Kongsbreen and Kronebreen glaciers, Svalbard, Norway;
Åslund/Norwegian Polar Institute/Greenpeace
The violent collision of two glaciers, Kongsbreen and Kronebreen, on Norway's Svalbard archipelago is captured in a woven patchwork of black and white images taken by a photographer. Norwegian Polar Institute 1967 (main photo, top). Almost 60 years later, a striking panoramic photo of the same location reveals a dramatic decline in Arctic ice due to climate change (main photo, below).
“The changes from the archival photos were so drastic that it was difficult to witness,” he says. Christian Oslundthe photographer who took the latest shots of the two glaciers. “You see what it used to be and what it should be. It's a completely different landscape now.”
The sharp contrast between the two panoramas shows the disproportionate impact of rising temperatures in the Arctic. The region is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet due to a phenomenon called Arctic amplification. This is primarily due to a decline in sea ice, which is becoming increasingly susceptible to melting as it continues to decline. According to Åslund, this August was the warmest on record in Svalbard.
“I hope these photos remind people that together we can all do something to change this trend,” Åslund says. “We have a global responsibility to slow climate change. It's not too late.”
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Source: www.newscientist.com
