382 springs – but far from a complete picture
In the scientific study Review of Greenland’s thermal springs, researchers and specialists from leading research institutions in Denmark, Greenland, Iceland and Sweden – including Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and University of Copenhagen – have compiled and reviewed the most comprehensive body of knowledge to date on Greenland’s thermal springs.
“We have compiled and quality-assured knowledge that has previously been scattered across more than 100 years of material – ranging from old expedition reports and botanical studies to modern satellite images and local place names such as ‘Uunartoq’ and ‘Puilasoq’, meaning ‘hot spring’ and ‘spring’. This gives us a completely new overview of where the springs are located and what we actually know about them,” says Eva Bendix Nielsen, a Postdoc at GEUS and lead author of the study.
The many springs cover a wide variety of environments. The hottest springs are found on Greenland’s east coast, where the water temperature can exceed 45 to 60 degrees Celsius. It is so hot that multicellular organisms cannot thrive, and the springs are therefore dominated by microorganisms that form colourful, centimetre-thick biofilms. The extreme conditions make them particularly interesting for research.
“These coloured biofilms are living communities of microorganisms that have adapted to extreme temperatures. They give us a unique insight into how life can exist under conditions reminiscent of those found in some of Earth’s earliest environments,” says Professor Michael Kühl from the University of Copenhagen, who researches biofilms and has contributed to the study with data and photographic documentation from several expeditions to the East Greenlandic springs.
As part of the work, the researchers have also developed an open database that brings together existing data in one place. The database is built, among other things, on data collected by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources over the past decade and combines historical descriptions and place names with modern satellite data.
“The database expands our overview of known springs in Greenland – and there are surely many more out there that have yet to be discovered and mapped. Nevertheless, it provides a better basis for ensuring the conservation and consideration of these springs, for example when it comes to construction projects and mineral extraction work,” says Karl Brix Zinglersen, Head of the Department of Environment and Minerals at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources.
The database currently contains information on 382 thermal springs spread across Greenland, but the mapping is far from complete. As early as August 2026, Michael Kühl and Eva Bendix Nielsen will set out in search of new thermal springs on Greenland’s east coast on an expedition funded by the Carlsberg Foundation.