The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Documentary shows how climate change has impacted glaciers
The dramatic effects of climate change on Iceland’s glaciers has been highlighted as a part of a new documentary.
After Ice features images from the 1940s and 1980s which were reconstructed in 3D and overlaid with current day drone footage to show how greenhouse gas emissions are causing glaciers to retreat by tens and sometimes hundreds of metres every year.
Dr Kieran Baxter, a lecturer in Communication Design at the University’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, teamed up with counterparts at the University of Iceland for the four-year project, which shows the alarming rate at which glaciers are disappearing.
The short film was made using digital photogrammetry methods to create 3D reconstructions of historic aerial photos, sourced from the archives of the National Land Survey of Iceland. Drones were then used to film the same landscapes, revealing the forlorn state of the glaciers.
Dr Baxter, who is an expert in the visual communication of glacial retreat, said: “I have been studying Iceland’s glaciers for several years now and the rate of their decline never fails to shock me.
“With the After Ice project we hope that these new images can make visible the impact that greenhouse gas emissions are having on the natural world.
“These glaciers have grown and shrunk in the past but the accelerated melt that we are witnessing today is unprecedented.
“In Iceland, nature has been all-powerful for thousands of years but now, for the first time, we are seeing significant climate change impacts driven by human activity.
“We can easily lose sight of the scale of these changes which is why we need visual evidence to demonstrate just how destructive global warming can be and why we urgently need to act.
“We are living in unprecedented times and it has never been more important to listen to the experts who have the unenviable task of mapping future pathways through the climate crisis.”
Dr Thorvardur Arnason, from the University of Iceland, added: “It has been hugely rewarding to collaborate with Dr Baxter on After Ice. His highly innovative, approach to the visualisation of glacier down wasting is a milestone in climate crisis communication.
“I believe we are now just seeing the ‘tip of the iceberg‘ with regard to the potential application of visualisation methods to shed light on the reality of the climate crisis.“
After Ice can be viewed at climatevis.com/ after-ice