Puisortoq is a
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
on the east coast of
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
.
It has been in a status of retreat for the past years.
Puisortoq North Glacier Retreat Southeast Greenland
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It is a very active glacier protruding into the sea and discharging great amounts of ice, making navigation along the coast dangerous.
Geography
Puisortoq is located in the King Frederick VI Coast, the remote and uninhabited southeastern shore of Greenland. It protrudes into the sea south of Cape Steen Bille Cape Steen Bille ( da, Kap Steen Bille) or ''Kap Bille'', also known as Kangeq, is a headland in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast Greenland, Kujalleq municipality.
History
Cape Steen Bille was named in 1829 by Lieutenant Wilhelm August Graah
...
and north of Cape Cort Adelaer
Cape Cort Adelaer ( da, Kap Cort Adelaer), also known as Cape Adelaer, is a headland in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast Greenland, Sermersooq municipalities of Greenland, municipality. This cape is named after Norway, Norwegian seaman Cort Ade ...
, forming a large and nearly high icy cliff.Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
because large fragments of ice would break underwater and shoot to the surface like projectiles, hence its name meaning "where the ice rises to the surface".[Spencer Apollonio, ''Lands that Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland'', p. 34] The local Inuit advised Gino Watkins
Henry George "Gino" Watkins FRGS (29 January 1907 – c. 20 August 1932) was a British Arctic explorer and nephew of Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell.
Biography
Born in London, he was educated at Lancing College and acquired a lo ...
:
See also
*List of glaciers in Greenland
This is a list of glaciers in Greenland. Details on the size and flow of some of the major Greenlandic glaciers are listed by Eric Rignot and Pannir Kanagaratnam (2006)
Ice sheets and caps
*Greenland Ice Sheet
* Christian Erichsen Ice Cap
* Fla ...
References
External links
Vulnerability of Southeast Greenland Glaciers to Warm Atlantic Water From Operation IceBridge and Ocean Melting Greenland Data
Glaciers of Greenland
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