TA1 Facility 4 – AU Greenland Kangerlussuaq field site
Average visit: 1 week
Greenland is the world’s largest island and over three-quarters of its surface is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. It is therefore one of the few truly extreme cryogenic environments on Earth and yet is relatively accessible.
The proposed site is Kangerlussuaq here there is excellent access to the glacial ice sheet, regions with permafrost, regions with glacial sediment deposits and also glacial run-off which meets the ocean. Specifically there is access to both the Russell Glacier and the Isunnguata glacier which are part of the vast uninterrupted permanent polar ice sheet. On the ice sheet will be features such as melt-water lakes, shearplanes, fissures/cracks and ice compaction effects.
Kangerlussuaq is on the west coast of Greenland and is one of the most accessible regions of the island, having an international airport. This site has been well characterised geologically through several decades of field site study by international science teams as well as Aarhus University scientists. Accomodation: Kangerlussuaq Interntional Science Support (KISS).
Contact:
Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1520, Aarhus C, 8000, Denmark.
Jon Merrison, merrison@phys.au.dk
Keld Rasmussen, geolkrr@geo.au.dk
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