Enormous Iceland glacier has VANISHED as shock pictures from space reveal destruction of Arctic heatwave
SHOCKING images of Iceland's first "dead glacier" reveal the ongoing damage of soaring temperatures in the Arctic.
The large Okjökull glacier is now completely gone, despite once measuring 16 square kilometres.
US satellites have tracked the life and death of the glacier over the past three decades.
Images taken in 1986 show huge volumes of ice covering the mountainside in western Iceland.
Estimates suggest that the glacier once measured as much as 164 feet thick.
But the glacier has gradually melted away through the 20th century.
Then in 2014, climate scientists officially declared the glacier as "dead".
Latest pictures from August 2019 released by Nasa show just a spattering of snow and ice where the glacier used to be.
Scientists say this year's heatwave has exacerbated melting in the region.
"Notice the areas of blue meltwater, which are likely associated with a mass of warm air that hit Iceland as it moved from mainland Europe to Greenland in late July," Nasa explained.
Experts warn that the "climate crisis" is responsible for the glacier's disappearance.
And according to the US Geological Survey, Iceland's 400-plus glaciers will decrease by 40% before the end of the century – and will "virtually disappear by 2200".
Okjökull was part of the iconic Langjökull group of glaciers.
It's one of Iceland's eight main groupings of glaciers, which form the ice that covers 10% of the frosty Arctic nation.
Officials have now created a memorial plaque for the glacier, which reads: "A letter to the future. Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier.
"In the next 200 years, all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path.
";This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done.
"Only you know if we did it," it closes.
The plaque will also carry the words "415ppm CO2", which describes the level of carbon dioxide recorded in the area in May 2019.
Scientists are expected to hike up to the summit of the site on August 18 to dedicate the plaque.
Climate change explained
Here's the basic facts...
- Scientists have lots of evidence to show that the Earth’s climate is rapidly changing due to human activity
- Climate change will result in problems like global warming, greater risk of flooding, droughts and regular heatwaves
- Each of the last three decades have been hotter than the previous one and 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have happened during the 21st century
- The Earth only needs to increase by a few degrees for it to spell disaster
- The oceans are already warming, polar ice and glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and we’re seeing more extreme weather events
- In 2015, almost all of the world's nations signed a deal called the Paris Agreement which set out ways in which they could tackle climate change and try to keep temperatures below 2C
The images come just days after a heatwave melted half of a huge Greenland ice sheet to slush.
Around 12billion tons of ice disappeared from a prominent ice sheet in just 24 hours, due to a record-breaking heatwave.
The melt event was well outside of the "normal" range for the time of year, as areas around the ice sheet reached a toasty 22C.
Melting was so extreme that rivers surged and broke bridges in coastal towns.
In late July, it emerged that huge areas of the Arctic were "engulfed" by fast-spreading wildfires.
The fires were so big they were visible from space, and created a 4.5million-square-kilometre "smoke lid" over the Northern Hemisphere.
Nasa Earth : "Record-breaking heat in #Alaska has exacerbated clusters of wildfires burning throughout the state.";
Wildfires, which are defined as large destructive fires that spread quickly over woodland or dry vegetation, have occurred in the Arctic before but experts think global warming is making the problem much more common and a lot more destructive.
Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), told : "The number and intensity of wildfires in the Arctic Circle is unusual and unprecedented.
"They are concerning as they are occurring in a very remote part of the world, and in an environment that many people would consider to be pristine."
Thomas Smith, an environmental geographer at the London School of Economics, USA Today: "These are some of the biggest fires on the planet, with a few appearing to be larger than 100,000 hectares (380 square miles).
"The amount of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emitted from Arctic Circle fires in June 2019 is larger than all of the CO2 released from Arctic Circle fires in the same month from 2010 through to 2018 put together."
This large amount of CO2 will have a negative impact on current attempts to reduce green house gases and stop the planet warming at such an alarming rate.
Areas that weren't burning were suffering a knock-on effect consequences including major cities in Russia which are now covered in smoke and have reduced air quality.
MOST READ IN SCIENCE
In other news, sea level ‘doomsday’ simulator reveals whether your home would be wiped out by rising oceans.
Parts of Europe could disappear as Nasa warns Antarctica is melting 6 times faster than it was 40 years ago.
And experts think climate change could cause areas of the ocean to turn a "deep green" colour by 2100.
Are you worried about climate change? Let us know in the comments!
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]