Earth's Northernmost Perennial Spring Discovered: Ice River Spring

Scientists have made a discovery that could help with understanding a bit more about water circulation. They've found the highest latitude perennial spring known in the world, which could shed light on how deep groundwater circulation through the cryosphere occurs.

The northernmost perennial spring in the world is called the Ice River Spring, and is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canadian High Arctic. This specific area is north of Otto Fiord in a mountainous region that's underlain by carbonates of the Nansen Formation. In all, the spring discharges at a 300 meter elevation from colluvium on a south-facing mountain slope. This unnamed mountain rises about 800 meters above sea level.

The spring itself actually flows year-round, even during the 24 hours of darkness in the winter months. At that time, temperatures can reach as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. Not only that, but the spring can form gullies in a region with a morphology remarkably similar to those on Mars.

Researchers found that the waters actually originate from the surface and circulate down as deep as 3 kilometers before returning through thick permafrost as a spring. This points toward a more active hydrogeological system in polar regions than previously thought possible. Scientists believe that it may possibly be driven by glacial meltwater.

What's more interesting is the fact that the region where the spring can be found is remarkably similar to mid-latitude gullies seen on Mars. In fact, the discovery of these features on Mars has led to suggestions that recent groundwater discharge has occurred from confined aquifers.

These latest findings raise new questions about how such a high-volume spring can originate in a polar desert environment. Not only that, but this spring also could mean that similar situations could occur on other planets.

The findings are published in the journal Geology.