In a day-to-day sense, we think of our countries, the continents and landmasses that we live on, as stable things.

We know how they’re shaped and how they look on a map – some of us can even draw them from memory.

But projections of our planet as it was millions of years ago show landmasses that look very different, with our planet’s incredible geological processes eventually shaping our landmasses into those we know today.

The process is not one that has ever ended, however, and new research from scientists at DTU Space have recently demonstrated the ongoing effects of these processes on Greenland.

In a new paper, published in the journal JGR Solid Earth, the research team have explained exactly how Greenland’s shape is changing over time – and, perhaps more importantly, why.

Greenland sits on the North American tectonic plate, but its movement is down to more than just plate tectonics.

In fact, in many ways climate change is the culprit, as significant amounts of the huge ice sheets that top Greenland’s landmass are melting. As a result, the surface pressure is relieved, and the bedrock is able to move more freely than before.

The team were able to determine the long-term changes on Greenland by producing the first detailed model of its kind, as DTU Space’s Danjal Longfors Berg explained in a statement:

“We have created a model that shows movements over a very long timescale from about 26,000 years ago to the present. At the same time, we have used very precise measurements from the past 20 years, which we use to analyze the current movements. This means we can now measure the movements very accurately.”

And though the movement – which is stretching Greenland – might not initially seem significant (the country has shifted at a rate of around two centimeters per year), over time that is quite some change.

But rather than making the country bigger, the stretching in one direction is making it contract in other directions, as DTU Space’s Danjal Longfors Berg explained in a statement:

“There have not previously been such precise measurements of how Greenland is shifting. The assumption has been that Greenland is primarily being stretched due to the dynamics triggered by the ice melting in recent years. But to our surprise, we also found large areas where Greenland is being ‘pulled together’, or ‘shrinking’, due to the movements. Overall, this means Greenland is becoming slightly smaller, but that could change in the future with the accelerating melt we’re seeing now.”

While this new data is fascinating regardless, the researchers noted that their model will be even more important in the face of our growing climate crisis, as the effects on the Arctic need to be monitored and recorded.

Because unfortunately for Greenland, the Arctic is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world, and as a result the consequences are expected to be dire.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.