First research expedition to circumnavigate Greenland

The Arctic Ocean surrounding Greenland is one of the prime sentinels of the Earth’s climate, and the Greenland ice sheet has been melting at unprecedented rates because of global warming. Changes in the Arctic influence global circulation patterns both in the ocean and in the atmosphere, thus affecting the climate for all of us. The increased rate of Arctic sea ice loss in recent decades and predictions of an ice-free Arctic ocean have far-reaching economic and social impacts. The Greenland Circumnavigation Expedition GLACE is a unique opportunity to study the Arctic environment on and around Greenland in a complete circumnavigation, giving access to remote and understudied areas on land and at sea.

GLACE is a scientific expedition, organised by the Swiss Polar Institute SPI and supported by the Swiss Polar Foundation. 15 projects, led by international experts, were selected by an international panel of scientists to form the expedition’s integrated scientific programme. Six research projects in oceanography, atmospheric sciences and ecology are under Swiss leadership. The WSL participates with one project, in which microbiologist Beat Frey will investigate the evolutionary history of terrestrial microorganisms and plants in Greenland. All other projects are coordinated by leading international scientists active in the Arctic.

In total, 44 scientists from many different countries will spend two months on the Russian research vessel Akademik Tryoshnikov that will circumnavigate Greenland clockwise. The expedition will be departing from Kiel, Germany on 30 July 2019 and return to Kiel on 29 September 2019. There will be six landing sites around Greenland to conduct research on land, on the ice or along the coastline. A nuclear powered icebreaker will support the research vessel along North Greenland to break the thick multi-annual ice.