I love great landscapes, untouched wilderness, mountain peaks and glaciers, so I have always been fascinated by the Arctic. East Greenland is one of the most isolated areas on the island, indeed in the whole world. Only about 56,000 people live on the whole of Greenland, and about 3000 on the rugged east coast. The larger settlements are all in the west and south of the country. So remote is the east coast that the language of the inhabitants is even different from that of other Inuit in Greenland.
This year’s "Leister Go East 2023 Expedition" will take thirteen Swiss and Danish researchers on board the icebreaker Nansen Explorer to this untouched landscape. My project "ArcticBioTech: Unlocking Access to Unexploited Natural Products of Arctic Microorganisms" was one of nine scientific projects on board. The luxurious research vessel is equipped with a helicopter, two inflatable boats and a small laboratory. Via Iceland we reach the Constable Pynt peninsula, formerly known as Scoresbysund, by private charter, and from there we reach the nearby settlement of Ittoqqortoormiit on the 70th parallel, which has only 345 inhabitants. Over the next fortnight, the Nansen Explorer will circumnavigate the southern tip of Greenland.
We visit remote fjords with indigo blue water, huge glaciers spilling from the grey-white mountains and calving directly into the sea ice. Shimmering icebergs float majestically in the fjords. Of the total of twelve beaches visited between 70 and 59 degrees latitude, which corresponds to a distance of about 2000 kilometres, only four bays are "clean". After all, I think to myself, there are still unpolluted places on this earth.
My search is actually for microbes like bacteria and fungi that can digest plastic. They could be a solution to the global plastic problem. Various commercial providers are already competing for the promising plastic-eating market. But most microorganisms that can break down plastic only work at temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius.That makes industrial use difficult, expensive and climate-damaging. That’s why in my research group we are looking for microbes that can also digest plastic at lower temperatures.
Something special for the Swiss expedition members is the visit to "Schweizerland" also thrives here, the dwarf fireweed (Chamaenerion latifolium ) from the evening primrose family.
On the eighth day we see traces of civilisation for the first time. Tasiilaq is a village with about 2000 inhabitants and the most populous community on the east coast. There are no roads outside, all transport is by helicopter or boat. We also visit the remote Inuit village of Isertoq, the many ghost houses testify to the fact that it has lost almost half of its population since 1990 .
The weather is surprisingly mild and sunny. Fourteen days of continuous sunshine, occasionally some fog in the morning - that is quite unusual for East Greenland, which is used to fog. In wind-protected valleys, the thermometer even rises to 19 degrees Celsius, which some of us spontaneously use to jump into the glacial melt water of a fjord. Brrr... I can’t even stay in for a minute.
Climate change and the landscape changes it causes are our constant companions. Glacial moraines clearly show how climate change is affecting Greenland. Thanks to the "Leister Go East 2023 Expedition" sponsored by the Leister Foundation, we are able to visit numerous scientifically unexplored locations in a short time. I am already looking forward to the research results.
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