NIRS is hosting the four year research programme: GreenFjord (Greenlandic fjord ecosystems in a changing climate: socio-cultural and environmental interactions)

Written By lise autogena

Greenfjord is funded by The Swiss Polar Institute and led by The Extreme Environments Research Laboratory (EPFL), Switzerland. The research team includes scientists from University of Lausanne, ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), and the University of Zurich, with further support by the Swiss Data Science Center.

GreenFjord aims to create process understanding of how climate change affects fjord ecosystems, and how this propagates to biodiversity and livelihoods. The ultimate goal is to translate the new understanding into models to simulate and predict the evolution of future fjord systems, including glacier mass loss, trophic evolution and carbon cycling.

Field work will be conducted on land and in the ocean (RV Sanna), and will entail deep engagement of local residents.

Starting in August 2022, key activities will include: 

  • Cryosphere: glacier calving and impact on fjord water and nutrient circulation 

  • Ocean: physical and microbial characteristics of fjord systems 

  • Biosphere: determination of biodiversity by means of environmental DNA 

  • Atmosphere: influence of local natural emissions on cloud formation 

  • Land: export of terrestrial organic matter to the ocean 

  • Human: understanding the relationship between local livelihoods and fjord socio-ecosystems 

lise autogena
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