Iceland’s third largest glacier, and Europe’s largest glacier mass, is currently dissolving at a rate never seen before in human history.
This is due to human-caused climate changes.
The melting of ice all around the planet is rapid. Scientists believe that all the water entering the oceans is not only raising sea levels, but also changing circulation and fueling extreme weather events such as hurricanes and heatwaves.
Glaciologist Dr. M Jackson along with her co-researchers are raising alarm about the real possibility of Iceland losing nearly all its ice over the next 100 year.
They made a short film called “After Ice”Historical photos and drone footage are used to illustrate how rapidly the landscape has changed.
Back in 2019, Iceland held a glacier funeral after a 700-year-old sheet of ice shrunk so much that scientists declared it dead.
Iceland is now losing so much ice, that the land with less weight from glaciers is rising. Some harbors are now becoming shallower, making navigation more difficult for boats.
Scientists are also concerned about the possibility of more volcanic eruptions, as the ground becomes more unstable without glaciers.
Jackson describes this area as a “glacial graveyard”, but she does not give up hope. She stated that the planet can be kept from overheating, and the glaciers can still grow.
“We’re losing ice, and we’re gonna lose a lot more ice,”She spoke. “But that does not mean that ice is gone forever on the planet. Ice can grow back. But that means you and I have to act now. I want people to think about the future with ice. And that’s what I fight for.”