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Donald Trump’s plans to annex Greenland, in part for its natural resources, could be hindered by new research on the island’s geological makeup. The US President has said he is 100% committed to hitting the UK and European allies with tariffs if they continue to oppose a US seizure of the Danish territory, which is rich in rare earth minerals and has huge reserves of oil and natural gas. Mr Trump has insisted Greenland should become part of America because of its strategic Arctic location, but its resources have also been touted as a major motivation for the island’s acquisition.
A new study by researchers at the University of California has identified a hidden layer of sediment, made up of sand and soft dirt, beneath Greenland‘s ice sheet, causing its glaciers to break apart and fall into the ocean. Alongside the danger posed by collapsing glaciers, the discovery could hinder efforts to exploit the island’s oil, gold, graphite, iron and other elements because safe drilling usually requires a frozen bedrock base.
Researcher Yan Yang suggested the sediment layer could be up to 650-feet deep in some spots under Greenland’s ice sheet, in the study published in Geology.
“Our results suggest that thick, weak sediments could make parts of Greenland more responsive to future warming,” he added, as per the Geo Society.
“If more meltwater reaches the bed, these sediments may further reduce strength, speed up ice flow and increase ice loss to the ocean.”
A study published in Annals of Glaciology in 2024 similarly found that build-up of “subglacial sediment and clay” complicated drilling in Antarctica and “substantially impacted the time required to reach bedrock”.
Mr Trump’s determination to annex the territory has put him at odds with the US’s NATO allies, worsened by his refusal to rule out using force in the region.
He also said he would charge Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland a 10% tariff on “any and all goods” sent to the US from February 1, increasing to 25% from June 1, until a purchase deal is reached.
The US President told NBC News on Monday that he would “100%” follow through on the threat. “Europe ought to focus on the war with Russia and Ukraine because, frankly, you see what that’s gotten them,” he added. “That’s what Europe should focus on – not Greenland.”
In a letter to Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Store, Mr Trump also suggested the decision not to award him the Nobel Peace prize – given each year in Oslo – had influenced his attitude towards Greenland, removing the “obligation to think purely of peace”.
