u. The greenland ice cap 50 % of all fresh water on earth outside antarctica is bound as ice in greenland. Below this level, the horizontal velocity v x, is assumed to decrease proportionally to y. Two initial studies of the microparticle variation in the byrd station and the camp century deep ice cores have been conducted to clarify the relationship. Melting ice in greenland could expose serious pollutants from. Army built a military complex under the greenland ice sheet as a prototype for nuclear missile silos. Camp century is buried below the surface of this ice cap.
Oxygen isotope profiles through the antarctic and greenland. Melting ice sheet could release frozen cold warera waste. Longterm variations in the isotopic composition of the ice reflect the climatic changes during the past nearly 100,000 years. Icepenetrating radar survey of the subsurface debris field. Another global warming fraud exposed ice core data. A cold war atomic camp buried under the ice is now emerging because of global warming. Dec 17, 2007 dansk og amerikansk sikkerhedspolitik 194568 greenland during the cold war. The 200soldier installation was known as the city under the ice and featured 21 steelarch covered trenches containing prefabricated buildings that served as everything from barracks to. Camp century was a military base constructed by the us army corps of engineers in 1959 in the nearsurface layers of the greenland ice sheet.
Discover camp century project iceworm in greenland. The abandoned ice sheet base at camp century, greenland, in. The abandoned ice sheet base at camp century, greenland. Army corps of engineers usace built camp century 204 km east of thule air base on the main divide of the greenland ice sheet gris clark, 1965.
Radioactivity in an ice core from camp century, greenland. Usace reports acknowledge the presence of danish liaisons involved in the planning and environmental. Camp century asbuilt map with estimated georeferencing to 1960 grey and 2020 black locations in polar stereographic projection epsg 34. Initial field activities of the camp century climate. Mar 22, 2015 this video is an actual declassified us army film, documenting the nuclearpowered construction process of camp century, beneath the ice of central greenland. Location of thule air base and camp century in northwest greenland. Oxygen isotope and palaeotemperature records from six. Army corps of engineers usace built camp century 204km east of thule air base on the main divide of the greenland ice sheet gris clark, 1965. This story was originally published by fusion and is. Feb 27, 2011 ms delucas i was at camp century in the summer of 1962. Jun 12, 2017 a logistical cargo carrier drops off supplies at camp century in greenland in 1959. The base was constructed in the late 1950s, during the height of the cold war, for research purposes. Camp century was a nuclear powered research center built by the us army corps of engineers under the icy surface of greenland. Evidence of the bedrock beneath the greenland ice sheet near camp century, greenland by john fountain, thomas m.
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