As the sea levels around the globe rise, researchers affiliated with the National Science Foundation and other organizations are studying the phenomena of melting glaciers and the long-term ramifications. Rapid warming at the summit of the Greenland ice sheet has caused year after year of record melting at the surface, raising concern, even as recent research indicates the ice sheet has endured warmer periods. The warmer temperatures that have had an effect on the glaciers in Greenland also have altered the ways in which the local populace farm, fish, hunt and even travel across land. Getty Images photojournalist Joe Raedle traveled north recently, spending two weeks documenting the scientists tracking Greenland's transformation, as well as some of the spectacular scenery and residents engaged in their daily lives.
Greenland: A Global Warming Laboratory
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Read moreThe village of Ilulissat is seen near the icebergs that broke off from the Jakobshavn Glacier, on July 24, 2013 in Ilulissat, Greenland. Researchers affiliated with the National Science Foundation and other organizations are studying the phenomena of melting glaciers and its long-term ramifications. #
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Read moreA caribou walks in the foreground of a glacier, on July 12, 2013 in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. #
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Read moreProfessor David Noone from the University of Colorado uses a snow pit to study the layers of ice in the glacier at Summit Station, on July 11, 2013 on the Glacial Ice Sheet, Greenland. #
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Read moreWater stands on part of the glacial ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of Greenland, on July 17, 2013. #
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Read moreFisherman Nikolaj Sandgreen works near icebergs that broke off from the Jakobshavn Glacier, on July 22, 2013 in Ilulissat, Greenland. #
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Read moreA boat cruises past icebergs from the Jakobshavn Glacier, as the sun reaches its lowest point of the day on July 23, 2013 in Ilulissat. #
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Read moreJason Briner, with the University of Buffalo Department of Geology, looks for the right spot to gather samples of granite to research the age of the local glacial retreat, on July 24, 2013 near Ilulissat. #
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Read moreJason Briner, with the University of Buffalo, uses a hammer and chisel to gather samples of granite to research the age of the local glacial retreat, on July 24, 2013 near Ilulissat. #
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Read moreFlowers in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, photographed on July 14, 2013. #
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Read moreKurt Burnham, President and CEO, High Arctic Institute, holds a Peregrine Falcon chick as he studies the possible effects climate change has on bird populations in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on July 10, 2013. #
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Read moreA full moon, over an iceberg from the Jakobshavn Glacier, on July 23, 2013 near Ilulissat. #
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Read moreWater flows across the surface of the glacial ice sheet, photographed on July 17, 2013. #
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Read moreDavid Shean, a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, looks at a canyon created over time by a meltwater stream on July 16, 2013 on Greenland's glacial ice sheet. Shean along with other scientists are using Global Positioning System sensors to closely monitor the evolution of surface lakes and the motion of the surrounding ice sheet. #
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Read moreA tent, near the worksite of scientists Sarah Das from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Ian Joughin of the University of Washington along with their team, as they conduct research on July 15, 2013 on the glacial ice sheet. The scientists set up Global Positioning System sensors to closely monitor the evolution of the surface lakes and the motion of the surrounding ice sheet and have uncovered a plumbing system for the ice sheet, where meltwater can penetrate thick, cold ice and accelerate some of the large-scale summer movements of the ice sheet. #
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Read moreAir bubbles in a puddle of surface melt in the glacial ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of the Greenland on July 15, 2013. #
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Read moreIce crystals on the surface of the glacial ice sheet, photographed on July 17, 2013. #
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Read moreSarah Das from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution looks at a canyon created by a meltwater stream on July 16, 2013 on the glacial ice sheet. #
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Read moreMeltwater stands on the surface of the glacial ice sheet, on July 17, 2013. #
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Read moreLaura Stevens, graduate student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, walks past a meltwater lake on July 16, 2013. She along with a group of scientists closely monitor the evolution of the surface lakes and the motion of the surrounding ice sheet. #
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Read moreIcebergs, viewed through a kitchen window in Qeqertaq, Greenland, on July 20, 2013. #
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Read moreA person walks through the village of Qeqertaq, Greenland, on July 20, 2013. As Greenlanders adapt to the changing climate and go on with their lives, researchers from the National Science Foundation and other organizations are studying the phenomena of the melting glaciers and its long-term ramifications for the rest of the world. #
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Read moreOn the day of their wedding, Ottilie Olsen and Adam Olsen (left) pose for a picture in Qeqertaq, Greenland, on July 20, 2013. #
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Read moreInuk Lange attends the wedding party of his granddaughter Ottilie in Qeqertaq, on July 20, 2013. #
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Read moreNewlyweds, Adam Olsen and Ottilie Olsen kiss as they stand on chairs in a hall in Qeqertaq, on July 20, 2013. #
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Read moreOttilie Olsen prepares to throw a bouquet of flowers in a hall in Qeqertaq, on July 20, 2013. #
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Read moreThe Olsen wedding party enjoys music and dance in Qeqertaq, on July 20, 2013. #
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Read moreFireworks are launched during the Olsen wedding party in Qeqertaq, on July 20, 2013. #
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Read moreA glacier near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, photographed on July 13, 2013. #
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Read moreThe front side of a glacier near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on July 10, 2013. #
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Read moreAn iceberg floats through the water near Ilulissat, Greenland, on July 21, 2013. #
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Read moreA hunter carries his rifle as he heads to his boat in Ilulissat, on July 19, 2013. #
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Read moreA sled dog rests near houses, with icebergs in the background from Jakobshavn Glacier, in Ilulissat, on July 17, 2013. #
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Read moreYoungsters rollerblade on an Ilulissat street in Greenland, on July 18, 2013. #
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Read moreThe village of Ilulissat, near icebergs from Jakobshavn Glacier, on July 24, 2013. #
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