As Greenland’s climate changes, a new project preserves memories of a fading past

ILULISSAT, Greenland (AP) — When Cuno Jensen was a child, he would watch towering icebergs drift past his hometown, flowing out into Disko Bay.

“When we were kids, and we walked up there with our family or hunting for some of the birds, we saw huge icebergs,” he said as he drove through Ilulissat on Greenland’s western coast, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. “And nowadays, when we look at the scenery … we can see some of the icebergs (but) not that tall or big as it used to be.”

Greenland is hard hit by climate change, the focus of an annual United Nations conference opening in Turkey this week. Thanks in large part to climate change, driven by the burning of oil, gas and coal, the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet.

Recollections like Jensen's feature in a new project called “Mapping Memories,” led by Sweden-based research institute Nordregio, which aims to build and preserve a lasting record of the past before it’s too late.

An exhibit linked to the project opened in September at Ilulissat's Icefjord Center, billed as Greenland’s first visitor center, that is devoted to exploring the link between people and nature.

“If we do not document the people’s own stories, they will disappear when the people pass away,” said Karl Sandgreen, the center's director.

“We wanted to have the ordinary people’s experiences,” he said. “All the facts we get are told by the scientists, archaeologists, glaciologists, biologists. … We also want to have another perspective to document climate change.”

As Greenland’s ice melts, landscape shifts and climate changes. Jensen, a burly, 42-year-old father of three, said he fears his young children will not experience the same things he did.

“When we were kids playing around these hills, there was much more snow and the water was frozen and it was ice,” said Jensen, a corrections officer. “We could get out on the ice and fish. That’s nothing we can do today.”

Across the icy territory, climate change is not only transforming the landscape but eroding memories and traditions tied to it.

Thinning sea ice means some hunters can no longer ride their dog sleds. Waters are becoming less predictable for the island’s traditional fishermen.

So far, the “Mapping Memories” project features nearly 60 personal stories — including Jensen's — tied to specific locations in Greenland. Some describe homes threatened by thawing permafrost and changing weather conditions. Others document disappearing traditions and hunting routes.

Fisherwoman Karen Alaufesen recalls a spot at sea where she fishes for halibut with her husband and young son. Their numbers have been declining, she said.

Pensioner Kristian Petersen remembers his former hometown of Qullissat, a coal-mining settlement abandoned in 1972 after its mine closed. Six years ago, the abandoned town was struck by a devastating tsunami triggered by a landslide.

In Ilulissat, rising temperatures are thawing permafrost, causing buildings to sink and roads and pipes to crack.

“Everybody can see a lot of buildings are sinking,” said Sandgreen, pointing to the town’s 19th-century history museum, its wooden staircase slanted as the grounds beneath it shift. “It is very, very easy to spot.”

Archaeological objects, including hunting tools dating back 4,000 years, are also emerging from the ice, he added.

The nearby Sermeq Kujalleq glacier is one of the fastest-moving and most active on the planet, sending more icebergs into the sea than any other glacier outside Antarctica, according to United Nations cultural organization UNESCO.

As the climate has warmed, the glacier has retreated and calved off chunks of ice faster than ever before, significantly contributing to sea level rise from Europe to the Pacific Islands, according to NASA.

A September report by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said the Greenland ice sheet, a 1.7-million-square-kilometer (660,000-square-mile) ice sheet covering about 80% of the Arctic island, has now lost more ice than it has gained for 30 years in a row.

Signe Hillerup Larsen, a senior researcher at the survey, said she sees no scenario in which the ice sheet could regain its lost mass, let alone begin growing again.

“Even if it (the melting) would be slowing down, that would not be enough,” she said.

Sandgreen said organizers plan to expand the project with more interviews, including with communities in nearby Canada, and add them to an interactive map. They also want to inspire kids to do more to fight climate change.

“We want to develop it so all the people who have experienced this melting permafrost and climate change have a chance to tell their stories,” he said.

General view on the village Ilulissat, Greenland, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Icebergs drifting in the Ilulissat Icefjord near Ilulissat, Greenland, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

View inside the exhibition "Mapping Memories" at the Ilulissat Icefjord Center in Ilulissat, Greenland, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Cuno Jensen, a 42-year-old prison worker poses for a photo in Ilulissat, Greenland, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Cuno Jensen, a 42-year-old prison worker looks out across Ilulissat Icefjord in Ilulissat, Greenland, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jaylen Brown hit some jumpers on the Sixers' end of the court. Jayson Tatum warmed up on his side with his Celtics teammates.

Neither All-Star decided to shoot his shot with the other.

Brown and Tatum kept their distance during pregame warmups ahead of Tuesday's game when the Celtics played Philadelphia for the first time since the summer trade that saw Brown surprisingly switch sides.

Tatum tried to dap up Brown before the opening tip with a tap on the shoulder and thump on the chest that his former teammate ignored. Tatum shook hands and exchanged a big hug with LeBron James.

Brown and Tatum were long-time teammates who won an NBA championship together in Boston only for their frosty personal relationship to interfere with what had been one of the more dynamic 1-2 duos in the league.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Brown said Sunday in Chicago. “He’s on his side; I’m on my side. Both of us are trying to win. Nothing to talk about. Check the ball up.”

Neither player talked ahead of Tuesday's game.

The game was streamed on Peacock and the network gave the showdown all the hype on social media of an old school heavyweight fight.

“Jaylen Brown vs. Jayson Tatum. For the first time ever,” the post captioned over clips of both players from their time with the Celtics and into this season.

Brown got the better of Tatum early when he picked off his old teammate's pass and fed the ball to Tyrese Maxey for a 3-pointer.

Brown said last month there was “ no beef ” between himself and Tatum, even as the dissection over the end of their relationship had dragged into the season.

“There might be a little lamb chops and some gravy,” Brown said last month in response to a social media post. “He should stay ready at all times.”

The trade has been a success for both teams. The 76ers. with Brown and James aboard, are 9-2 and the Celtics have the second-best record in the East at 8-2.

“I think it'll be interesting,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said ahead of the game. “I would imagine that they've played some 1-on-1 against each other quite a bit over the last number of years, and I would imagine that will play itself out a little bit.”

Joe Mazzulla coached both players when they won the 2024 NBA championship. Brown was the 2024 NBA Finals MVP.

He was a five-time All-Star and wound up with career-best averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season while Tatum missed most of last season while recovering from an Achilles tendon tear that happened during the 2025 playoffs.

With both players healthy and carrying hefty salaries that would eventually swell to about 70% of Boston's salary cap, the franchise had to choose which player to keep. Boston chose Tatum.

Brown was traded to the rival 76ers in July for Paul George and draft picks.

“I think it's all something really interesting for all of us to be able to watch tonight and see how it goes,” Nurse said.

The 36-year-old George also made his return to Philadelphia after two flat seasons with the Sixers. George was poised to join Embiid and Maxey to form a Philly Big Three when he left the Clippers and signed a four-year, $212 million free-agent contract ahead of the 2024 season.

George instead was ravaged by knee and adductor injuries — among others — that robbed the nine-time All-Star of his full potential that he flashed in his three previous NBA stops.

He was suspended 25 games last season for violating the terms of the NBA’s anti-drug program. George returned for the final 10 games of the season and was a key contributor in helping the Sixers rally from 3-1 down to beat the Celtics in a first-round playoff series.

George was traded to Boston and he instead joined a list that included Jimmy Butler and James Harden of All-Star hired guns that failed to win a title with the Sixers.

George — whose 20.4 points entering the game is higher than either of his two seasons in Philadelphia — said at shootaround the game had no extra meaning.

“Had I been here eight, nine, 10 years, different story,” George said. “I was here two years. Obviously, we didn’t have the best of luck or had a great, I think, partnership in terms of my ability to stay healthy and on the floor. So that kind of played into a lot of it. It's a tremendous fan base. A great sports town to play in."

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum smiles as he stands on the court during the second half of an NBA Cup basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Philadelphia 76ers' Jaylen Brown (7) argues with referees while looking for a foul call against Chicago Bulls' Jalen Smith, center, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)