When people think of rising global temperatures, they often imagine shrinking landscapes, not growing ones.
But in Greenland, climate change is revealing something unexpected. The world’s largest island has actually gained new land as glaciers melt and retreat.
Over the past 20 years, this process has exposed hidden areas, reshaping the coastline and even revealing new islands, writes WP.
A recent study published in Nature Climate Change found that Greenland’s coastline has expanded by 1,620 km since 2000.
The reason is simple. As ice melts, previously buried land emerges. This phenomenon, called deglaciation, is happening across the Arctic.
However, researchers say Greenland is seeing the most dramatic changes.
Using satellite data, an international team analyzed glacier retreat across the Northern Hemisphere. Their findings were striking.
Greenland accounts for two-thirds of the newly exposed coastline in the Arctic. The biggest transformation has been at Zachariae Isstrom, a glacier in northeastern Greenland.
It has pulled back so much that 81 km of new coastline has appeared—more than twice as much as any other glacier in the region.
Between 2000 and 2020, a total of 2,466 km of new coastline has been revealed across the Arctic. Out of this, 66% is in Greenland.
But the retreating ice isn’t just exposing more land. It has also uncovered 35 previously unknown islands, 29 of which are in Greenland.
These islands, each larger than half a square kilometer, are another sign of the rapid changes taking place.
Scientists say these shifts are a reminder of how climate change is reshaping the planet. As glaciers continue to melt, new landscapes will emerge.
Some see this as a threat, while others view it as an opportunity. The retreating ice could open access to untapped resources like oil, gas, and minerals.
Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, is already drawing global interest.
What happens next will depend on how nations, businesses, and environmental groups respond to this changing Arctic frontier.
