A striking fact that spoils the picture of geochronology and ice dating accepted in science is a project to raise a squadron of military aircraft from the Second World War from under the ice of Greenland.
It turned out that in 46 years they were able to become covered with a layer of ice, the thickness of which, according to scientific data, corresponds to the age of 37 thousand years.
In 1942, in the ice of Greenland, 8 military aircraft of the US Navy made an emergency landing, due to lack of fuel. After 10 days, the pilots were rescued, but the planes remained. Only in 1980 did they remember about them and decided to find them, clear the snow, repair them, refill them and return them as museum exhibits.
But the squadron was found only in 1988 and only with the help of ground penetrating radar. There were no planes on the surface at the landing site. Using a steam probe, it was possible to understand at what depth the planes were located.
It turned out that there was 75 m of ice above them. Military history buffs returned here again in 1990 and, using a steam engine, made drills with a diameter of 1.2 m.
Having reached the first plane, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the crew realized that it was completely crushed by ice. They had to return with nothing but later, someone remembered that Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters are smaller in size and have a more durable hull, and they have a chance of remaining intact under layers of ice.
In 1992, the next expedition returned to this place again and was able to lift in parts another aircraft, which was better preserved.
It took 9 years to restore it and it was even able to fly in 2002 at an air show. $3 million was spent on this project.
An exciting and large-scale effort to preserve history, although it’s not about that.
Until now, the scientific community has ignored this fact that in 46 years the planes ended up at such a depth under thick layers of ice. After all, scientists believe that ice in Antarctica accumulates on average 1 m every 500 years. In Greenland, the conditions are almost the same as in Antarctica. Thus, the age of these aircraft must be at least 37,500 years.
It is not clear where this figure of ice accumulation (1 m in 500 years) comes from. In the middle zone, up to 1 m of snow (or even more) can fall during the winter. When it thaws, it can turn into 20 cm of ice and in Greenland, it turns out that the rate of ice accumulation was 1.63 m per year.
Scientists also date the ice using dark lines, believing that they are the summer melting of snow and ice. This is probably where the data of about 1 m in 500 years came from.
For geology, the mysterious squadron case is a very inconvenient fact which made it possible to experimentally understand the age of the Greenland ice.
Let’s recall that on the Piri Reis map and other similar maps of modern times, Antarctica is depicted without ice. Perhaps Greenland was also without ice. But how did these continents become covered with such an ice thickness in a relatively short period of time?
It turns out that they are very young and the name Greenland (Green Country) was given for a reason.
