NUI remotely operated submersible to help unlock Greenland’s glaciers

Due for launch in 2023, the mission led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin will be the first time Greenland’s glaciers - which make up the world’s second-largest ice sheet - will be seen up close underwater.

Engineered by project partner the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), NUI will encounter icebergs and riptides as it approaches within feet of the glaciers and returns with data and samples from the underwater environment.

The scientists’ primary focus will be on the sand walls (moraines) that buttress the glaciers and are thought to naturally stabilise the ice sheet. What they learn will reveal what’s shoring up glaciers across the entire Greenland ice sheet, which could lead to more accurate model projections for future sea level rise.

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“The big uncertainty in Greenland’s contribution to sea level rise is how fast the ice sheet is going to lose mass,” said Ginny Catania, a professor at UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences who is leading the voyage. “We know how much sea level is stored in the ice sheet, we know climate is warming and changing the ice sheet, but what we don’t know is the rate at which these glaciers will contribute to sea level rise.”