Although we know glaciers are melting, we can't always see it. One researcher, however, has discovered that he can hear it.
What's happening?
The BBC profiled Konstantine Vlasis, a percussionist and environmental researcher, who found himself inspired by a song from Icelandic band Sigur Rós.
That song featured the sound of a stream in the background, which led Vlasis to start traveling across Iceland, monitoring the sounds made by glaciers. By doing so, he discovered something fascinating.
"Sound can teach us a lot about glaciers," Vlasis told the BBC. "You can't see glacial movement in real time, but you can hear it."
Vlasis found that glaciers have musical qualities to them. For example, there are air bubbles inside each glacier, and as the glacier slowly warms, those bubbles create unique noises.
"When that ice melts, you can hear the air bubbles popping and fizzing and squealing as they melt into the water and the pro-glacial lakes," he said.
Why is this research important?
As more heat-trapping, polluting gases are released into our atmosphere, the more our planet continues to warm. It's no surprise that 2024 was the warmest year in recorded history and that the record will likely be broken again soon.
That heat has devastating impacts on ice around the world. And nowhere is that more evident than in Iceland.
The European country has lost 70 of its 400 glaciers, and its total ice area is 10% less now than it was in 2000. If temperatures continue to rise, experts warn, all of its ice could be gone in 200 years.
All of that melting ice will not only raise global sea levels but could also lead to increased risks of flooding and rock avalanches.
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Yes — always 💯 Scientists also fear that, as the glaciers continue to melt, Iceland could see more volcanic eruptions, potentially putting its citizens in harm's way.
What's being done about this?
As part of his research, Vlasis is working with other scientists to create models of how Iceland's glaciers will look in the future. He also released a performance piece with a sonic rendering of that data, played by a drummer on top of an Icelandic glacier.
Vlasis hopes his work will give people a new understanding of Iceland's melting glaciers and potentially other climate issues.
"If we want to live in a world without ice, we can keep doing what we're doing collectively as an industrial society," he told the BBC. "But I think glaciers can teach us how to listen. And to be able to listen well, you have to surrender your own perspectives and your own biases and be open to something new."
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