Ice retreat dynamics across northern Greenland: Extreme or business as usual?

Predictions about the future behavior of glaciers and ice sheets in contact with the ocean and sea ice in a warming climate remain an outstanding scientific challenge.

This project focuses on the history and dynamics of the marine cryosphere in North Greenland since the last deglaciation ~19,000-years ago, to learn from the past to improve forward predictions.

Are the high rates of current ice retreat in North Greenland extreme or ´business as usual´ seen over a longer geological time scale?

Through integration of field data analyses, numerical modelling and application of novel methodologies using artificial intelligence and aDNA, the project goals are to develop:A data supported reconstruction of ice-sheet retreat and related variability of sea ice, ice tongues, and patterns of oceanic circulation, from the North Greenland margin since the last glaciationA new seafloor depth model of the North Greenland realmThe project is a fundament and integral part of the North Greenland Earth-Ocean-Ecosystem Observatory (GEOEO) Research Theme, led by the PIs of this project and adopted by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat through their Polar Research Process.

Two successful North Greenland expeditions with icebreaker Oden provide unique data for this project: The Petermann 2015 and Ryder 2019 expeditions.

Necessary new data will be acquired via the GEOEO North of Greenland 2024 Expedition with Oden, targeting areas not reached by any previous marine polar expedition.