During a recent tour of the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon in Iceland, tourists witnessed dramatic iceberg calving, captured in a viral video shared by @sabrina.gss. The video, which has garnered over 1.1 million views since July 9, shows tourists reacting in amazement as chunks of ice break off and fall into the water.
Professor Mauri Pelto, an expert in glaciers and climate change, explained that iceberg calving is a natural occurrence, often accelerated by warmer summer temperatures that make icebergs unstable. An earlier NASA-funded study indicated that glaciers could lose significant mass by 2100 due to rising global temperatures.
Research highlights that Icelandic glaciers, which once numbered around 300, now face declining numbers due to climate change, with many being classified as dead ice. The melting process is increasingly influenced by warmer ocean temperatures, leading to more frequent and dramatic calving events like the one captured in the video.
Overall, while calving is a normal part of glacier dynamics, climate change is intensifying its frequency and effects.
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