Greenland FACTS

Satellite image of Greenland. You clearly see the ice cap covering almost entire Greenland. Only in summer the coastal areas are free of snow. Far left you can see Baffin Island. (from: NASA)

• The Greenland icecap contains 1/8th of the total global ice-mass. The total ice-mass on earth is 30 million. cubic km; Antarctica has 27 million.cubic km; Greenland 2.5 million. cubic km.
• The mean height of the Greenland icecap: 2135 meters; 65% of the area lies above 2000 meters; That is why Greenland deserves the name most extreme highland in the world.
• Lowest recorded temperature: -70° C (1953 station Northice). Mean annual temperature: -20°C and -30°C: So the Greenland icecap is without any doubt the coldest place in the northern hemisphere, colder than the north pole. Although lowest temperature ever recorded in the northern hemisphere is -78° C Oimekon, Siberia. The world record was gained in Antarctica Station Vostok -88° C.

Because the snow-surface reflects most of the sunlight, the temperature is lowest near the snow and increases in upper air levels to 2 km. This is an exceptional situation because usually temperature decreases in higher air levels. The dome structure of the icecap causes cold air to flow constantly to lower areas at the edges. So, crossing the icecap you will always experience head wind until the top of the icecap and then backwind.

Above the seas around Greenland the air is less cold and thus creates a substantial difference in temperature and air-pressure between the coast and the inland. This can cause terrible storms: the feared Piteraqs.

Greenland