I believe that nature reveals itself over time and it is imperative to have more than one glimpse if possible. With that goal in mind, next week I will witness another aspect of the Arctic Circle: Greenland's ILULISSAT - formerly known as Jakobshavn.
Ilulissat is a large outlet glacier which is one of the fastest moving glaciers on our planet depositing almost 10% of all Greenland icebergs. It is presently moving ice from the Greenland ice sheet into the ocean at unprecedented speeds. It is the same glacier that spawned in 1912 the deadly iceberg that sunk the Titanic...For over 250 years scientists have been studying it to understand ice melt and climate change. I want to personally thank such researchers as Asa Rennermalm, Marco Tedesco and Jason Box who have contributed their advice and knowledge as I prepared for this expedition
Greenland has always intrigued me – but more so after making a series of paintings based on NASA’s and Jason Box’s chronicling of the iceberg that broke off of Petermann Glacier first in 2010 which was 4 times the size of Manhattan:
60" x 72", Oil on Canvas, 2012
In 2012 another piece measuring 46 square miles broke away. If such activity continues the whole glacier could be compromised contributing to sea level rise. Because Northern Greenland and Canada have been warming five times faster than the average global temperature, and in June 2012 scientists reported the largest sea ice loss on record – this may come to pass.