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Where is it?Ok volcano , Iceland [ 64.60038686 , -20.87986624 ]
What ’s in the photos?A comparison of Okjökull , a glacier atop okay volcano , before and after it was declared dead
Satellite photos from 1986 and 2019 show how the “Ok glacier” almost completely disappeared from the summit of and Icelandic volcano.
Which satellites took the photos?Landsat 5 and Landsat 8
When were they taken?Sept . 14 , 1986 , and Aug. 1 , 2019
Two artificial satellite photos bring 33 years aside show the disappearing of a glacier in Iceland that was the first methamphetamine deal to be declared dead as a outcome of human - causedclimate change .
This 2003 photo shows Okjökull as it begins to fracture and break apart. Just over 10 years later, researchers determined that it was no longer a proper glacier.
Okjökull was a dome - shaped glacier deposit around the crest crater on Ok ( enounce Auk ) , a 3,940 - foot - grandiloquent ( 1,200 meters ) shield volcano site 44 mil ( 71 km ) northwest of Reykjavík . ( The name Okjökull interpret to " okay glacier " in Icelandic . )
In 1901 , Okjökull ’s sparkler report an surface area of around 15 square geographical mile ( 39 square klick ) , but when the first of the two planet photos was taken in 1986 , there was less than 1 square mile ( 2.6 square kilometer ) of ice left . By the time the second image was captured in 2019 , the ice covered less than 0.4 square mile ( 1 square kilometer ) , according toNASA ’s Earth Observatory .
The glacier was adjudge dead in 2014 , when Icelandic glaciologists revealed that the ice had become so thin that it was no longer being slowly draw down the mountain by graveness , meaning it had bar moving for the first time in tens of thousands of years , grant to a2024 papersummarizing Okjökull ’s demise .
The glacier ’s decease was showcased and explore in a 2018 short film titled " Not Ok , " which was made by researchers from Rice University in Texas .
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In August 2019 , around 100 people , include researchers and politicians , go to a funeral for Okjökull near the summit of Ok , according toThe Guardian . During this ceremony , a commemorative plaque , inscribed with a message titled " A missive to the future , " was set near the pinnacle .
It reads as follows : " Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier . In the next 200 years all our glacier are expected to follow the same path . This memorial is to acknowledge that we know what is go on and what ask to be done . Only you know if we did it . "
The brass also listed the concentration of carbon dioxide in the standard pressure , which was 415 parts per million at the fourth dimension . As of March 2025 , the concentration is over 428 ppm , according to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .
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In 2023 , Iceland also created the world ’s first iceberg graveyard , where ice - like headstones were constructed for the 15 major glaciers number on theGlobal Glacier Casualty List , all of which are either dead or critically peril , according to theUnited Nations . This list includes the Anderson Glacier in Washington Department of State , which , in 2015 , became the first U.S. glacier to be declare idle .
Because of inconsistent monitoring and argument about the true sizes of glaciers , it is unclear exactly how many glacier have been lose due to climate change , accord to theNational Snow and Ice Data Center . However , some researcher judge that up to 10,000 glaciers of various sizes may have already been suffer to mood change , The Washington Postreported in 2024 .
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