In Search of Isbjørn.

[PRWIN]

Dewi

Thanks and yes

Great shots again, love the way youi put things to scale, must have been great to see

[Lisbeth]

What are the "stripes" in the last two photos? Something physical or technical?

The pic of the kittiwakes taking off from the ice floe is great

[Dewi]

Thanks Nan, PRWIN & Lisbeth.

Lis, the lines are like strata in rock, or growth rings in trees. They are a seasons accumulation of snow (or rain) compacted over the years into layers. By boring out cores to great depths in the ice, scientists can gather evidence of previous climate conditions. The bluer ice is more compressed, suggesting heavier snowfall in the following years.

[Mel]

The lighting is stunning - looks so out of this world.
Well, I guess, you probably were, somewhat.

[Richprins]

I give up, Dewi..your pics are well thought out and of high quality...nothing more to say, except maybe mention each time which is your favourite pic in each sequence...and the food!

I'll just


(And maybe more info on angel interaction... )

[Jillinflorida]

The ice wall is amazing. A mountain of ice. Makes me wonder what it must have been like before global warming. Thanks for all the information too. It's all really interesting.

[Dewi]

Thank you Mel, Richprins & Jillinflorida.

The light was strange and a bit of a challenge to get things that I wanted. It was dark looking one way and light the other.

You will see how quickly it's disapearing in the next post.

Hard choice RP, flip a coin between the Kits on the berg (first one) and the ones against the wall of ice.

[Dewi]

Evidence that something is going wrong with the climate here started to become apparent when we noticed water pouring out of a hole in the base of the ice-cliff.



As we sailed Westwards, the amount of water cascading from the ice increased.





Everywhere you looked, water was running down in torrents.



In all my years of working in Antarctica, I witnessed the difference in melt between the decades, but never did I come across scenes like these.



It would be interesting to compare what would be "normal" melt off the ice-cap, say 30 or 40 years ago, with what is being lost today.



I stood on deck open mouthed at these scenes and wondered how long the region can withstand this amount of melt before the whole system would collapse.



What most people don't realise is that the salinity in the oceans drives a current around the World which acts as a coolant which drives our weather patterns. Freshwater pouring into the sea here will send the saline water deeper which will affect the currents by shifting their present patterns awry and and altering our weather systems. The other downside is that the ice in the polar regions also acts as a large mirror which reflects huge amounts of the sun's energy back into space, keeping the planet temperate. A warming planet means more moisture being evaporated into the atmosphere, resulting in higher rainfall. The problem is, is that the rainfall is coming back in large, "freak" storms, rather than in a prolonged series of rainfall over longer periods of time. These extreme events will only become more commonplace as the ice melts further.

I was unnerved by seeing this first hand, but still thought that the scene was beautiful to watch. A very strange sensation to experience.









The sad thing about all this for me is that the scientists were warning about the impending melt when I first went to Antarctica to work all those years ago.

No one seems to have listened to them.

[Jillinflorida]

People are listening now about global warming but what are we DOING to slow it down??? Anyway, the photos are amazing and while it's horrible to think they shouldn't be melting at that rate it's still amazing to watch. Glad I'm in my golden years rather than starting out.

[Dewi]

Thanks Jill.

Hope the post is not too depressing, but it's a reality that we will have to face up to and deal with.

It was amazing to watch though.