The Great Route

Data can only tell us so much. Environmental researcher Michael Walther wanted to make a more qualititave invesgitation into the effects of the anthroposcene on the remote west coast of Greenland. As he saw, climate change is altering not only the extent of the ice, but more crucially the way the ice behaves. The impact on the people that live there was profound.

- Michael Walther

I can see them in front of me. Rugged icebergs from centuries-old ice. At the same time the silence, the sheer endlessness of the polar region. Not a soul far and wide, only nature and myself. I wouldn’t say that I generally don´t like to be amongst people, but I like this balance. It could be because I am originally from the small island of Norderney, that Greenland, as the world’s largest island, just magically attracts me. In May 2017 I came up with the idea, a year later, the implementation took place.

Together with my two friends Daniell Bohnhof and Max Stolarow I eventually enter Greenland in May 2018. The two accompany me to capture my tour with spectacular pictures and fascinating video recordings. My plan is to paddle along the coast with my stand up paddleboard to get a better impression of the climatic changes on site. But you can only recognize changes if you have a baseline reference. That´s why I wanted to get in direct contact with the local people there.

There are hardly any scientists who deny the human impact on climate change. The average temperatures are rising and the influence is already clearly visible, especially in the north of our planet. The so-called Ice Albedo effect is one reason for this. The ice pulls back, the protruding land and water surfaces reflect less sunlight into the atmosphere, which is where climate change accelerates. But what is the impact of rising temperatures in Greenland?