Projected Loss of Greenland’s Peripheral Glaciers with Continued High Emissions

The Cryosphere, 3 February 2026

Greenland contains many glaciers along its edge that are separate from its massive main ice sheet. This study concludes that the future of these peripheral glaciers largely depends on future emissions. Under low emissions, these glaciers are expected to lose 19% of their area and 29% of their volume by 2100. Under high emissions however, they would lose 44% of their area and 52% of their volume. Peripheral glaciers act as natural buffers for extreme melt events, moderating pulses of freshwater in the summer melt season. Their disappearance would increase the variability of coastal water flow, potentially exposing fjord and nearshore ecosystems to stronger seasonal extremes. Such loss also affects nutrient dynamics and circulation patterns in surrounding coastal waters, disrupting phytoplankton productivity, food webs, fisheries, and local marine biodiversity. Together, these changes will alter fjord water characteristics, and changes in freshwater discharge could influence larger ocean circulation patterns including the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

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