Camp Century and Greenland's Ice Core: From Cold War Arctic Base to Climate History

This episode of The Conversation Weekly examines Camp Century, the secret Cold War base buried in Greenland's ice, and the mile-deep ice-core drill that aimed to reveal Earth's climatic history. Paul Bearman, a geoscientist from the University of Vermont, explains how the project unfolded, the ambitious but flawed Project Iceworm missiles concept, and what the buried ice-core archive teaches us about natural climate cycles and future sea-level rise. The conversation connects 1960s science with today’s debates over Greenland's minerals, infrastructure challenges, and the global stakes of a warming Arctic.

Introduction: Camp Century and the Cold War Arctic

The Conversation Weekly opens with a tour of Camp Century, a secret US base carved into Greenland's ice sheet in the early 1960s. Gemma Ware frames its purpose as a testbed for Arctic military presence and the broader Cold War drive to control strategic spaces in the North Atlantic. The episode introduces Paul Bearman, a professor of natural resources and environment at the University of Vermont, who has spent years revisiting Camp Century and its ice-core legacy.

"The Arctic is warming several times faster than where I live in Vermont or most of the UK." - Paul Bearman, Professor of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Vermont.

Project Iceworm: A Nuclear Warhead Fantasy under the Ice

spk_3 describes the background of Camp Century as a military experiment to hide missiles inside the ice, a notion known as Project Iceworm. Bearman explains that although the Army pursued an ambitious plan to lay tunnels and move missiles through the ice, the dynamic environment beneath the snow caused rails to warp and tunnels to collapse. Kennedy vetoed the initiative, and NATO quickly followed due to cost and practicality concerns. The discussion emphasizes that while Iceworm captivated imagination, it was ultimately only a minor facet of Camp Century’s broader scientific mission.

"That project Iceworm was a strategic fantasy that others promoted because the Army didn’t have nuclear weapons, so they imagined a way in which the army could participate in the arms race." - Paul Bearman.

The Ice Core Quest: Drilling the Ice Sheet

The episode then details the scientific core of Camp Century: a unique ice drill aimed at reaching the bottom of Greenland’s ice sheet. Beginning in 1960, researchers faced technical setbacks drilling through the ice, but by 1966 they reached nearly a mile deep, retrieving ice cores that included 11 feet of frozen soil from beneath the ice. Bearman explains that this soil was later recognized as a crucial archive of past climate conditions, revealing periods when large portions of Greenland were ice-free.

"That ice core is critical for our understanding of climate." - Paul Bearman.

Life at Camp Century: A Protected Lab under Snow

Bearman describes the daily life of the scientists and military personnel as unexpectedly comfortable for fieldwork in extreme cold. The camp offered a mess hall, chefs, powered workshops, and a covered trench that shielded workers from the elements while drilling. The narrative emphasizes the groundbreaking nature of the work—cutting edge exploration within a dynamic ice environment—and likens the audacity of Camp Century to the era’s lunar ambitions.

Uncovering the Archive: Ice Core Retrieval and Climate Insight

Beginning in 2008, Bearman began pursuing access to the Camp Century cores scattered in Copenhagen. Danish collaborators located and cataloged a preserved 11-foot soil segment at the bottom of the core, safely stored in Copenhagen. Analyses of this material revealed that 100,000 years ago Earth experienced natural warm periods with significant Greenland ice loss, informing long-term climate context and helping scientists understand current rapid warming in a historical frame.

"This 11 feet of frozen material is an archive of history like we have never seen. It is critical for our understanding of climate." - Paul Bearman.

Greenland's Mineral Wealth and the Reality of Mining in a Changing Ice

The discussion shifts to Greenland's mineral potential, addressing why climate change does not automatically unlock easy mining. Bearman outlines the logistical, infrastructural, and environmental challenges: the absence of a national grid, limited road networks, extreme cold that hampers equipment, and the high costs of operating in a geologically unstable marginal zone near the ice margin. The interview counters a simplistic narrative that melting ice would instantly expose valuable minerals, arguing that the margins remain hazardous and mining remains economically risky.

"The idea that climate change is opening up Greenland for mining is a complete fallacy. The margins are geologically unstable and hazardous, not suddenly inviting." - Paul Bearman.

Geopolitics, Ownership, and the Big Object in the North Atlantic

The episode turns to contemporary geopolitics, focusing on Donald Trump’s comments about Greenland and the island’s strategic value. Bearman discusses the psychological and strategic allure of the “big, bright, shiny object” that Greenland represents on a Mercator-projected map that exaggerates its size. He notes that ownership, not just access, shapes policy debates, and that the real value lies in preserving ice as a climate archive and a regulator of global sea level rather than chasing resource wealth alone.

"Ownership is very important to you, ... simply wants this big, bright, shiny object in the North Atlantic." - Paul Bearman.

The Ice Sheet, Permafrost, and Global Sea Level

The conversation culminates in a warning about the consequences of Greenland’s ice loss. Bearman emphasizes that the ice sheet acts as a climate regulator; if it were to melt entirely, global sea levels would rise dramatically, destabilizing politics and displacing hundreds of millions of people. He also explains that permafrost at Greenland’s margins is thawing, creating hazards for infrastructure and increasing geological instability in fjord walls that threaten ships and coastal communities. The episode connects this science to policy and to the broader question of how to balance resource development with climate stewardship.

"If that ice sheet melts completely, world sea level is going to rise on average about 24 ft." - Paul Bearman.

Conclusion: Reading Greenland’s Story Through Ice

The podcast closes with a call to read more expert analysis about Greenland’s crisis on The Conversation platform, underscoring the importance of credible science in understanding the Arctic’s evolving geopolitical and environmental landscape. Bearman’s reflections frame the episode as a cautionary tale about the limits of engineering in a rapidly warming polar region and the responsibility to preserve the ice that governs global sea level and climate history.