Welcome to the IKKA project database
The database encompasses data from the multidisciplinary IKKA research project that has been running since 1995. Focus of this project has been on a submarine garden of mineral columns in the inner shallow part of Ikka Fjord in Southwest Greenland. These columns are made of the rare and fragile mineral ikaite (CaCO3•6H2O), which is only stable at seawater temperatures below 6°C. Studies include biology, geology, geophysics, and oceanography. As Greenland is the only place in the world where these ikaite columns exist, emphasis is on understanding how these columns are formed and how to best protect them in a changing Arctic. Especially the rapid warming of the Arctic region is of concern for the stability of ikaite and thereby also the columns and the marine biological life they host. A surprisingly high biodiversity has previously been found both on the outside and inside of the columns. However, in recent years a worrying decline in the epiflora and -fauna have been observed in combination with mineral changes to the columns. Instead of consisting of pure ikaite, they now partly consist of the less hydrated calcium carbonate minerals, monohydrocalcite (CaCO3•H2O) and aragonite (CaCO3). This is most likely a response to a warming of seawater.
This database currently includes 1) photo material of the columns from 1995 to present day, 2) video material of the columns from 2019 and 2022, 3) oceanographic data from various field campaigns since 1995, 4) charts of Ikka Fjord showing the positions and distribution of the nearly thousand columns in the inner basin from a mapping campaign in 2018-2019.
Access to the database
Access to the database is free of charge, and open to all. However in order to gain access you will need to get access to ERDA, Aarhus University's electronic research data archive. In order to do that, please contact Daniel Spelling Clausen, and start the process. Once you have registered you can gain access to the database beneath.
