Savour the beauty of this ice cave because it may not be around for much longer. The structure is underneath the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in Iceland. Formed by a sub-glacial river, it consists of natural features that are threatened by rising global temperatures.
Glaciologists are monitoring the glacier, which spans 17 sq km in south-east Iceland, to measure the harmful effects of carbon emissions. Teams from the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Met Office have developed a mass-balance measurement, which involves tracking the amount of snowfall in winter and the volume of melting ice in summer.
The data is worrying: "Since 1995, every year except one has displayed negative mass balance," says Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson, 56, a glaciologist at the office. "In 2016, it's negative again."
If trends continue, melting glaciers could cause major flooding and a rise in sea levels. "Glaciers all over the world are melting. In Iceland, we are losing 0.34 per cent a year," says Thorsteinsson. "They will be gone in 200 years if global warming continues like this."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
