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Environment

Drones and sensors could help predict ocean current shutdown

A massive research project will investigate the role of icebergs in driving melting of the Greenland ice sheet, a process that could trigger a catastrophic collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

By Madeleine Cuff

15 April 2025

A Windracers ULTRA drone during a test flight in Antarctica

BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY

Next year, scientists will deploy a swarm of aerial drones, autonomous submarines and ice sensors in a major coordinated effort to better understand how and why icebergs break off from the Greenland ice sheet.

The GRAIL project, which is backed by £16 million of funding from the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), aims to improve estimates of how much fresh water is entering the North Atlantic from Greenland ice melt.

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