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Scientists manually mapped 1,943 valleys beneath Greenland’s ice sheet, and about one-third were newly identified. The 2026 map also shows that about half of the valleys already represented in BedMachine Greenland extend farther inland than earlier mapping indicated. These are inferred bedrock features—not valleys photographed through the ice—and the result is a broad inventory, distinct from Greenland’s famous northern megacanyon reported in 2013.
What the new Greenland map reveals
The NASA-led study, “A Vast Valley Network Beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet,” presents a wider view of the bedrock landscape than maps focused on the ice sheet’s margins. NASA’s September 28, 2026 account reports 1,943 manually mapped subglacial valleys, with about a third newly identified. Of the valleys already shown in BedMachine Greenland, about half are now understood to extend farther inland, in some cases by hundreds of kilometers.
The map highlights long, straight valleys in west-central Greenland, including both newly mapped features and extensions of known ones. Near the eastern highlands, it also shows a buried mountain range linked by valleys, with relief increasing toward the coast. NASA describes these as alpine-style landforms that may have persisted beneath ice since at least the Pliocene.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The Greenland Ice Sheet itself covers about 1.7 million square kilometers (656,000 square miles) and exceeds 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) in thickness at its thickest point, according to NASA. Those figures describe the ice sheet, not the dimensions of the valley network.
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How researchers inferred valleys beneath the ice
Ice movement leaves faint clues at the surface
The team used a method called Ice Flow Perturbation Analysis. When moving ice passes over buried ridges and valleys, the bedrock’s shape subtly affects the ice surface and its motion. Researchers examined surface-elevation and ice-velocity patterns to infer the terrain beneath. Satellites help measure small surface rises and dips; they did not directly photograph the buried valleys.
Why this method reaches farther inland
Earlier mapping along Greenland’s margins used mass conservation to reconcile ice-thickness and surface-velocity measurements. The 2026 study says that approach cannot be applied in the same way across the slower-flowing interior, where direct ice-thickness observations are sparse. Ice Flow Perturbation Analysis offers a way to infer bed shape in that less-measured region, though the results remain an interpretation of surface and flow signals. The researchers manually mapped the valleys using those observations.
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What the valley shapes may say about Greenland’s past
The authors interpret the network’s form as evidence that Greenland’s southern and eastern highlands may have been likely starting areas for ice-sheet formation. Valley branching patterns and other features also suggest groundwater may have helped erode the landscape before the ice sheet formed. These are interpretations of landform shape, not direct observations of ancient groundwater.
Many long, straight valleys in west-central Greenland trend southwest to northeast. That alignment could point to tectonic influence, but its cause is unresolved. NASA quoted study co-author Joe MacGregor calling the pattern “a riddle to us,” noting that Greenland is usually treated as a relatively rigid block of old rock.
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Could the valleys affect Greenland’s glaciers?
Valleys can channel ice toward outlet glaciers and fjords at the coast. As ice funnels into a valley, it can thicken and flow faster; faster flow can, in turn, deepen the valley. NASA says researchers expect ice flow to remain concentrated in established valleys as retreat proceeds. A better picture of the bed may therefore help improve longer-term ice-flow projections, but the study does not calculate a specific amount of future sea-level rise.
How the 2026 map differs from Greenland’s 2013 megacanyon
NASA reported a major northern bedrock canyon in 2013, identified through radar data gathered over decades, including many measurements from Operation IceBridge between 2009 and 2012. Radar waves pass through ice and reflect from the bedrock; the time taken for the return helps estimate depth. The reported canyon extends at least 460 miles (750 kilometers) from near Greenland’s center to beneath Petermann Glacier fjord and reaches a maximum depth of 2,600 feet (800 meters) in places.
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That canyon is an earlier, especially large feature—not another name for the 2026 inventory of 1,943 valleys. The 2013 result relied on radar observations of the bed, while the 2026 interior mapping uses subtle surface and ice-motion patterns to infer terrain where thickness measurements are sparse.
Where to find the map and study
The study by Allison M. Chartrand and colleagues appeared in Geophysical Research Letters, volume 53, issue 13, under the title “A Vast Valley Network Beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet” (DOI 10.1029/2026GL122028). NASA’s Technical Reports Server lists June 16, 2026 as the publication date and identifies the record as an accepted manuscript with final changes.
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NASA’s IceBridge BedMachine Greenland V005 catalog describes a dataset containing bed topography and bathymetry, surface elevation, ice thickness, and an ice/ocean/land mask. NASA says the new mapping is intended to improve future versions of BedMachine Greenland; V005 should not be mistaken for a release that already includes the 2026 valley inventory.
Quick Recap
- NASA Earth Observatory: Uncovering the Valleys Hidden Below Greenland’s Ice
- NASA Technical Reports Server: A Vast Valley Network Beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet
- NASA: NASA Data Reveals Mega-Canyon under Greenland Ice Sheet
- NASA Open Data Portal: IceBridge BedMachine Greenland V005
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