2024-09-12, Petermann Fjord

The Petermann Fjord is a beautiful fjord with its dramatic rock walls that drop steeply straight down into it. It is the third time the icebreaker Oden has visited this fjord: 2015, 2019 and now 2024. This year, when the researchers had the opportunity to also visit the inaccessible Victoriafjord, it became clear how different the fjords in northwest Greenland are from each other. Victoriafjorden is gigantic, with large glacier movements and many large icebergs, while Petermannfjorden and Ryderfjorden have a completely different dynamic.

It, therefore, becomes particularly interesting for the researchers to compare parameters such as bottom topography, meltwater flows, methane levels, bottom sediments, water properties and biological productivity to understand more about climate history and future scenarios.

Text by Åsa Lindgren, Expedition Coordinator