Norwegian glaciers
Engabreen, an outlet glacier of Svartisen, in Nordland.
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Following a visit to the Cargill manufacturing facility in Halsa, we decided on an unexpected and totally spontaneous boat ride to see the western Svartisen Glacier, which falls within the Arctic Circle. Svartisen is comprised of two glaciers in northern Norway, within the Saltfjell mountain range, which predominantly lie between 1000 - 1400 metres above sea level. Engabreen, pictured above, is an outlet glacier of the greater western Svartisen Glacier, which is the second largest glacier on the Norwegian mainland, with a massive area of around 220 sq kilometres! Interestingly, of all the mainland glaciers in Europe, Engabreen extends the closest to sea level (~ 20 metres), with meltwater contributing to the beautiful freshwater lake at its foot. So, hiking to it takes around 2.5 hours.
At first thought, “glacier” elicits images of towering, snow white mounds, abutting glassy-blue, (in some instances) floating, icy cliffs. At least for me, anyway. Instead, as the Engabreen outlet glacier comes into view, you are met with this blue-hued mass snuggly nestled in the dark hillside. With the snowy mountain tops, you have to really look to spot it. But as you close in on Engabreen, its sheer size becomes apparent, with its glass-like cracks and crevices that stretch in obscure patterns up the mountainside. Never in my life did I ever think I would get to see something like a GLACIER - how insanely amazing! Yet another incredible experience for your “rooikop plaas-meisie” from South Africa.
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After a bit of trawling, I came across a paper that details the Svartisen Glacier, and its various outlets, citing data collected over a 125-year period. Svartisen is not just a pretty face. Apart from being a popular tourist spot, reservoirs in the region store its meltwater. This is then used to power the Svartisen power plant, providing electricity to nearly 100 000 homes annually, as well serving as a source of irrigation. So, monitoring changes of the glaciers, and understanding the impact of past, present, and future climatic changes is essential for local management planning. Needless to say, the prevailing changes in the climate are evidenced in the data presented in this paper - Engabreen used to extend as far as the shoreline, but today it has retreated some hours-walk up the mountainside. Topographically speaking, this will also be a concern - landslides and rockfalls are said to be unpredictable with the melting of centuries-old ice.
I read an article the other day - by 2100, it is predicted that 90% of Norway’s glaciers will have disappeared due to climate change, and even if we remain within the 1.5°C limit, 70-80% of the ice will have gone. It is sad to imagine that some of these glaciers/outlets were once so large. So, I am fortunate to have been able to see a bit of Norway’s icy giants.
