{"id":43604,"date":"2024-11-06T11:16:50","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T10:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a3738b2c-115c-4832-9f42-53b0526138c2"},"modified":"2024-11-06T12:27:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T11:27:34","slug":"powerful-before-and-after-photos-reveal-haunting-retreat-of-arctic-glaciers","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/powerful-before-and-after-photos-reveal-haunting-retreat-of-arctic-glaciers\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerful before-and-after photos reveal “haunting” retreat of Arctic glaciers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new set of photos by Swedish photographer Christian \u00c5slund show just how far the glaciers have retreated over the past century. <\/p>

By Daniel Graham\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 10:16 AM<\/p>

\n\n

A series of powerful before-and-after photos released by Greenpeace show the dramatic retreat of Arctic glaciers over the past 100 years.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

The latest photographs revisit a renowned series created 22 years ago by acclaimed Swedish photographer Christian \u00c5slund.<\/p>

In 2002, \u00c5slund brought attention to the Arctic\u2019s changing landscape by replicating early 20th-century photographs from the Norwegian Polar Institute<\/a>\u2019s archive, highlighting significant ice loss. Now, in his latest visit, \u00c5slund has returned to these same locations to capture what remains \u2013 revealing the stark reality of climate change in one of the planet’s most fragile regions.<\/p>

\u201cAt so many of the glaciers I photographed for this series, we saw the same story \u2013 ice walls completely gone and glaciers retreating back into nothing,” says \u00c5slund.<\/p>

“They illustrate just how quickly our planet is changing as the climate crisis worsens. The Arctic is our climate sentinel \u2013 it\u2019s where the climate and ocean crises converge, and where the impacts of these crises are seen first and felt most keenly.\u201d<\/p>

The Arctic region is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, with glaciers and sea ice disappearing at record levels, according to data from the Norwegian Centre for Data Service<\/a>.<\/p>

As glaciers and ice sheets melt, sea levels are rising, putting coastal areas at risk. When sea ice melts, it exposes the darker ocean surface, which absorbs more heat instead of reflecting it, further driving shifts in global weather patterns.<\/p>

\u201cSvalbard\u2019s glaciers are now ghosts, haunting the Arctic,” says Dr Laura Meller, Project Lead of Greenpeace Nordic.\u00a0<\/p>

“Even if as a scientist I know the terrible facts about the Arctic warming, seeing these pictures is always heartbreaking. Here, at the top of the world, we can hear an alarm from our planet, and can see laid bare before our eyes the fundamentally connected futures of oceans and our climate.<\/p>

“Stopping climate breakdown goes hand in hand with ocean protection to create space for ocean life to recover, thrive and help us avoid the worst impacts of warming,\u201d says Meller.<\/p>

Before and after: Arctic glaciers in retreat<\/h2>
Top: Historical image of the Blomstrandbreen glacier taken in 1922, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Middle: Taken in 2002 by photographer Christian \u00c5slund from the same position. Bottom: Taken on 23 August 2024 from the same position by Christian \u00c5slund\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Archive image of the Von Postbreen glacier, Svalbard, taken in 1935, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Bottom: Taken by Christian \u00c5slund from the same position on 17 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image of the Blomstrandbreen glacier taken in 1928, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Middle: Taken in 2002 by photographer Christian \u00c5slund. Bottom: Taken by photographer Christian \u00c5slund from the same position on 23 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical panorama image from the Norwegian Polar Institute, taken in 1967, showing the Kongsbreen and Kronobreen glaciers merging and surrounding Colleth\u00f8gda Island, outside Ny \u00c5lesund, Svalbard. Bottom: Panorama image taken from the same position by photographer Christian \u00c5slund on the 24 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image from the Norwegian Polar Institute’s expedition to Svalbard during the summer of 1956 showing an old coal mine and the glacier Lov\u00e9nbreen. Bottom: Taken by photographer Christian \u00c5slund from the same position 24 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image by geologist Anders K. Orvin in 1924, with the glacier Vestre Lov\u00e9nbreen ahead of the mast, outside Ny Alesund, Svalbard. Bottom: Taken from the same position by photographer Christian \u00c5slund onboard the Greenpeace vessel Witness on the 26 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image of the Blomstrandbreen glacier taken in 1922, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Bottom: Taken from the same position by Christian \u00c5slund on 23 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Archive image from Blomstrands Havn with the glacier Blomstrandbreen in the background, taken during the Hoels Spitsbergen expedition in 1908. Bottom: Image taken by photographer Christian \u00c5slund from the same position on 23 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image of the Kronobreen, Kongsbreen and Kongsvegen glaciers spreading out around the mountain Colleth\u00f8gda, taken in 1922, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Bottom: Taken from the same location by photographer Christian \u00c5slund on 24 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image taken in 1922, showing Kongsfjorden with the Kronobreen, Kongsbreen and Kongsvegen glaciers, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Middle: Taken from the same location by Christian \u00c5slund in 2002. Bottom: Taken from the same location by photographer Christian \u00c5slund on 24 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Archive image taken in 1947, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. The photo shows the ship Minna in the bay of Adolfbukta in front of the Nordenskioldbreen glacier in Svalbard. Bottom: Image taken by photographer Christian \u00c5slund on the 17 August 2024, from the same location with the Greenpeace vessel Witness in the foreground\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Archive image of Kongsfjorden with the Blomstrandbreen glacier in the background, taken in 1918. Bottom: Taken from the same location by photographer Christian \u00c5slund on 27 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image of Adolfbukta Bay and the Nordenskioldbreen glacier in Svalbard, taken in 1961, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Bottom: Image taken by photographer Christian \u00c5slund from the same position on the 16 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image of the Kongsbreen glacier, Svalbard, take in 1918, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Bottom: Taken from the same position on 24 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image of the Kongsbreen glacier, Svalbard, taken in 1928, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Middle: Image from the same position, taken in 2002. Bottom: Image taken from the same position on 23 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image of the Conwaybreen glacier in Svalbard, taken in 1925, from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Bottom: Photo taken from the same position on 23 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
\"Arctic
Top: Historical image from the Norwegian Polar institute’s archive, showing the Kronobreen, Kongsbreen and Kongsvegen glaciers in 1939. Bottom: Taken from the same position with Greenpeace crew member in the foreground on 24 August 2024\/Credit: Christian \u00c5slund \/ Norwegian Polar Institute \/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption> <\/figure>

See the full photo series on the\u00a0Greenpeace Media Library<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>

More stories about the environment<\/strong><\/p>