Greenland Ice

Sheet
Its Location
Located in the Arctic region (from 71°N
northwards between Arctic & Atlantic
Ocean)
What this means:
● Location in the Arctic region: a significant player in
processes like climate regulation, sea level rise, and
ocean circulation.
● Position near the North Pole: it interacts with global
weather patterns, reflects sunlight, and affects
atmospheric circulation
● Melting ice from the Greenland ice sheet: contributes to
rising sea levels -> impacts coastal areas world wide.
● Freshwater runoff from the ice sheet can disrupt ocean
currents and impact global climate systems.
Scary statistics

➔ Melting of ice on Greenland accounts for 25% of the world's sea level rise
➔ Satellite data shows that between 1985 & 2022, Greenland ice sheet has lost 1140
billion tonnes of ice
➔ Between 1990 and 2018, scientists have recorded a 2.8 degree Celsius increase in
annual surface temperatures on the Greenland Ice Sheet
➔ The highest elevation on the ice sheet reached a temperature above zero -
happened seven times in the past 2000 years
➔ Melting occurs more quickly in the south-east parts of the ice sheet
 Natural Characteristics

Loses an average of Dry and cold climate

270 billion tons of ice
per year

Contains 11% of the Highest elevation of

world’s freshwater >3000m above sea
level and covers an area
of 1.7 million km^2
Human Characteristics

Population Uses
- 56 000 people People rely on it for
fishing, hunting,
- Lowest population freshwater needs &
density in the world agriculture
Reasons for current land cover
change (ice loss & expansion of melt ponds)
Climate change
➔ Global warming caused by the increase in greenhouse gas
emissions.
➔ As the Earth's climate warms, temperatures in the Arctic region
are rising at a faster rate than the global average.
➔ Warmer temperatures -> increased melting of ice on the
surface of the ice sheet and at its edges -> increased surface
area of ice exposed
➔ The more ice that is exposed -> more ice to melt -> greater
melting rate
Reasons for current land cover
change (ice loss & expansion of melt ponds)
Melting of ice specifically in areas with

Cryoconite
cryoconite deposition

Increased rate of ice melt: caused by increasing

surface deposition of airborne particles of cryoconite
- a combination of dust blown from central Asian
deserts, ejected from volcanic eruptions and air
pollution from European coal power plants
➔ Colour of cryoconite has decreased the albedo
of the ice, increasing absorption of heat and
thus rate of melting
Reasons for current land cover
change (ice loss & expansion of melt ponds)
Expansion of melt ponds
➔ Melt ponds have much lower albedo -> absorb
more heat from sunlight -> warms surrounding
ice & melting it -> bigger melt ponds
➔ The bigger they are the more ice melts and they
get bigger
➔ Creates feedback loop that accelerates ice melt
 Impacts of the Ice Loss
Social Economic
Positive ● Tourism ● Increased tourism benefits
From 2010 to 2017, economy
yearly tourist numbers Issue of Greenland's glaciers melting
in Greenland gathers more visitors (ecotourism)
increased by 22k ● Bc of ice melting, a wealth of
● Increased mineral resources have been
income from exposed, so mining companies
mining can have a greater access to
boost quality minerals -> increased income
of living ● Dependency on Denmark will be
reduced
● Economic benefits from
increased fishing rates
- 90% of Greenland's export
income comes from fishing
- In 2012, 23k tonnes of halibut
was caught which generated 44
million Euros
Environmental
● Warmer weather has
allowed for more farming
● South-west of Greenland
has longer grass growing
season, which has boosted
the livestock industry
->people rely less on imports
● Dairy cattle has been
introduced
● Commercial fishermen are
seeing increased variety of
fish including cod and
mackerel, which isn't usually
found in Greenland's water
● Greenlanders are able to
grow potatoes, cabbages
and turnips
 Impacts of the Ice Loss
Social Economic Environmental

Negative ● Sea level rise ● Mining companies plan to bring ● Permafrost releases
will impact foreign workers -> does not methane gas
people living in benefit the economy ● Floor of Gulf Stream is
coasts ● The different fish being caught affected due to stream of
● Traditional needs new equipment + cold water flowing into the
ways of life are infrastructure built ocean
challenged, so ● Fish are moving here from
people are south -> vulnerable to new
moving north predators
as the water ● Sea level rises will impact
moves coastal ecosystems
● Cause extreme weather
events such as droughts and
wildfires
 Eectiveness of
Geospatial Technologies
● Remote sensing and GIS, etc provide detailed spatial information for
assessing land cover changes on the Greenland Ice Sheet
● They allow monitoring of glacier retreat, melt ponds, and bare rock
exposure over large areas and over extended periods
● They help with data analysis and enabling researchers to identify trends
and patterns in land cover changes
● Therefore they support informed decision like making management
strategies by providing an understanding of ice sheet dynamics

Limitations: cloud cover, resolution limitations, and data processing

complexities can impact the effectiveness of geospatial technologies

Overall: very effective

A specific example of geotech use
Operation IceBridge with Ice Penetrating Radar
Data
● 2015
● Radar data combined to build comprehensive map of layers of
Greenland Ice Sheet
● Allows scientists to better picture the ice sheet’s history and
study ice from different climate periods in past and predict its
future response
● Ice penetrating radar works by sending radar signals into ice
and recording strength and return time of reflected signals ->
detects ice surface, sub-ice bedrock & layers
● Effective & important to projecting Greenland’s future
contribution to sea level rise
Local Response
1. Community response from Uummannaq people: they
undertook less hunting on sea ice & turned to open sea
activities on central west coast to try and reduce CO2
emissions
- Positive: renewable energy use increased by 45%
- Negative: did not reduce the temperature in
Greenland due ot scale of response being very small
2. Ilulissat Hydropower:
- Aimed to provide complete power & automation
solution for a new hydropower plant to provide
power to Ilulissat with emission free energy and to
reduce dependence on fossil fuel

Not very effective

National Response
● Ban on mining
○ Greenland's parliament has passed legislation that will ban uranium mining and cease the
development of the Kuannersuit mine, one of the biggest rare earth deposits in the world.
○ Also bans exploration of radioactive minerals such as thorium
● Public awareness campaigns have helped raise awareness and target citizens about promoting
cleaner solutions and behaviour.
● But it also overshadowed by campaigns supporting mining practices to increase independence from
Denmark, thus increasing emissions and being ineffective

Partially effective
 Global Response
The Paris Agreement
● Implemented in November 2016
● 192 countries signed and 148 ratified
● Each country sets a target aimed to limit global
warming by 2 degrees by reducing GHG emissions
● Positives:
○ Some countries have made an effort, such as
China with the stopping for construction of 52
coal fired power plants
● Negatives
○ The US pulled out in 2017 with concerns about
reaching their target (one of the main
contributors to GHG emissions
○ The only thing other countries can do about Partially effective
this is implement sanctions