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Video Companion
Ilulissat Icefjord: Awe-Inspiring Time-Lapse Film From Greenland
Thanks to photographer Bo Normander and time-lapse expert Casper Rolsted, we all can experience the Ilulissat Icefjord, a natural site of overwhelming beauty created by inland ice and gigantic icebergs from the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier at the head of the fjord.
Over the past decade, the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier has doubled its speed. Today, it moves at about 40 meters per day, making it one of the world's fastest glaciers. It calves an impressive 40-50 cubic kilometers of ice a year, equivalent to one-tenth of the total production of icebergs from the Greenland ice sheet. For perspective, if this amount of ice melted, it would provide enough water to cover all of the United States' annual water consumption.
In 2004, Ilulissat Icefjord was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, achieving the highest international recognition for nature of irreplaceable value. The World Heritage List was established in 1972 to protect the world's cultural and natural heritage from destruction.