Thoughts about Greenland's unexpected natural resources.

This week in Science Mette, Irina, and I highlight some of the recent advances in the understanding of fluvial deposits along the coast of Greenland and how this could be an otherwise unknown sand source to the global market.

With this comment, we propose that sand-extraction in selected sites in Greenland could contribute to the global need for sand while developing the national economy and strengthen Greenland’s independency from Danish subsidies.

It should be stressed that If Greenland is to benefit from sand extraction, we must raise awareness about the resource both locally and globally, the Greenlandic people must learn best practices to extract the sand, and the industry must guarantee that extraction methods minimize potential negative impacts on the local environment.

Greenland's rivers alone deliver 8 % of the global budget of fluvial transported suspended sediments. @Nicolaj Krog Larsen