A new study shows that ice tongues on the Southeast side of Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland‘s largest glacier, will have disappeared completely within the next couple of centuries. The ice tongues have shrunk around 300 metres (984 ft) in the past 120 years, reports the National Broadcasting Service.
The study used historic accounts and aerial photographs to try and determine how 11 of Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers have changed. The oldest photographs found of the glaciers are from 1891.
“In the past 120 years the glaciers have lost between 15 to 50 percent of their entire volume,” explains geologist Hrafnhildur Hannesdóttir. Adding that the glaciers were thickest between 1840 and 2010, after which their decline has accelerated dramatically. “After 200 years these glaciers will have disappeared completely.”
The study shows that Heinabergsjökull has shrunk around 270 metres (886 ft), while Skálafellsjökull and Fláajökull have shrunk around 180 metres (590 ft).
This link contains a video with a graph of the glaciers’ decline (beginning at around the 15.15 mark).
A new study shows that ice tongues on the Southeast side of Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland‘s largest glacier, will have disappeared completely within the next couple of centuries. The ice tongues have shrunk around 300 metres (984 ft) in the past 120 years, reports the National Broadcasting Service.
The study used historic accounts and aerial photographs to try and determine how 11 of Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers have changed. The oldest photographs found of the glaciers are from 1891.
“In the past 120 years the glaciers have lost between 15 to 50 percent of their entire volume,” explains geologist Hrafnhildur Hannesdóttir. Adding that the glaciers were thickest between 1840 and 2010, after which their decline has accelerated dramatically. “After 200 years these glaciers will have disappeared completely.”
The study shows that Heinabergsjökull has shrunk around 270 metres (886 ft), while Skálafellsjökull and Fláajökull have shrunk around 180 metres (590 ft).
This link contains a video with a graph of the glaciers’ decline (beginning at around the 15.15 mark).
