The National Science Foundation (NSF) operates the Greenland Inland Traverse (GrIT) on an as-needed basis from Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland to Summit Station and back. The 1,400-mile (2,300-kilometer) round-trip traverse is a nearly two-month-long operation to transport thousands of pounds of equipment, fuel and supplies to resupply science stations on the Greenland Ice Sheet as an alternative to the traditional LC-130 airlift resupply from Kangerlussuag, Greenland. GrIT typically departs Thule in early April, arrives to Summit in early May, and returns to Thule in the second-half of May.
GrIT can be utilized to assist science projects operating between Thule and Summit Station. Past projects have benefited from fuel and equipment caches left by GrIT, received assistance navigating the crevassed portion of the ice sheet outside of Thule, and conducted research integrated into the traverse itself (i.e. shallow snow pits, shallow cores, radiation measurements, ground penetrating radar). Researchers interested in conducting science along the GrIT route should contact both the Summit SCO and the Battelle ARO Planning Administrator to discuss options.
Reports
- Robotic Ground-Penetrating-Radar (GPR) Surveys to Support the 2014 Greenland Inland Traverse, ERDC/CRREL TR-16-8, J.H. Lever, Z.R. Courville, and D.A. Punt (2016)
- Advances in Antarctic Sled Technology, ERDC/CRREL TR-16-4, Lever, J.H., J.C. Weale, T.U. Kaempfer, and M.J. Preston (2016)
- Economic Analysis of the Greenland Inland Traverse (GrIT), ERDC/CRREL SR-16-2, Lever, J.H., G. Phillips, and J. Burnside (2016)
- High-Performance Plastic Sled Design for Polar Traversing, ERDC TR-15-2, Weale, J.C., J.H. Lever, and J. Trovillion (2015)
- Greenland Inland Traverse (GrIT): 2010 Mobility Performance and Implications, ERDC/CRREL TR-11-16, Lever, J.H. (2011)
- Mobility and Economic Feasibility of the Greenland Inland Traverse (GrIT), ERDC/CRREL TR-11-9, Lever, J.H., and J.C. Weale (2011)
- Feasibility of Overland Traverse to Re-Supply Summit Camp: Fleet Configuration and Economic Analysis, ERDC/CRREL TR-11-7, Lever, J.H., and J.C. Weale (2011)
