Research ship studies Greenland ice loss from Reykjavik harbour

The research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough is in Reykjavik harbour as part of an international expedition examining how melting from the Greenland ice sheet affects the North Atlantic and the Earth’s climate system, mbl.is reported.

The ship arrived on Friday and is expected to leave Iceland after the weekend, according to the British Embassy in Iceland.

The expedition forms part of the five-year GIANT research project, short for Greenland Ice Sheet to Atlantic Tipping Points from Ice Loss. The project is led by the British Antarctic Survey and involves experts in glaciology, oceanography, climate science and artificial intelligence.

Researchers are studying how freshwater from Greenland’s melting glaciers enters the ocean, whether increased flows could affect ocean currents and what consequences this could have for the climate system.

Kelly Hogan, an oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey and leader of the GIANT project, told the BBC in July that changes in ocean currents could affect rainfall and the frequency of storms in Britain, as well as agriculture, water supplies and fish stocks.

“What happens in Greenland has real effects on what happens in Britain,” Hogan told the BBC.

The expedition aboard the Sir David Attenborough has been described as one of the most extensive international research efforts to examine the links between Greenland’s ice melt, ocean currents and the future development of the Earth’s climate.