Mette Bendixen

I’m trained as a physical geographer and received my PhD-degree from the Center for Permafrost (CENPERM) at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark in 2017 which is a center for excellence. Since 2017, I’ve worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado, Boulder, US.

In my work I aim to understand how the proglacial and coastal landscapes are changed as a consequence of the rapid warming Arctic climate with a specific focus on Greenland. I’m fascinated by how this “landscape in between” the vast Greenland Icesheet and the surrounding oceans is responding to the numerous dynamic processes that are taking place in this zone.

In particular I focus on understanding sediment dynamics in the nearshore zone and have proven that Greenland’s deltas are growing bigger as a consequence of the enormous meltwater contribution from the icesheet, and thus the large sediment deposition in the coastal zone.  Part of this work studies if Greenland could benefit from these massive deposits of sand and if it can benefit the Greenland economy through export of this material. This work is highly interdisciplinary, and I enjoy working with a broad set of scientists from social and political fields to biologists and environmental scientists.

As consequence of the realization that Greenland holds enormous amounts of sand, I have through the past few years started working on understanding the consequences of the global sand scarcity on humans and nature.

If you would like to contact me or know more about my work, please email or visit:

Email: Metteben08@gmail.com

Twitter: @mettebendixen08

Webpage: http://www.mettebendixen.com

RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS:

Bendixen, Mette et al. (2019). “Promises and Perils of sand exploitation in Greenland.” Nature Sustainability 2(2019): 98-104. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0218-6.

Bendixen, Mette et al. (2017). “Delta progradation is driven by increasing glacial mass loss.” Nature 550(2017): 101-104. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature23873.

Coverage of my work:

Fountain, Henry. (2019). “Melting Greenland is awash in sand.” New York Times, 1 July. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/01/climate/greenland-glacier-melting-sand.html.

“Deltas of Greenland: Historic images reveal a growing land in a changing climate.” Underground Channel, October 2017. https://www.undergroundchannel.dk/deltas-of-greenland-historic.