US-Greenland Science Partnerships Are on Thin Ice

Newswise — CU Boulder researcher Twila Moon shares what is at stake as Trump bids for Greenland 

After months of repeated threats to “take over” Greenland, President Trump said last week that he had reached the framework of a deal with NATO over the island’s future.

Amid the geopolitical chaos, researchers have compiled a “statement from US scientists in solidarity with Greenland” to voice their support for the autonomous territory of Denmark. So far, more than 200 scientists who have conducted research in Greenland and worked with Greenlanders have signed the letter, including at least 20 from CU Boulder. 

“We vehemently oppose President Trump’s aggressive stance regarding Greenland and reiterate – as Greenland’s leaders have clearly stated – that Greenland is not anyone’s to ‘buy’ or ‘take.’ Greenland belongs to its people,” the letter stated. 

Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), signed the letter.

“I have been studying the ice sheet and going to Greenland for more than 20 years,” said Moon. “The Greenlanders have been very generous in sharing information with us and providing resources to us.  We would like to see this peaceful collaborative relationship continue.” 

CU Boulder Today sat down with Moon to chat about the letter, the role Greenland and its people play in global research and what would be at stake if the U.S.-Greenland relationship collapses. 

What is Greenland like?

I first visited the Greenland Ice Sheet in 2006 as a graduate student. I probably have been there more than a dozen times.  

It is a stunningly beautiful landscape. On the west coast, you have large, smoothed-over hills and mountains, which were covered by the ice sheet at one point in history. There are huge fjords all around the coast, so there is a lot of contrast with the ocean meeting up with these big hills and mountains. As you move further inland, you run into the massive ice sheet that still covers 80% of the island. 

What do you study there?

When I first began studying Greenland, I was focused on the ice sheet. I was participating in research to understand how quickly the ice sheet was retreating, or advancing, and where the edge of the ice sheet was in recent history. 

Over the years, I’ve expanded my research to study how the ice sheet and the ocean interact with each other, how ecosystems are connected to ice sheet changes and how the changes are affecting communities in Greenland and communities really far from Greenland. 

Why is Greenland so important in climate research?

The Greenland Ice Sheet holds enough water to raise global sea levels by roughly 24 feet. It has now lost ice every year since the late 1990s, and the rate is much faster than that of Antarctica’s.

When we think about sea level rise over the next few decades, and about changes in currents and weather driven by shifts in the Atlantic Ocean, all of these are tied back to the Greenland Ice Sheet and the very rapid, substantial changes we’re seeing there right now.

In addition to climate research, Greenland also has a wide variety of biodiversity to study. Just a few years ago, I worked with biologists to discover the world’s 20th sub-population of polar bears in southeast Greenland. Scientists are even in Greenland to study space and astrophysics. 

What do you hope to achieve by signing the letter? 

We want to help people in the United States who maybe haven’t been paying attention to Greenland understand that we have a really good past relationship with Greenland. The Greenlanders have been important partners in being able to understand environmental changes that impact the United States directly. 

Greenlanders have been incredibly generous in getting researchers around the island and on the ice sheet, helping people understand the landscape around them, and taking care of instruments at times when international scientists can’t be there.

We also wanted to tell our Greenlandic partners that we support them and stand with them. 

How important is it to continue the research collaboration between Greenlanders and the United States?

Rapid changes are happening in the Arctic, and we have to run to keep pace with understanding them. I worry that if we see a decline in our relationship with Greenlanders, they might not be as open to providing information or assistance, and this would really be a challenge for U.S. researchers. I’ve already seen some hesitancy from Greenlanders to participate in projects that include U.S. federal funding. 

Science in Greenland is really important for us in America and for all other countries of the world.