Glaciers are retreating. Ice caps are melting. In the summer 2009, our Arctic Sunrise sails further North than any other Greenpeace ship ever has to document ice break-ups and the dire effects climate change has on one of the most fragile environments in the world.
For the past two weeks, scientists and crew from the Arctic Sunrise have been busy gathering data, collecting samples and setting up cameras to record the break-up of the Petermann glacier, one of Greenland's largest. A large crack has been forming for the past few years, and a massive piece of the glacier is expected to break off soon.
At 82 degrees North, far from any inhabited area, the impact we have on our environment is sadly evident. The data gathered so far by the on-board scientists is grim. 27 kilometers away from the sea, on the glacier, a large river has formed. The scientists estimate it runs at 50 cubic meters per second – you could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less than a minute at that rate.
This river feeds a large and deep melting whirlpool. Measurements there have shown that at around 60 meters depth, the salinity of the water rises – it’s therefore no longer melting ice, but warm oceans currents are. Warm ocean currents from further south in the Atlantic are accelerating the ice melt at a rate much faster than on the surface.
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JanforGore
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