Spot the new point? Photo: Johannes Plenio
What if surfing’s final frontier hasn’t been possible to explore yet? Maybe it’s been hiding in front of us all along, underneath glaciers in Greenland.
A recently published article in Nature says that climate warming in the 21st century is causing marine-terminating glaciers to retreat, exposing stretches of coastline previously buried in ice. According to satellite data, roughly 2,466 kilometers of new coastline have been revealed in the Northern Hemisphere between 2000 and 2020. And 66 percent of those potentially new beaches, reefs, river mouths, and points are found on Greenland, including the island’s south and east coasts where North Atlantic swells are bountiful.
The article, titled “New coasts emerging from the retreat of Northern Hemisphere marine-terminating glaciers in the twenty-first century,” lists a bunch of technical geology formations that can describe the new coasts, but among those are moraine deposits and deltas. The trusty ol’ river mouth has created many world-class surf spots around the world. I suppose the glacial runoff could accomplish the same with time. It’s also worth noting that 35 islands were uncovered or “broke free” from their glacial connection to the mainland, providing a plethora of opportunities for bending Atlantic swell lines.
Jokes aside, the authors warn that the new coastlines provide a glimpse of a not-so-distant ice-free Arctic. In the short term, the retreat of glaciers from the shoreline can pose immediate risks to local communities. Tourism and wildlife can be harmed without glaciers, and the article even warns that newly exposed land is prone to create “landslide-induced tsunamis.” Glass half full, they say fewer icebergs makes sailing easier, and sediment deposits can be more easily accessed for extraction to “promote the economic independence of the region.”
Perhaps, if anything, we’ve unveiled President Trump’s true intentions behind annexing Greenland: never-ridden surf spots. He should create a task force led by Mason Ho and Ben Gravy to chart the new coast. (Just be careful who gets added to the group chat.) Surely there are a few new slabs or points to be discovered. The Arctic Tavarua is out there just waiting for some brave soul to find it.
