A robot army is heading to Greenland for a mission scientists once thought was impossible |

Some of the world’s most advanced robots are preparing for an extraordinary expedition to one of the planet’s most dangerous environments. Beginning this July, a fleet of autonomous drones, robotic boats, underwater vehicles and intelligent sensors will travel to Greenland to investigate how its glaciers are melting where they meet the ocean. The mission, known as GIANT (Greenland Ice sheet to AtlaNtic Tipping points from ice loss), aims to gather data that scientists have never been able to collect before. By studying these rapidly changing glaciers in unprecedented detail, researchers hope to improve climate models, better understand future sea-level rise and identify early warning signs that major ocean circulation systems could be approaching dangerous tipping points.

Why scientists need robots to study Greenland’s glaciers

The boundary where Greenland’s glaciers meet the sea is among the least explored places in climate science. Massive ice cliffs, some towering more than 100 metres above the water, can fracture without warning, sending house-sized icebergs crashing into narrow fjords. Beneath the surface, powerful meltwater plumes, swirling currents and hidden underwater ice formations create equally hazardous conditions.These dangers have prevented researchers from getting close enough to observe the thin boundary where ocean water directly interacts with glacier ice. Yet this narrow zone plays a crucial role in determining how quickly glaciers melt. Previous expeditions often focused on only one part of the system, such as the ice, the ocean or the atmosphere. The new mission seeks to observe all of them simultaneously, something scientists say was impossible until recent advances in autonomous technology.As sea ice acoustics expert Hari Vishnu of the National University of Singapore observed, “We cannot model what we cannot observe,” highlighting one of the biggest challenges facing climate science today.

Meet the robot army heading into Greenland

The expedition will be launched from the Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough, a floating research laboratory that will spend much of July and August near the fjord glaciers of Kangerlussuaq in southeast Greenland. A second campaign is already planned for Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland next year to compare glacier behaviour in different environments.Rather than relying on a single machine, scientists have assembled an entire robotic fleet, with every vehicle designed for a specific task.Rugged drones will fly close to glacier faces, producing high-resolution maps and monitoring cracks that could lead to iceberg calving. A robotic surface vessel equipped with sonar will navigate between floating icebergs to measure underwater glacier faces without placing researchers in danger. Autonomous underwater vehicles will dive hundreds of metres below the surface to record ocean temperatures, salinity, currents and the shape of submerged ice.Among the most recognisable members of the fleet is Boaty McBoatface, the internet-famous autonomous submarine that will explore beneath floating ice to map its geometry and study how ocean conditions influence glacier behaviour. Another slim underwater vehicle, measuring just 23 centimetres in diameter, will descend through holes drilled into the ice to investigate conditions beneath floating glaciers.The expedition will also deploy GPS-equipped “javelins” that embed themselves into glacier surfaces and continuously transmit information about ice movement. Tiny screw-in sensors will attach themselves to underwater ice cliffs 50 to 100 metres below sea level, automatically adjusting their position as the glacier melts while recording temperature, turbulence and melt rates in real time.

Why Greenland’s melting ice affects the entire planet

Greenland contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by around seven metres if it were to melt completely. Although such a scenario would unfold over many centuries, the ice sheet is already losing mass far faster than it did only a few decades ago.One of scientists’ greatest concerns is how this growing volume of freshwater could affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a vast network of ocean currents that helps regulate climate across much of the Northern Hemisphere. The system transports warm tropical water northwards before cooler, denser water sinks into the deep Atlantic and flows south again.As more freshwater enters the North Atlantic, it reduces the saltiness and density of seawater, making it harder for this circulation to continue. Earth scientist Kristin Poinar compares the process to adding cold tap water to a carefully balanced pot of warm, salty soup. Too much freshwater, she says, could gradually weaken the circulation.Scientists believe multiple lines of evidence already indicate the AMOC has weakened in recent decades. If the slowdown were to continue significantly, it could alter rainfall patterns, affect agriculture, change marine ecosystems and influence temperatures across Europe and other parts of the world.

The hidden processes climate models still cannot explain

Although climate models have become increasingly sophisticated, they still simplify many of the processes involved in glacier melting. Most assume that warm ocean water transfers heat directly to ice, causing it to melt. Researchers now suspect the reality is considerably more complicated.One mystery involves tiny bubbles of ancient air trapped inside glacier ice. As the ice melts, these bubbles escape and rise through the surrounding seawater. Scientists believe they may increase mixing between warm ocean water and the glacier surface, allowing more heat to reach the ice than existing models currently predict.Researchers also hope to better understand why glaciers sometimes release huge icebergs through dramatic calving events while remaining relatively stable at other times. Observing these processes at millimetre-scale resolution could reveal how small physical changes eventually trigger much larger glacier collapses, improving future projections of sea-level rise.

Artificial intelligence will decide where robots go

Artificial intelligence will play a vital role throughout the mission. Before any robot enters the water, AI algorithms will combine satellite imagery with existing information on snowfall, glacier movement, ocean temperatures and other environmental conditions.Instead of distributing instruments evenly across the region, the system will identify areas where scientific uncertainty is greatest. Researchers refer to these locations as “blind spots”, allowing the expedition to focus its observations where new data will have the greatest impact on climate research.

A major upgrade for climate forecasting

The information collected during the mission will be incorporated into the UK Earth System Model, one of Britain’s leading climate simulation systems. Scientists expect the expedition to provide one of the most significant improvements yet to glacier modelling because it will supply measurements from one of the least observed parts of Earth’s climate system.More accurate simulations could improve forecasts of glacier retreat, iceberg formation, sea-level rise and changes to ocean circulation. Researchers also hope the findings will contribute to an early warning system capable of detecting when Greenland’s glaciers begin approaching climate tipping points that may eventually have global consequences.

A new chapter in climate exploration

The GIANT expedition represents a fundamental shift in how scientists study Earth’s most inaccessible environments. Instead of relying primarily on satellites or occasional ship-based measurements, researchers will simultaneously observe Greenland’s glaciers from the air, across their surfaces and deep beneath the ocean using a coordinated fleet of autonomous machines.Beyond demonstrating the capabilities of modern robotics, the mission could answer some of climate science’s most urgent questions about how glaciers respond to a warming world. If successful, it will provide the detailed observations scientists have sought for decades, helping improve climate predictions while offering a clearer picture of how one of the planet’s largest ice sheets may shape the future of Earth’s oceans, weather patterns and coastlines.