The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting from below.

Observing the Unknown Winter Freshwater in Greenland Fjords

Studies have claimed that the volume of melt from the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet is
too small to be of significance. We disagree.

We have carried out the first measurements of the meltwater as it flows into a Greenlandic fjord. The measurements were acquired during the winter where the water from the bed adds freshwater to the fjords.

View of South Greenland glacier from the air. Blue skies and mountaineous landscape.
UAV view of ice-filled fjord in Greenland.
The fjord in front of the glacier Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat in South Greenland. Credit: E. Poulsen, AU.

March 2023

Narsarsuaq, South Greenland

Innovative measurements of ice-filled fjords during the winter. Inspite of challenging conditions, we retrieved multiple measurements of the water properties.

Scientists in front of a glacier keeping an eye on the UAV.

Villum Foundation logo

This project was supported by a Villum Experiment grant from the Villum Foundation.

The work was carried out in close collaboration with the Arctic Research Centre at Aarhus University, Denmark.