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(Image credit: NASA/Landsat)
FAST FACTS
Where is it? Okay volcano, Iceland [64.60038686, -20.87986624]
What’s in the images? A contrast of Okjökull, a glacier atop Okay volcano, before and after it was stated dead
Which satellites took the pictures? Landsat 5 and Landsat 8
When were they taken? Sept. 14, 1986, and Aug. 1, 2019
2 satellite pictures taken 33 years apart reveal the disappearance of a glacier in Iceland that was the very first ice mass to be stated dead as an outcome of human-caused environment modification
Okjökull was a dome-shaped glacier positioned around the top crater on Ok (noticable Auk), a 3,940-foot-tall (1,200 meters) protect volcano situated 44 miles (71 kilometers) northwest of Reykjavík. (The name Okjökull equates to “Ok glacier” in Icelandic.)
In 1901, Okjökull’s ice covered a location of around 15 square miles (39 square kilometers), however when the very first of the 2 satellite images was taken in 1986, there was less than 1 square mile (2.6 square km) of ice left. By the time the 2nd image was caught in 2019, the ice covered less than 0.4 square miles (1 square km), according to NASA’s Earth Observatory
The glacier was stated dead in 2014, when Icelandic glaciologists exposed that the ice had actually ended up being so thin that it was no longer being gradually took down the mountain by gravity, implying it had actually stopped moving for the very first time in 10s of countless years, according to a 2024 paper summing up Okjökull’s death.
The glacier’s death was showcased and checked out in a 2018 brief movie entitled “Not Ok,” which was made by scientists from Rice University in Texas.
Related: See all the very best pictures of Earth from area
This 2003 picture reveals Okjökull as it starts to fracture and disintegrate. Simply over 10 years later on, scientists figured out that it was no longer an appropriate glacier. (Image credit: Oddur Sigurðsson/ Wikimedia)
In August 2019, around 100 individuals, consisting of scientists and political leaders, participated in a funeral service for Okjökull near the top of Ok, according to The GuardianThroughout this event, a celebratory plaque, engraved with a message entitled “A letter to the future,” was put near the top.
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It checks out as follows: “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.”
The plaque likewise noted the concentration of co2 in the environment, which was 415 parts per million at the time. Since March 2025, the concentration is over 428 ppm, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
In 2023, Iceland likewise produced the world’s very first iceberg graveyard, where ice-like headstones were built for the 15 significant glaciers noted on the Worldwide Glacier Casualty Listall of which are either dead or seriously threatened, according to the United NationsThis list consists of the Anderson Glacier in Washington state, which, in 2015, ended up being the very first U.S. glacier to be stated dead.
Since of irregular tracking and disputes about the real sizes of glaciers, it is uncertain precisely the number of glaciers have actually been lost due to environment modification, according to the National Snow and Ice Data CenterSome scientists approximate that up to 10,000 glaciers of numerous sizes might have currently been lost to environment modification, The Washington Post reported in 2024.
Harry is a U.K.-based senior personnel author at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to end up being a reporter. He covers a large range of subjects consisting of area expedition, planetary science, area weather condition, environment modification, animal habits and paleontology. His current deal with the solar optimum won “best space submission” at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the “top scoop” classification at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He likewise composes Live Science’s weekly Earth from area series.
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