In warmer climates, Greenlandic deltas have grown, new analysis of 75-year-old aerial photos confirms

The growing deltas are affecting the infrastructure in Greenland with major consequences for both fishing and tourism.

The results from the study have altered our previous understanding of how the Arctic coast reacts to climate change.

“Our study shows how climate change affects environmental processes in the Arctic landscape. As a consequence of the warmer temperatures, more sediment is transported out to the coast. At the same time, the open-water period has been extended, and the material is therefore deposited in the deltas. And in this way, the deltas are growing,” says Associate Professor Aart Kroon.

“Large parts of the Arctic coasts are being eroded, but in Greenland, we see the opposite happening. The study shows that climate change in the Arctic affects the coasts in a different way to what we have seen so far,” said Bendixen.

UCJ, UNILORIN.