Promises and perils of sand exploitation in Greenland

Mette Bendixen; Irina Overeem,; Minik Thorleif Rosing; Anders Anker Bjørk; Kurt H. Kjær; Aart Kroon; Gavin Zeitz; Lars Iversen

Promises and perils of sand exploitation in Greenland

Mette Bendixen, Irina Overeem,, Minik Thorleif Rosing, Anders Anker Bjørk, Kurt H. Kjær, Aart Kroon, Gavin Zeitz, Lars Iversen

Geography

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ice flow dynamics of the Greenland ice sheet control the production of sediment. Future acceleration in glacial flow and ice sheet melt will amplify Greenland’s supply of sediment to the coastal zone. Globally, sand and gravel reserves are rapidly depleting while the demand is increasing, largely due to urban expansion, infrastructural improvements and the enhancement of coastal protection in response to climate change. Here, we show that an abundance of sand and gravel provides an opportunity for Greenland to become a global exporter of aggregates and relieve the increasing global demand. The changing Arctic conditions help pave a sustainable way for the country towards economic independence. This way, Greenland could benefit from the challenges brought by climate change. Such exploitation of sand requires careful assessment of the environmental impact and must be implemented in collaboration with the Greenlandic society.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature Sustainability
Volume	2
Pages (from-to)	98-104
Number of pages	7
ISSN	2398-9629
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2019

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0218-6

Cite this

@article{b01b8d3664d2426996c466411b094be3,

title = "Promises and perils of sand exploitation in Greenland",

abstract = "Ice flow dynamics of the Greenland ice sheet control the production of sediment. Future acceleration in glacial flow and ice sheet melt will amplify Greenland{\textquoteright}s supply of sediment to the coastal zone. Globally, sand and gravel reserves are rapidly depleting while the demand is increasing, largely due to urban expansion, infrastructural improvements and the enhancement of coastal protection in response to climate change. Here, we show that an abundance of sand and gravel provides an opportunity for Greenland to become a global exporter of aggregates and relieve the increasing global demand. The changing Arctic conditions help pave a sustainable way for the country towards economic independence. This way, Greenland could benefit from the challenges brought by climate change. Such exploitation of sand requires careful assessment of the environmental impact and must be implemented in collaboration with the Greenlandic society.",

author = "Mette Bendixen and Irina Overeem, and Rosing, {Minik Thorleif} and Bj{\o}rk, {Anders Anker} and Kj{\ae}r, {Kurt H.} and Aart Kroon and Gavin Zeitz and Lars Iversen",

note = "CENPERM[2019]",

year = "2019",

month = feb,

day = "1",

language = "English",

volume = "2",

pages = "98--104",

journal = "Nature Sustainability",

issn = "2398-9629",

publisher = "Nature Research",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Promises and perils of sand exploitation in Greenland

AU - Bendixen, Mette

AU - Overeem,, Irina

AU - Rosing, Minik Thorleif

AU - Bjørk, Anders Anker

AU - Kjær, Kurt H.

AU - Kroon, Aart

AU - Zeitz, Gavin

AU - Iversen, Lars

N1 - CENPERM[2019]

PY - 2019/2/1

Y1 - 2019/2/1

N2 - Ice flow dynamics of the Greenland ice sheet control the production of sediment. Future acceleration in glacial flow and ice sheet melt will amplify Greenland’s supply of sediment to the coastal zone. Globally, sand and gravel reserves are rapidly depleting while the demand is increasing, largely due to urban expansion, infrastructural improvements and the enhancement of coastal protection in response to climate change. Here, we show that an abundance of sand and gravel provides an opportunity for Greenland to become a global exporter of aggregates and relieve the increasing global demand. The changing Arctic conditions help pave a sustainable way for the country towards economic independence. This way, Greenland could benefit from the challenges brought by climate change. Such exploitation of sand requires careful assessment of the environmental impact and must be implemented in collaboration with the Greenlandic society.

AB - Ice flow dynamics of the Greenland ice sheet control the production of sediment. Future acceleration in glacial flow and ice sheet melt will amplify Greenland’s supply of sediment to the coastal zone. Globally, sand and gravel reserves are rapidly depleting while the demand is increasing, largely due to urban expansion, infrastructural improvements and the enhancement of coastal protection in response to climate change. Here, we show that an abundance of sand and gravel provides an opportunity for Greenland to become a global exporter of aggregates and relieve the increasing global demand. The changing Arctic conditions help pave a sustainable way for the country towards economic independence. This way, Greenland could benefit from the challenges brought by climate change. Such exploitation of sand requires careful assessment of the environmental impact and must be implemented in collaboration with the Greenlandic society.

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2398-9629

VL - 2

SP - 98

EP - 104

JO - Nature Sustainability

JF - Nature Sustainability

ER -

Promises and perils of sand exploitation in Greenland

Abstract

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this