Climate change may create new islands in Arctic waters

By Alimat Aliyeva

Scientists from the Technical University of Denmark have found out that drastic climate change can change the seascape in the Arctic, leading to the emergence of many new islands around Greenland, Azernews reports, citing the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters (GRL).

Experts have found that the bedrock of Greenland rose by 20 centimeters from 2013 to 2023, which is equivalent to two meters per century. This is largely due to the disappearance of the glacial cover, which reduces the pressure on the underlying soil.

The study is based on data from GNET, a network of 61 measuring stations located along the coast of Greenland.

The fact of Greenland's rise has long been known. This is because the land was pressed down by a thick ice sheet during the last ice age. Although the glaciers retreated about 12 thousand years ago, the earth is still rising due to a decrease in ice pressure.

In addition, the increased melting of the ice sheet caused by recent global warming has led over the past two decades to additional and much faster local land uplift along the coast of Greenland.

"The rise of rocks that we have seen in Greenland in these years cannot be explained only by natural processes after the ice Age. Thanks to GNET data, we can accurately analyze which land areas are rising due to climate change," said co-author of the scientific paper, Professor Shafqat Abbas Khan.