Coastal cliff recession has been monitored along four markers on the Southern coast towards Young Sound (see map in: GeoBasis_Zack_Geomorphology_Coastal_cliff_Recession.pdf), since 1996.
Until 2011 the perpendicular distance between the four markers and the edge of the coastal cliff was measured every year.
Thereafter the sampling frequency has been reduced to every fifth year.
The survey is always conducted in late August. Geomorphology:Geomorphology GeoBasis Zackenberg:The GeoBasis monitoring programme focuses on selected abiotic characteristics in order to describe the state of Greenlandic terrestrial environments and their potential feedback effects in a changing climate. Monitored plot data is up-scaled to a landscape level and is used to improve ecosystem models to be able to quantify these feedback mechanisms. The GeoBasis programme provides an active response to recommendations in international assessments such as ACIA and SWIPA; and is continuously being adapted based on AMAP and other international founded recommendations. Furthermore, the GeoBasis programme is directly involved in several international networks and research projects (e.g. the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) programme, the Nordic Centre of Excellence DEFROST, the Danish Centre of Excellence CENPERM, the EU-projects PAGE21 and INTERACT, and the Arctic Research Centre at Aarhus University). The GeoBasis programme is divided into a number of sub-groups, including:
