Abstract
Environments along the coast of Greenland are rapidly changing under the influence of a warming climate in the Arctic. To better understand the changes in the coastal environments, we performed researches in the Qaanaaq region in northwestern Greenland as a part of the ArCS (Arctic Challenge for Sustainability) Project. Mass loss of ice caps and marine-terminating outlet glaciers were quantified by field and satellite observations. Measurements and sampling in fjords revealed the important role of glacial meltwater discharge in marine ecosystems. Flooding of a glacial stream in Qaanaaq and landslides in a nearby settlement were investigated to identify the drivers of the incidents. Our study observed rapid changes in the coastal environments, and their critical impact on the society in Qaanaaq. We organized workshops with the residents to absorb local and indigenous knowledge, as well as to share the results and data obtained in the project. Continuous effort towards obtaining long-term observations requiring involvement of local communities is crucial to contribute to a sustainable future in Greenland.
Highlights
Greenland is characterized by the Greenland ice sheet and peripheral glaciers, which cover about 80% of the land area with a mean ice thickness of about 1700 m (Morlighem et al, 2017; Rastner et al, 2012; AMAP, 2017)
digital elevation models (DEMs) analyses demon strated that greatest thinning rates were observed at rapidly retreating and speeding up glaciers (Fig. 4), which implied the critical role of ice dynamics in the mass loss of the outlet glaciers (Wang et al, submitted)
This paper summarized the studies on ice sheet/glacier-ocean interaction in northwestern Greenland, which were carried out as part of ArCS Project Theme 2
Summary
Greenland is characterized by the Greenland ice sheet and peripheral glaciers, which cover about 80% of the land area with a mean ice thickness of about 1700 m (Morlighem et al, 2017; Rastner et al, 2012; AMAP, 2017). In the ArCS Project, we further expanded our research to include the impact of changing coastal envi ronments on society in Qaanaaq This is because serious impacts on society were clearly observed as a result of natural disasters in the form of landslides and glacial flooding. We initiated our research project in this region because of its proximity to Qaanaaq Airport that facilitates logistics, previous and ongoing Japanese research activities based in Qaanaaq (e.g., Matoba et al, 2002; Uetake et al, 2010; Aoki et al, 2014), and the sparsity of glacier studies despite recently accelerated mass loss in northwestern sector of the Greenland ice sheet (Khan et al, 2010). They are utilized as a freshwater resource in winter time
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