Brighton lecturer leads Arctic expedition to study impact of climate change on Greenland’s ice caps

Dr Lorna Linch, a Principal Lecturer in the university’s School of Applied Sciences, co-led an international team of researchers on the remote Qaanaaq Ice Cap, home to the most northerly settlement in Greenland.

The project, funded by the European Union’s INTERACT program, aimed to develop a comprehensive model of how ice sheets break up into smaller ice caps.

The team, which also includes Associate Professor Danni Pearce from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Dr Jeremy Ely from the University of Sheffield, gathered data on glacial geomorphology, sedimentology, and the timing of glaciation to understand how the ice cap has changed in the past and predict future changes.

Qaanaaq Ice Cap and settlement

Dr Lorna Linch sampling for cosmo dating

“As the Greenland Ice Sheet recedes, it fragments leaving behind smaller peripheral glaciers and ice caps,” said Dr Linch. “We are trying to better understand the processes, rates of change, and implications of such fragmentation events.”

The research findings will contribute to a better understanding of climate change and its impact on Arctic environments, informing future climate adaptation strategies.

The expedition involved fieldwork in challenging conditions, including cold temperatures, strong winds, and the potential for polar bear encounters.

Dr Linch said: “Polar bears are rare at this time of year but can still be a threat. We had all the safety procedures in place in case of an encounter.”

Dr Linch said that however challenging the conditions, the researchers were in their element:

“The scenery is amazing, and we get to see a lot of ice – sea ice, icebergs, glaciers. The huskies, which are used for pulling sleds for hunting, howl all through the ‘night’, although it’s never actually night because of the midnight sun, so we have 24-hour daylight. And the people are friendly and kind, and can often be heard singing around this small settlement.”

“This was an exciting opportunity to explore one of the most remote and pristine environments on Earth,” said Dr Linch. “We are eager to share our findings with the scientific community and the public.”

Retreat and separation of an outlet of the Qaanaaq Ice Cap