Sermilik Research Station is growing: From an Arctic outpost to an international hub for research
August 28, 2026|Written by Lise Bundgaard
Written by Lise Bundgaard
After 50 years of monitoring and studying the landscape and environment, the Sermilik Research Station in East Greenland is developing into a modern base for international research.
When research leader Anders Anker Bjørk from the University of Copenhagen travels to Sermilik each summer, he returns to a place where he has worked for many years.
The small research station is located on Ammassalik Island at the mouth of the Sermilik Fjord west of Tasiilaq.
Anders and his colleagues move through the landscape on foot, by boat, or on snowshoes when snow lingers late in the season. Their work takes them across the fjord to fixed monitoring stations, where they repair instruments worn down by storms and collect data from the Mittivakkat Glacier. Data that, among other things, helps us understand how glaciers respond to climate change.
For most of the station’s history, daily life has been shaped by small field teams: typically no more than eight people, because that is what the cabin can hold.
But the station has also had periods of much greater activity. In busy years, tent camps have spread along the coast, and the area has served as a base for field courses and longer stays where many students have had their first Arctic experience.
“Most seasons have been quiet, raw, and very hands on. We just made things work,” Anders says.
This year marks the beginning of a new chapter with permanent facilities and a much more international presence.
Students from Graz on their way up the Mittivakkat glacier during a field course at Sermilik Station. Photo by: Karl Steiniger, University of Graz.
A group of four master students from University of Copenhagen, prepare for four weeks of fieldwork at the old Sermilik Station. Photo: Anders Anker Bjørk
A new neighbour on the shoreline
A few metres from the old cabin, a brand‑new research facility now rises above the shoreline, built by the University of Graz in Austria. The building is larger and far better equipped, with conditions that make longer stays easier to manage.
The building was taken into use in 2025, and this summer the field season is already quite busy.
With space for up to 26 researchers, the new building marks a shift from the quiet routines of previous seasons to a much more active research environment. International researchers, a group of 14 master’s students from Graz, and a group of Danish high‑school teachers have announced their arrival over the summer, and several teams have already reserved space for the coming years.
“It will be something completely different now. Many more people are coming, and the logistics are changing. It’s incredibly exciting,” says Anders Anker Bjørk.
For research leader Andreas Trügler from the University of Graz, the purpose is clear:
“We are building on the decades of expertise and research that have taken place in Sermilik. Our goal is to develop the station into an open, international platform while preserving its research history and heritage. For us, it’s about creating infrastructure that future generations of researchers can build on.”
The project, funded by Austrian donor and Arctic enthusiast Dr. Christian Palmers, has taken nearly a decade to realize. Storms, shifting ice conditions, and global delivery delays have repeatedly slowed construction, as equipment can only be delivered when the fjord is safe to sail.
“It has taken almost ten years to get here. Now the final pieces are in place, and we can fully focus on research and collaboration,” Andreas says.
Knowledge that makes a difference in Greenland and the rest of the world
Since 1970, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have monitored the Mittivakkat Glacier from the small Sermilik Research Station.
And it is not hard to see why the area attracts researchers.
The fjord lies in one of the most pristine and climate‑sensitive regions of the Arctic. The area is particularly climate‑sensitive because it lies in a coastal transition zone between the ice sheet, the fjord, and the open ocean. Warm and cold air and ocean currents meet here, and even small temperature changes can therefore be felt quickly in glaciers, sea ice, ecosystems, and weather conditions.
Over decades, the persistent fieldwork has built a unique long‑term dataset showing how the glacier and its catchment respond to a warmer climate – one of Greenland’s longest and most detailed glacier records. This knowledge is crucial for understanding changes in ice and water that affect the local population in Tasiilaq and the surrounding settlements.
“When permafrost thaws, mountain slopes lose stability, increasing the risk of landslides. At the same time, faster glacier melt leads to major changes in local rivers. It can mean that a river that has flowed for hundreds of years suddenly dries up, forcing fish to find new spawning grounds, or that the local hydropower plant receives less water. The changing ice and weather conditions also make boat travel and helicopter traffic more unpredictable for residents in the area,” explains Anders Anker Bjørk.
But the results are also part of a much larger picture.
“More meltwater entering the ocean doesn’t just affect sea level. It can also influence the North Atlantic circulation and weaken the heat transport toward Europe, which helps keep the continent’s climate mild. That is one example of why what we measure here in Sermilik has significance far beyond Greenland,” says Andreas Trügler.
The new station also makes it possible to carry out new types of research.
Teams linked to University of Graz are already studying microorganisms and PFAS pollution, while social scientists are examining the station’s connection to the local population. A new base station for receiving satellite signals will also be installed this summer.
Andreas Trügler checks the sensor of a weather station near Sermilik Research Station during fieldwork in East Greenland. Photo: Georg Oberweger.
Andreas Trügler and students install a new automated weather station near Sermilik Research Station. The station will contribute data for monitoring environmental and climate conditions in the region. Photo: Georg Oberweger.
Andreas drills into the glacier ice to install a measurement device for monitoring melt rates. Photo by: Andreas Trügler, University of Graz.
Local knowledge as part of the research
Nothing would function without Julius Nielsen, the station’s year-round caretaker, who maintains the facilities, keeps the equipment running through the winter, and anchors the station’s work in Tasiilaq.
Julius Nielsen was born and raised in the area. He is an electrician and has worked in the tourism industry for more than 15 years. He speaks Danish, English, and both East and West Greenlandic, making him an important link between the international researchers and the local community.
For Julius, one of the key ambitions is to strengthen the connection between researchers and the local community.
“We want to make the research station more open and accessible. People are welcome to stop by, have a cup of coffee, and learn about the work taking place here,” he says.
Julius hopes that the research will benefit both researchers and the residents of Tasiilaq. While researchers gain access to local knowledge about the environment and the region, the local community can develop a better understanding of the changes affecting East Greenland.
“Researchers can help us understand the past and say something about the future. That is important to us because we live closely connected to nature. The climate is changing rapidly, and it affects the way we use nature, including fishing and hunting,” he says.
He expects the station to generate more activity in the area and provide opportunities for local people to contribute through transportation, service tasks, and practical support, while ensuring that new knowledge generated through research is shared more widely with the community.
Julius Nielsen’s role reflects a broader ambition: to incorporate more local expertise and align research with Greenland’s national research strategy, which emphasizes local participation and a long-term presence.
That ambition is already beginning to take shape. Earlier this year, a visit from a school in Tasiilaq was planned but had to be cancelled due to a storm. Over the course of the summer, researchers have been engaging with the local community about the research being carried out at Sermilik, and the station has welcomed its first visits from families and fishers from the Ammassalik area.
Plans are also underway for a larger open-house event at the research station, where locals will be able to explore the facilities and learn more about the research being conducted there.
Sermilik steps into the Arctic future
When Anders returns to Sermilik this summer, he arrives at a changed place.
The quiet summers are being replaced by a lively, international hub where students, technicians, biologists, chemists, oceanographers, glaciologists, and local partners work side by side.
It is the same dramatic landscape, and the Mittivakkat Glacier continues to retreat year by year. But now the original research cabin stands beside a new neighbour: a modern Austrian station.
The cabin has been the centre of research for more than fifty years, a place where generations of researchers have repaired instruments and built one of Greenland’s longest climate records. Together, the two buildings signal collaboration, renewed curiosity, and a long‑term commitment to understanding one of the most climate‑sensitive places on Earth.
“This is only the beginning. There is so much more to discover,” says Andreas Trügler.
After decades of research, Sermilik is becoming a gateway to the Arctic future.