Glacial beings: an exhibit

Glacial beings, the active role that water in the form of ice plays in physically forming our planet and our relationship with water.

^ Image from The Smithsonian, Alex Cornell - Overturned Iceberg

Last week, I highlighted a photo taken by Manish Mamtani that captured the beautiful interplay of ice and fog as well as the movement of glaciers. As one of the most fascinating forms of water and one that has become a symbol of climate change, glaciers must appear in our museum exhibit and I am committing to leading this topic.

I am picturing a small collection of powerful images of glaciers, both the past and present, and the visible and invisible. An image of a "past" glacier could be the image of the overturned iceberg above, since icebergs arise from calving events of glaciers. On the other hand, Yosemite (as pictured below), would be a beautiful depiction of an "invisible" glacier because glaciers helped form the dramatic geology of Yosemite before the existence of humans.

All the images in this blog post allude to the movement of glaciers on size- and time-scales that exceed those of humans. For me, it was not until attempting to climb Volcan Cayambe, the third-highest mountain in Ecuador at an elevation of 5,790 m (18,996 ft), that I fully came to grips with the massive, powerful, unpredictable movement of glaciers. Our guide, Marco, seemed to know the crevasses like the back of his hand, as well as how they move throughout the seasons. He was constantly evaluating the glacier's conditions, snow and ice depth, and quality while I found myself feeling so small on a seemingly endless and impossibly steep sheet of glacial ice. Thus originated my simultaneous fear and obsession with glaciers.

^ Image taken at the fourth hour of our attempt to climb Volcan Cayambe, Ecuador. | May 2017

As such massive, powerful, living beings, glaciers have become victims of anthropogenic climate change. How is it that we, humans, can alter the planet's natural cycles to such an extent that we melt structures that have existed far longer than all of humanity. It is an important realization and may warrant an incredibly depressing picture of the melting Arctic landscapes.

^ Image from Wix - Cracked Glacier

Drawing from this class's ability to inspire reflection on water's roles in our lives, I hope that an exhibit on glacial beings may also foster deep reconnection with the planet and with each other.

Potential sources of information:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/photographer-captures-stunning-underside-flipped-iceberg-180953951/

http://discoverykids.com/articles/how-glaciers-work/

https://www.natgeokids.com/nz/discover/geography/physical-geography/glaciers/#!/register