A scientific expedition will deploy a fleet of autonomous robots to collect data on how Greenland's glaciers are melting.
An international research team has embarked on a six-week expedition to south-east Greenland on the UK’s polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough. Led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the mission forms part of the five-year Greenland Ice sheet to Atlantic Tipping points (GIANT) project, which aims to collect data on melting ice to improve predictions of its impact on climate change.
The Greenland ice sheet, which sits in the North Atlantic, is melting at a rapid rate. It’s not only being melted from above through warmer air but also from below through warmer ocean waters. As it melts and fresh water enters the ocean, it affects nearby ocean currents, which in turn could affect Europe’s climate.
“If we want to understand how glaciers melt and fracture, we need to be where the action happens – where the glacial ice meets the ocean,” said Dr Pierre Dutrieux...