Terrestrial Quantum Gravimetry for Climate Monitoring: First Measurements in Greenland

During summer 2025, an Absolute Quantum Gravimeter (AQG, manufactured by Exail) was deployed for one week in western Greenland to explore the potential of quantum gravimetry for geodetic observations in an Arctic environment - under remote and harsh field conditions - and to evaluate the sensitivity of absolute gravity measurements to mass redistribution processes associated with glacier dynamics and solid Earth deformation.

For most of the week, the AQG collected measurements at an established gravity point in the hangar of Ilulissat airport (ILUL). For one day, the instrument was transferred by helicopter to another established gravity point in the bedrock near the Greenland Ice Sheet, approximately 50 km inland along the Ilulissat ice stream. The point is co-located with the Kangia North (KAGA) permanent GNSS station, enabling a direct link between absolute gravity, surface deformation and cryospheric mass change signals. The station is located in proximity of the calving front of the Ilulissat glacier, one of the fastest-flowing and most dynamically active glaciers in Greenland.

In this contribution, we present preliminary results from the 2025 campaign and compare them with previous absolute gravity measurements obtained using an absolute A10 gravimeter at both sites. These time-separated absolute gravity observations provide a basis for assessing the potential of AQGs to monitor gravity variations associated with ice and water mass changes together with Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA). We discuss the significance of the observed values, compare them with predicted gravity trends, and assess the credibility and uncertainty of the results under Arctic field conditions. The AQG observations are evaluated as a complement to GNSS and classical absolute gravimetry as a geodetic method for long-term cryospheric monitoring, with the 2025 campaign serving as a baseline for future repeated measurements. The expedition serves as a pilot study for repeated quantum gravimetry observations in Greenland, planned to be continued with a similar instrument in summer 2028.

The campaign was carried out within the project EQUIP-G (funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe program, grant number 101215427) and with support from the Danish Climate Data Agency.