The Trailblazing Period of Nontraditional Arctic Investigation
### The Arctic Aspirations of the Cold War: An Overlooked Period of Daring Military and Scientific Trials
In recent times, the Arctic has emerged as a key area of concern regarding climate change, with researchers diligently observing the Greenland ice sheet for indications of melting and ecological harm. Yet, during the Cold War, the Arctic was perceived quite differently—through a lens of immense possibilities and scientific enthusiasm. Greenland, in particular, turned into a testing ground for some of the most daring and creative military and scientific endeavors of that time.
#### The Arctic Frontier: A Cold War Testing Ground
During the peak of Cold War hostilities in the 1950s, the Arctic was regarded not merely as a barren, icy expanse but as a place ripe for investigation and innovation. The U.S. military, alongside scientists and engineers, launched a series of ambitious projects intended to leverage the Arctic’s distinctive conditions for both strategic and scientific aims. These initiatives ranged from practical endeavors to imaginative schemes, often blending the lines between science fiction and actual pursuits.
One of the most daring concepts was to utilize Greenland’s ice sheet as a storage site for nuclear waste. Physicists and clergy Karl and Bernhard Philberth put forth a proposal to dispose of radioactive substances by allowing them to melt through the ice. Their vision included encasing the waste in glass or ceramics and disseminating millions of these radioactive “medicine balls” across a remote section of the ice sheet. The heat generated from the radioactive material would supposedly cause the balls to gradually sink into the ice, with hopes that by the time they reached the coastline millennia later, the radionuclides would have diminished.
While the concept was groundbreaking, it was laden with doubts. What if the balls were crushed by the ice or became trapped in meltwater streams? Could the heat from the radioactive substances speed up the movement of the ice sheet? In the end, logistical issues, scientific skepticism, and political resistance—especially from Denmark, which had authority over Greenland—led to the shelving of the project.
#### The Kee Bird and Arctic Transport Trials
The military’s intrigue with the Arctic went beyond the disposal of nuclear waste. In 1947, a B-29 bomber named Kee Bird found itself stranded on a frozen lake in Greenland after straying off course during a mission. The aircraft stayed there for many years, emblematic of the difficulties of Arctic exploration. In the mid-1990s, a bold plan to recover and fly the Kee Bird was derailed by a fire, but the name continued to resonate in other Arctic experiments.
In 1959, the U.S. Army evaluated a new over-snow vehicle, also named Kee Bird. This snowmobile-tractor-airplane hybrid was designed for unprecedented speeds across the ice sheet. Outfitted with a 300-horsepower airplane engine and Teflon-coated skis, the vehicle achieved speeds of 40 miles per hour during trials in Michigan. The target was to reach 100 miles per hour, but technical challenges and severe Arctic conditions curtailed its efficacy.
Another innovative vehicle, the Carabao, was put through tests in Greenland in 1964. This air-cushioned vehicle, created by Bell Aerosystems, could glide over snow and crevasses, but it struggled against strong winds—an all-too-frequent occurrence on the ice sheet. Despite its potential, the Carabao’s absence of brakes and its struggles with downhill navigation rendered it impractical for Arctic travel.
#### Project Iceworm: A Cold War Concealment Strategy
Perhaps the most ambitious—and strange—Cold War initiative in Greenland was **Project Iceworm**. This top-secret endeavor envisioned an extensive network of tunnels lying beneath the ice sheet, covering an area comparable to Alabama. The tunnels were intended to contain hundreds of missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, poised to be launched at Soviet targets in Europe.
The goal was to establish a mobile, concealed missile base that could avoid detection and withstand a nuclear strike. The tunnels would continually shift, with missiles transported on trains capable of emerging at various launch sites. To energize this subterranean structure, the Army contemplated using portable nuclear reactors.
Nevertheless, the initiative encountered insurmountable obstacles. The ice tunnels, susceptible to collapse due to the ice’s unstable nature, proved too hazardous for long-term operation. Ultimately, Project Iceworm amounted to little more than a single railcar, 1,300 feet of track, and an abandoned military truck fitted with railroad wheels.
#### Camp Century: The Subterranean City
While numerous Cold War Arctic projects were left by the wayside, one emerged as a notable success—**Camp Century**, or the “City Under the Ice.” Established in 1959, the camp was situated approximately 100 miles inland from the edge of the Greenland ice sheet. It comprised several dozen trenches, some exceeding a thousand feet in length, carved into the ice by massive snowplows and topped with metal arches and snow.
Camp Century operated as a fully functional military base, complete with heated bunkrooms
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