Ice as far as the eye can see. You are standing at the iceberg bank at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord. The ice we see was once a part of the Sermeq Kujalleq - Southern Glacier - about 65 kilometers to the east. The ice is formed as a result of several meters of snow accumulating on the ice sheet every year. This build up layer of snow is creating such a high pressure that the ice crystals have been pressed together into solid ice. The ice sheet itself consists entirely of this compressed snow and in some places, it reaches a thickness of over 3 kilometers. The dynamics of the ice and the rock bed on which the ice lies create a series of ice streams. It is like rivers of ice that flows from the interior out to the ice edge where large blocks of ice break off from the glacier creating icebergs. Ilulissat Icefjord contains the largest ice stream on the northern hemisphere. It is estimated that 40 to 50 cubic kilometers of ice are produced every year. That amount of ice could, when melted, fill 16 million Olympic swimming pools.
In 2002 and 2003 huge breaks in the glacier resulted in a huge loss of surface area and a recession of 12 kilometers of the glacier front.
It is not the first time in history that the glacier has behaved in this way – in fact, the edge of the inland ice was much farther inland 4,500 years ago when the first people from the Saqqaq culture arrived.
The ice fjord measures one half to a full kilometer in depth. This large submerged gorge continues under the ice for a distance of 50 km under the ice sheet. Here at the mouth the gorge ends and the sea depth only reaches a depth of 200 to 400 metres. On top of this, the former presence of the glacier out here has created a moraine bank of rock fragments, gravel and stones. On this moraine bank the deepest passage is only 250 meters, giving the large icebergs difficulties on their way.
Sometimes large icebergs become grounded at the mouth of the ice fjord and block the passage for ice flowing out from the head of the fjord.
Once in a while a larger iceberg will break up or ‘calve’ - a term used to describe when a large portion of ice detaches from either a glacier or an iceberg. In this way, the icebergs become smaller and they can eventually pass the barrier created by the moraine and the shallow sea depth.
You have probably also noticed that the ice comes in several different colors and tones. White, blue, green and black are the colors most common.
White ice is the result of pure snow being pressed together in kilometer-thick layers. This type of ice contains bubbles in the form of trapped air. It is the release of these bubbles that you hear when you drop a piece of ice in a drink.
The blue ice is a result of the compression taking place deep down in the ice sheet. As I just mentioned the accumulation of snow lets the white ice contain air bubbles. As this compressed snow sinks deeper and deeper in the ice sheet the pressure will force the air out and the result will be very, very hard ice with a beautiful blue color.
Additionally, there is also frozen meltwater from the ice sheet's many meltwater rivers. When the water freezes into ice, it happens without embedding air bubbles and that ice lies very heavy and low in the water. It is called black ice because it can be very difficult to see on the surface. In the icebergs you also see such bands of frozen meltwater.
How old is the ice? An interesting question which is difficult to answer without specific investigations on the air contained. But generally speaking I can tell you this: If you look at a profile of the ice sheet, we have the brand-new snow lying at the top. However if you went down to a depth of 3200 metres, you have traveled approximately 250,000 years back in time. Most of the ice we see drifting by here in the fjord was formed sometime after the last ice age and therefore has an age of up to 12,000 years. In the Inland Ice, older ice is to be found deep below the surface. This old ice can have an age of up to 120,000 years – parts of this old ice occasionally drifts by as well – but it is difficult to distinguish from newer ice. At the very bottom of the Inland Ice, old ice from the time before the last ice age, is to be found. This ice can have an age up to 250,000 years but as this layer is not moving it will not be part of the ice seen in the ice fiord.
The last thing I have to tell about the ice is about dust, gravel and rocks. Sometimes it simply looks like the ice is dirty. In the summer, dust blows over the ice sheet and especially at the edge of the inland ice you can see that the ice is colored by this dust. The ice will also collect gravel and stones in its contact with the earth's surface - sometimes even very heavy stones can be seen being transported around on an iceberg.
I encourage you to enjoy the view and natural beauty of the ice fjord here as long as you want. When you are ready to move on, you will have three possibilities. You can walk down the stairs and back the same way we came. You can follow the blue markings up the mountain and keep left and eventually reunite with the boardwalk. Or you can follow the blue markings up the mountain, turn right and follow the ice fjord trail to the east. On the way to stop number 10 you will pass a mountain landscape with ancient Inuit graves. Stop number 10 will not be at a physical stop but you can listen to it, and learn about the graves whenever you like.
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