Research project GREENCARB
Melting glaciers carry more than water, but where does it all end up?
Arctic fjords sit at a crossroads. As glaciers retreat, they expose new seafloor that may lock away carbon, a rare natural brake on warming. But meltwater also flushes organic matter and carbon into the ocean, where its breakdown can acidify the water and release greenhouse gases. Understanding which force dominates, and why, is the central question of GREENCARB.
Our fieldwork is focused on south-east Greenland, a natural laboratory hosting large, actively melting marine-terminating glaciers as well as already retreated land-terminating glaciers. The region is understudied yet accessible to small research vessels, making it ideal for answering two fundamental questions:
- What is the current carbon budget, and how is it shaped by physical and biogeochemical processes?
- What are the dominant drivers of carbon sink and source dynamics in East Greenland fjords?
Four work packages: glacier to sediment
This work responds directly to the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere, which identifies improved understanding of marine cryosphere–ocean interactions as critical for future sea-level and climate projections.
In 2024 and 2025 we went to several fjords south of Tasilaaq to understand the effect of extreme climatic years: cold, sea-ice rich and low glacial melt in 2024 in contrast to the warm high melting of 2025. One takeaway result is the high heterogeneity of response from the different fjords, highlighting the need for an extended study region and multiyear monitoring.
Follow our 2026 expedition on board RV Skagerak