6 October 2026: A new study assesses atlantification of East Greenland using transmitters on Narwhals

A study by Heide-Jørgensen and colleagues, titled “Narwhals document atlantification of East Greenland”, was published in the journal Science Advances in August 2026.

Using satellite transmitters attached directly on narwhals, the authors investigate oceanographic conditions along the East Greenland coast, an area which is challenging to study due to its remoteness and environmental conditions. By attaching transmitters on narwhals, a species that can regularly perform deep dives, the authors collected temperature and salinity information at precise locations and depths in previously inaccessible areas.

Along the East Greenland coast, cold polar waters and freshwater from glaciers and sea ice meet warmer and saltier Atlantic water. In the last decades, Atlantic water has increasingly penetrated polar waters, a process known as Atlantification. This study aimed to track these changes to better understand the impacts of Arctic warming.

In total, satellite trackers attached to six narwhals collected 2,060 temperature and salinity profiles, values at each depth as the animal dives, across East Greenland between August 2017 and July 2020. These measurements showed that warmer Atlantic water is penetrating deep into East Greenland’s coastal waters. In the Blosseville Basin, warmer masses dominate the water column below 250 m, and reach deep basins in front of glaciers up to 300 km inland. Glaciers exposed to these warmer waters also show higher summer iceberg discharge, suggesting that warmer Atlantic water is melting the glacier front from below, promoting submarine melt.

The process of Atlantification could also drive broader ecological shifts, including an increase in species moving from the northern part of the Atlantic into Arctic marine ecosystems, with cascading effects on nutrient cycles, primary production, and food webs.

Read the full paper by Heide-Jørgensen et al. (2026) here: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr1424

Photo credit: Glenn Williams