Inside the Blue Economy: Greenland’s Ice, Florida’s Future and the Rising Seas Institute

In Ilulissat, Greenland, the fog doesn’t just roll in — it erases the horizon. One moment the ice fjord is framed by towering white silhouettes; the next, the icebergs vanish into a soft grey wall. It is here, at the literal edge of the ice, that the conversation about the blue economy becomes impossible to ignore.

Katherine O’Fallon, Executive Director of the Marine Research Hub, is on the ground in Greenland with the Rising Seas Institute, now housed at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Beside her is senior content developer and program manager Sharon Gray, whose work focuses on turning complex climate science into accessible education, data and action.

Together, they are part of a growing coalition determined to connect the science unfolding in Greenland with the lived realities of coastal communities thousands of kilometres away.

“Greenland’s glaciers change the world.”

That simple idea sits at the heart of this story — and at the centre of the modern blue economy.

Standing at the Edge of an Ice Fjord

The setting is surreal. The conversation unfolds in Ilulissat, overlooking a UNESCO World Heritage ice fjord where icebergs drift past like slow-moving monuments. On this particular day, the fog hides most of the dramatic backdrop, but the scale of what is happening here still presses in from every direction.

Sharon has been coming to Greenland for years, guiding expeditions that bring decision-makers, business leaders and educators face-to-face with rapid environmental change. The goal is not shock value; it is context.

“You can study sea level rise for a decade,” she explains, “but you don’t really understand the scale until you’ve stood in front of the ice and watched it move.”

For many participants, including university board members and community leaders, these trips become a turning point. They return home with a visceral understanding of what sea level rise actually looks like — and a renewed urgency to link climate science to policy, planning and investment.

From Nonprofit to University Powerhouse

The Rising Seas Institute began life as a nonprofit in 2017, co-founded by renowned sea level expert John Englander and climate science leader Bob Corell. Its mission was simple and ambitious: become a trusted hub for clear, actionable information on sea level rise.

Sharon joined earlier, almost by chance. Trained as a marine scientist working with sharks and marine mammals, she shifted away from full-time fieldwork after becoming a parent and answered a modest online ad for an assistant. The “assistant” role turned out to be a collaboration with Englander himself.

What started as a small partnership has grown into a dedicated institution with global reach. Today, the Rising Seas Institute is a program of Nova Southeastern University, a move driven in part by leaders who experienced Greenland first-hand and recognised the need to anchor this work inside a major academic institution.

That shift matters for the blue economy. It signals that sea level rise, adaptation and coastal resilience are no longer niche topics — they are central to how universities, cities and industries plan for the next 10, 30 and 100 years.

“We want to be the place people come to for solid data on sea level rise,” Sharon says. “A central hub where they know they’ll get the facts they need to plan what to do and what to expect.”

Greenland, Florida and the Blue Economy Connection

For coastal communities in Florida — and in more than 140 coastal nations — what happens in Greenland will shape everything from insurance markets to infrastructure design.

Ninety-plus per cent of excess heat from global warming is stored in the ocean. As the ocean warms, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets respond. Together, those ice sheets hold 98% of the planet’s potential sea level rise. When ice calves into the ocean, global sea levels rise, no matter where we live.

“What happens here in Greenland is going to affect everybody,” Sharon notes. “It’s all one giant system.”

This is where the blue economy becomes more than a buzzword. It is the intersection of ocean science, coastal infrastructure, community wellbeing, policy and industry. A port expansion, a cruise terminal, a marina redevelopment, a waterfront airport — all of these depend on decisions that take future sea levels seriously.

For South Florida, the stakes are particularly high. The region sits at the frontline of rising seas, king tides and storm surge. Yet the impacts will not be limited to coastlines; they ripple into housing, finance, tourism, energy, food systems and mental health.

Adaptation, Mitigation and a “Wicked Problem”

Sea level rise is not a distant scenario reserved for the end of the century. It is already underway, and the rate is accelerating.

The Rising Seas Institute draws a clear distinction between mitigation and adaptation in the context of the blue economy:

• Mitigation: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow the warming that drives long-term sea level rise.

• Adaptation: Preparing communities, infrastructure and ecosystems for the rise that is now unavoidable.

  
  

Because so much excess heat is already stored in the ocean, a certain amount of sea level rise is locked in, even under strong mitigation scenarios. Emissions cuts still matter — they can reduce the ultimate height of future seas — but they cannot rewind the clock.

That reality makes sea level rise a textbook “wicked problem”: there is no single solution, every action has side effects, and doing nothing is also a choice with consequences.

“We’re not very good at preparing for slow-moving crises,” Sharon admits. “We like to react after they happen. With sea level rise, that’s the riskiest approach we could take.”

The challenge — and opportunity — is to use science, data and collaboration to plan ahead rather than wait for the next disaster to dictate the agenda.

Data, Local Knowledge and Living Shorelines

In a world obsessed with quick fixes, the Rising Seas Institute takes a more grounded approach. Data is central, but it is not the only source of insight.

On their Greenland expeditions, the team works with local guides, many of whom were born in nearby settlements and have watched glaciers retreat and weather patterns shift across their lifetimes.

“Their culture is so deeply connected to nature,” Sharon says. “They notice changes that don’t always show up in a spreadsheet. Science is very data-oriented. They have a relationship.”

Bringing indigenous and local perspectives into the blue economy conversation adds depth to adaptation planning. It broadens the lens beyond engineering and finance to include culture, heritage and identity.

At the same time, innovation is emerging along coastlines worldwide. Living shorelines, nature-based seawalls and reef-mimicking structures are helping communities soften the edge between land and sea. In South Florida, companies partnered with the Marine Research Hub are developing solutions that blend engineering with ecology — proof that blue economy thinking can generate jobs, protect assets and restore ecosystems at the same time.

The key is to avoid solving one problem by creating another. Experimental geoengineering concepts, like refreezing sea ice or deploying solar shades, may one day play a role, but they demand careful testing and transparent data to avoid unintended consequences.

Building a Global Blue Economy Hub at NSU

Within NSU, the Rising Seas Institute aims to be more than a research group. The vision is multidisciplinary from the outset.

Law, business, psychology, engineering, communications and marine science all intersect in sea level rise. Future courses and programs are expected to pull students from across the university into shared classrooms — and, eventually, onto the ice in Greenland and other field locations.

“No one is truly taking the lead on integrating all of this,” Sharon notes. “The scientists we work with are asking for someone to connect the dots.”

The Institute wants to:

• Curate reliable, up-to-date sea level rise data.

• Convene experts from multiple disciplines to interpret it.

• Partner with international universities, including institutions in Greenland and Antarctica.

• Create opportunities for students to study and conduct research in frontline regions.

• Support a new generation of blue economy leaders who understand both the science and the human realities of rising seas.

  
  

A planned newsletter and expanded digital presence will help make this knowledge accessible far beyond campus, providing a central destination for sea level rise information worldwide.

Civic Action, Community Power and Where People Fit In

Amid the global scale of the problem, Sharon returns repeatedly to the power of local action. National and international agreements matter, but many of the most practical decisions will be made at the community level: zoning codes, building standards, drainage projects, insurance rules, emergency planning.

“It’s not going to happen top-down,” she says. “Real change will be driven from the bottom up.”

For individuals and organisations looking to engage with the blue economy, the path often begins with education and conversation:

• Learn how sea level rise projections affect your specific region.

• Share reliable information with friends, colleagues and local leaders.

• Get involved in civic processes — from public hearings to local planning boards.

• Support research, innovation and companies that prioritise long-term resilience over short-term gain.

  
  

The Rising Seas Institute actively invites questions through its website and is committed to answering them — a small but important way of turning concern into connection.

Hope, Ingenuity and the Work Ahead

Standing on Greenland’s ancient ice, it is impossible to escape the gravity of sea level rise. Watching a glacier calve is both awe-inspiring and deeply unsettling — beauty and warning in a single moment.

And yet, for Sharon Gray, hope is not naïve optimism. It is a deliberate choice grounded in human creativity.

“If I wasn’t hopeful, I wouldn’t be doing this work,” she says. “My hope is in people — in our ability to come together, get creative and find solutions.”

The blue economy will define how coastal societies navigate the century ahead: how we protect what must be protected, when we choose to retreat, where we build, what we insure and who we listen to along the way.

From Greenland’s ice fjord to South Florida’s mangroves, one truth is becoming clear: we can’t afford to look away. The challenge now is to use the data we have, the stories we gather and the ingenuity we’re known for to shape a future where rising seas don’t wash away our options — they sharpen our resolve.