Introduction: In 1942, a group of World War II aircraft made an emergency landing on a glacier in southern Greenland. When they were discovered decades later, these planes – known as the “Lost Squadron” – were buried under 260 feet of ice. This remarkable discovery has sparked intense debate about ice accumulation rates and what they tell us about Earth’s history. While some cite this as evidence for rapid ice formation and a young Earth, the reality – as revealed through careful scientific analysis – tells a far more fascinating story about climate history, volcanic eruptions, and the complex nature of ice formation in Greenland.
The Lost Squadron: A Tale of Two Locations One of the most crucial aspects of the Lost Squadron story often overlooked is location. The aircraft landed in southern Greenland, near the coast, where conditions are markedly different from central Greenland. This coastal region experiences significantly higher snowfall rates and warmer temperatures than the interior, leading to faster ice accumulation and more complex ice movement patterns. In fact, the recovered aircraft had moved horizontally several miles from their original landing site toward the coast due to glacier flow, highlighting the dynamic nature of Greenland’s ice.
Reading Earth’s History Through Ice Cores The science behind ice core analysis is remarkably sophisticated. Scientists can identify distinct annual layers in the ice, much like tree rings, but these layers tell us far more than just age. They contain:
- Volcanic ash layers from known historical eruptions
- Pollen deposits that mark seasonal changes
- Air bubbles that preserve ancient atmosphere samples
- Chemical signatures that track climate changes
The presence of volcanic ash layers from well-documented eruptions, such as Vesuvius in 79 AD, serves as a natural time marker. By matching these layers to historical records and counting the annual layers between them, scientists can verify their dating methods with remarkable accuracy.
The ash layers are a critical piece not mentioned in the young-earth articles about the Lost Squadron. In ice cores taken from the center of Greenland that are as long as 9000 feet and yet we find that volcanic ash matched like a fingerprint to known volcanoes that erupted 2000 and 3000 years ago are found in just the top 300 feet of that ice confirming that ice accumulation is not as rapid as YEC have proposed.
A Matter of Scale and Context The central insight often missed in discussions about the Lost Squadron is the vast difference between coastal and central Greenland ice formation. While the Lost Squadron was buried under 260 feet of ice in roughly 50 years, this rate cannot be extrapolated to all of Greenland. In central Greenland, where major ice cores are drilled, accumulation rates are much slower, and the evidence for this comes from multiple independent sources:
- Volcanic ash layers from known eruptions
- Consistent annual layer patterns
- Chemical signatures in the ice
- Biological remains preserved beneath the ice sheet
The Bottom Line: What Does the Evidence Tell Us? The Lost Squadron provides valuable data about ice accumulation in coastal Greenland, but it’s just one piece of a much larger puzzle. When combined with evidence from ice cores, volcanic ash layers, and biological remains, we get a comprehensive picture of Greenland’s history. The ice cores reveal not just age, but changes in climate, atmospheric composition, and volcanic activity over many thousands of years. This rich dataset helps us understand both Earth’s past and potential future climate changes.
Want to Learn More? This blog post only scratches the surface of this fascinating topic. For a deeper dive into the science of ice cores, the Lost Squadron, and what they tell us about Earth’s history, watch my full video presentation. You’ll discover additional details about volcanic ash dating, how scientists analyze ice cores, and why location matters so much in understanding ice accumulation rates.
Naturalis Historia 