Huge grotto found under Norwegian glacier
Large quantities of water from melting ice have created what researchers are calling a "sensational" grotto under one of Norway's major glaciers.
The researchers discovered the grotto under the Nigard Glacier, an arm of the famed Jostedal Glacier in Luster, in the western county of Sogn og Fjordane.
Experts have been worrying about the melting of Norway's glaciers for years. Now they've found what some call an "exclusive" side-effect of the melting activity.
"The glacier is changing all the time, and we have found grottos earlier, but I have never seen anything as large as the grotto we have discovered now," according to glacier expert Bjørnar Bjørhusdal.
Peder Kjærvik, leader of the information center for Jostedalsbreen Nasjonalpark (Breheimsenteret), said an earlier grotto was found in the 1970s, but this one is much bigger.
Bjørhusdal and another local expert who conducts guided expeditions over the glacier found what they're calling an "ice cathedral." They were out checking changes in the glacier when they spotted a "port" between the ground and the ice.
Its opening is about five meters high and inside is the grotto, which he said measures about eight meters high, 20-30 meters deep and about 20 meters wide.
He described the ice grotto as "fantastic," with "extremely blue" colors and large icicles hanging from its ceiling. "But it's changing from day to day," he said, noting that ice is a "moving phenomenon."
The grotto is believed to have been created by rising temperatures. "It's the running water under the ice that has made the ice over it melt," Kjærvik said.
Glacier researcher Atle Nesje said the creation of such large ice grottos can be tied to a steadily warmer climate. Melting ice digs tunnels that are then expanded by warm air streams.
Both Nesje and Bjørhusdal warned the public against entering such grottos on their own, because they can be dangerous, especially in the summer.
"They can be life-threatening, because the entire grotto can collapse," Nesje said.
Aftenposten's reporter
Kjetil Olsen
This is an article from www.aftenposten.no.
It can be found at this address: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2204644.ece
The researchers discovered the grotto under the Nigard Glacier, an arm of the famed Jostedal Glacier in Luster, in the western county of Sogn og Fjordane.
Experts have been worrying about the melting of Norway's glaciers for years. Now they've found what some call an "exclusive" side-effect of the melting activity.
"The glacier is changing all the time, and we have found grottos earlier, but I have never seen anything as large as the grotto we have discovered now," according to glacier expert Bjørnar Bjørhusdal.
Peder Kjærvik, leader of the information center for Jostedalsbreen Nasjonalpark (Breheimsenteret), said an earlier grotto was found in the 1970s, but this one is much bigger.
Bjørhusdal and another local expert who conducts guided expeditions over the glacier found what they're calling an "ice cathedral." They were out checking changes in the glacier when they spotted a "port" between the ground and the ice.
Its opening is about five meters high and inside is the grotto, which he said measures about eight meters high, 20-30 meters deep and about 20 meters wide.
He described the ice grotto as "fantastic," with "extremely blue" colors and large icicles hanging from its ceiling. "But it's changing from day to day," he said, noting that ice is a "moving phenomenon."
The grotto is believed to have been created by rising temperatures. "It's the running water under the ice that has made the ice over it melt," Kjærvik said.
Glacier researcher Atle Nesje said the creation of such large ice grottos can be tied to a steadily warmer climate. Melting ice digs tunnels that are then expanded by warm air streams.
Both Nesje and Bjørhusdal warned the public against entering such grottos on their own, because they can be dangerous, especially in the summer.
"They can be life-threatening, because the entire grotto can collapse," Nesje said.
Aftenposten's reporter
Kjetil Olsen
This is an article from www.aftenposten.no.
It can be found at this address: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2204644.ece
posted by Norman Larson @ 6:00 PM
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