An international team of approximately 80 scientists and crew departed Harwich, England, this week for a five- to six-week expedition to Greenland. Traveling aboard the polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, the team aims to study the rate at which glaciers are melting and how the resulting freshwater affects Atlantic Ocean currents.
The £20 million project, titled GIANT (Greenland Ice sheet to AtlaNtic Tipping points), is funded by Britain's Advanced Research and Innovation Agency. Researchers are specifically investigating whether glacier melt could disrupt the circulation systems that regulate temperatures and weather patterns in Europe.
The mission utilizes a high-tech submersible named "Boaty McBoatface" to collect data 1,500 meters below the surface. This device will map the geometry of the "glacier mélange"—the mixture of snow and sea ice at the glacier's edge—to determine its influence on ice stability. The British Antarctic Survey, which leads the mission, stated that the gathered data will be used to improve climate models and develop early-warning systems for potential glacier collapse.