Presence and Pathways of Atlantic water inflow to Northwest Greenland fjords: collaborative science with the Ocean Research Project

Recent glacial mass loss and acceleration of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) has been hypothesized to be the result of an overall warming of the subpolar North Atlantic Gyre. Such warming has the potential to deliver increased heat to the face of marine-terminating glaciers, thereby enhancing melt and leading to glacial retreat and a loss of buttressing. However many parts of the Greenland coast, particularly in the Northwest, remain relatively unexplored and few oceanographic observations exist to track warm water pathways into the numerous fjords. Further, much of the bathymetry of the region is unknown, leading to uncertainty over whether or not warm Atlantic sourced water is capable of reaching the glacier margins. To fill this gap the R/V Ault, flagship of the Ocean Research Project (ORP, an incorporated 501(c)3), sailed between Nuuk and 78N from June to September 2015. Among several independent sampling programs, ORP data collected during the cruise included sea-surface salinity (through a thermosalinograph system), CTD casts, and over 2600 km of reconnaissance bathymetric surveys of the west Greenland continental shelf and fjords. CTD data from this data-sparse region indicate pathways of warm-water inflow, and will be used to supplement water column sampling for NASA’s Ocean Melting Greenland project. Results obtained from the 2015 field season will be used to inform and plan for a second field program in summer 2016.