Observing the Unknown Winter Freshwater in Greenland Fjords

The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting from below. We have known this for decades but we still do not know how much it is melting. That is worrying because the melt from the bed contributes to the ice sheet’s mass loss. Until now, studies have claimed that the volume of melt from the bed is too small to be of significance. We disagree. In our study we will carry out the first measurements
of the meltwater as it flows into a Greenlandic fjord. The measurements will happen during winter where the water from the bed adds freshwater to the fjords. If successful, the results will pave the way for a completely new understanding of winter interactions between glaciers and fjords, and verify the existence of a new term in the total mass budget of the Greenland Ice Sheet.