Glacial movements: The changing face of Eqip Sermia

Eqi Glacier or Eqip Sermia in Greenlandic is located at the head of the Eqi Fjord and is one of Greenland’s most accessible glaciers. Situated approximately 80 kilometres north of Ilulissat, the glacier is known for its regular calving events, where large chunks of ice break off and fall into the fjord, creating icebergs.

Location: Eqi Fjord

Eqi Glacier is located at the end of Eqi Fjord, a narrow inlet carved by glacial activity over millennia. The fjord stretches inland from the Greenlandic coast across Ataa Sound, offering a clear path for icebergs calved from the glacier to float toward Disko Bay. The fjord’s depth and steep, rocky cliffs are typical of the landscape shaped by glaciers, providing a natural channel for water and ice to flow. It is possible to access Eqi Glacier via boat tours that traverse the fjord, passing numerous icebergs and offering views of the rugged terrain.

Source: Greenland Ice Sheet

Eqi Glacier is fed by the Greenland Ice Sheet, the second-largest ice mass in the world after Antarctica. Covering approximately 1.7 million square kilometres and over 80% of the island, the Greenland Ice Sheet is a critical component of the global climate system and plays a significant role in sea-level regulation. The ice that forms Eqi Glacier originates deep within the ice sheet and slowly flows toward the fjord as the glacier advances.

The glacier is an outlet of the ice sheet, meaning that the ice observed at the glacier’s face has travelled over thousands of years from the interior of Greenland. The pressure of the overlying ice compacts it, giving glacial ice its distinct blue colour. Eqi is one of many glaciers in Greenland that serves as a conduit for the ice sheet to interact with the ocean.

Adjacent Glacier: Kangilerngata Sermia

Eqi Glacier is not the only glacier in the region. Just to the north of Eqi lies Kangilerngata Glacier, another outlet of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Although less frequently visited this is part of the same glacial system. While Eqi Glacier is well-known for its calving activity, this glacier is more stable, with less frequent ice breakage. Both glaciers contribute icebergs to the fjord, but Eqi Glacier is generally considered the more active of the two in terms of calving.

Size and Characteristics of Eqi Glacier

Eqi Glacier stretches approximately three kilometres across, with ice cliffs reaching heights of up to 200 meters. The face of the glacier is jagged, featuring deep crevasses and fissures, with the visible ice representing thousands of years of accumulation and compression.

The glacier moves at an estimated rate of 2-3 meters per day, which is relatively fast for a glacier of its size. This forward movement, combined with its location at the edge of the fjord, makes Eqi particularly prone to calving. Calving occurs when the glacier’s ice is destabilized by the warmer fjord waters, causing chunks of ice to break off and fall into the sea.

Calving: A Frequent Occurrence

One of the key features of Eqi Glacier is its frequent calving events. Calving is the process by which icebergs are formed as pieces of ice break away from the glacier’s terminus and enter the water. These events occur regularly at Eqi due to the glacier’s fast flow rate and the relatively warm temperatures of the fjord. On any given day, multiple calving events may take place, varying in size from small fragments to massive chunks of ice that can measure hundreds of meters in length.

In comparison to the icebergs formed at the Icefjord close to Ilulissat, the icebergs from Eqi are much smaller and more of a slushie than ice cubes.

Calving events are a natural part of a glacier’s lifecycle. As Eqi Glacier advances, its terminus reaches the water, where the ice is gradually eroded by both the warmer fjord water and the glacier’s own movement. When the ice becomes too unstable, it breaks off, creating an iceberg. These icebergs then float in the fjord, with some eventually drifting into the broader waters of Disko Bay.

Retreat of Eqi Glacier

Like many glaciers around the world, Eqi Glacier has been retreating due to rising global temperatures. Over the past century, the glacier has receded significantly, moving further inland as warmer conditions accelerate its melting. Recent data suggest that Eqi Glacier has been retreating at an average rate of around 200 meters per year, although this rate can vary depending on environmental factors such as ocean temperature and air temperature.

The retreat of Eqi Glacier is part of a larger trend observed across Greenland, where many glaciers are losing mass and contributing to global sea-level rise. The retreat of Eqi Glacier is a visible marker of the broader impacts of climate change in the Arctic region. As the glacier recedes, it reveals new sections of bedrock that were previously covered by ice, altering the landscape and impacting local ecosystems.