Mapping
The Danish Agency for Climate Data has the authority for mapping the open land in Greenland, while the Greenlandic authority Asiaq is responsible for mapping towns and settlements.
Between 2018 and 2022, The Danish Agency for Climate Data completed a comprehensive re-mapping of Greenland in collaboration with the Government of Greenland, The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation, and the A.P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation for General Purposes.
The Danish Agency for Climate Data continuously maintains the Greenlandic maps, which are freely available on The Danish Map Supply.
The Geodetic Infrastructure
The Danish Agency for Climate Data is responsible for maintaining the geodetic infrastructure in Greenland. This consists of over 70 GNSS measuring stations located along the coast of Greenland. The combined network of measuring stations is called GNET.
Based on GNET, The Danish Agency for Climate Data establishes links between national and international reference systems, which is a fundamental prerequisite for accurate land and nautical charting, sovereignty enforcement, and more.
The stations are also an excellent tool for monitoring ice melt, as they measure the movements of the Greenlandic bedrock with high accuracy using satellite positioning. Climate researchers use the data from GNET to calculate how much ice has melted – depending on how much the bedrock is rising. The less ice pressing down on the bedrock, the more it rises.
Arctic SDI
In collaboration with other Arctic nations, The Danish Agency for Climate Data is developing digital infrastructure for geographical data in the region on behalf of the Kingdom of Denmark.
This is happening under the auspices of the Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure collaboration, which comprises the mapping authorities of the 8 Arctic states (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the USA). The purpose of the collaboration is to exhibit Arctic-wide geographical data and develop the digital infrastructure for Arctic geographical data. The goal is to disseminate and use the wealth of data generated through knowledge-building about the Arctic, both within and outside the Arctic Council, and thereby contribute to data-driven decisions.
Arctic SDI has a particular focus on supporting the work of the Arctic Council. Concrete projects have been established with the Council’s secretariat and working groups, and Arctic SDI reports to the Arctic Council through the Arctic Ambassadors (Senior Arctic Officials).
Following the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in May 2021, Arctic SDI is leading the work to develop proposals for a data policy for the Arctic Council in collaboration with the Council’s secretariat and working groups.