Scientific background

During recent decades, the average temperature in the Arctic has risen more than twice as much as the temperature in the rest of the world, and widespread melting of sea ice has been observed. Climate models predict a pronounced rise in temperature in the Arctic area in the course of this century, with winters becoming shorter and warmer whilst precipitation increases at the same time as the snow and ice cover shrinks. This situation is the result of both known and as yet unproven processes and factors. However, the future climatic scenarios are not unique, as the geological history of the Earth shows both cyclic and chaotic variations in environmental and climatic conditions, which are today recorded in both recent/sub-recent and fossilised marine sediments.

The project will focus on marine geological studies of three areas along Greenland’s west coast: southwest Greenland in the Qaqortoq/Julianehåb area, the Godthåb Fjord region and the Disko Bay area (Appendix 1). Greenland’s climatic and geological history since the end of the Ice Age will be examined on the basis of geological data from sea-floor cores and data from geophysical studies. Studies of 3.8-billion-year-old marine sedimentary rocks will also be included in the project. The purpose of these studies is to compare and contrast these very old sediments with the recent/sub-recent marine sediments.

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