Kongsbreen and Kronebreen glaciers in Svalbard, Norway
Åslund/Norwegian Polar Institute/Greenpeace
The powerful collision of two glaciers in Norway’s Svalbard (Kongsbreen and Kronebreen) is captured in a woven patchwork of black-and-white images. Norwegian Polar Institute In 1967 (main image, top). Almost six decades later, a striking panorama of the same site reveals the dramatic ice loss in the Arctic due to climate change (main photo, bottom).
“It was difficult to capture because it was such a big change from the stock photos,” he says Christian Aslundthe photographer who took the last shot of the two glaciers. “You understand how it has been and how it should be; it’s a completely different landscape now.”
The stark contrast between the two panoramas shows the disproportionate impact of rising Arctic temperatures. The region is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet in a phenomenon called Arctic amplification. This is largely due to the loss of sea ice, which is becoming weaker as melting continues to slow. This August was the hottest ever recorded in the Svalbard region, says Åslund.
“I hope these photos serve as a reminder to people that we can all do something collectively to try to turn this tide around,” says Åslund. “We have a global responsibility to slow climate change. I don’t think it’s too late.”
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