Up close and personal

A UNIS Glaciology student examines the calving front of the Paulabreen glacier, taking advantage of sea ice in the Rindersbukta fjord to safely approach the front. Paulabreen is a surge-type glacier, which means that it periodically switches between long periods of slow, stable flow to short-lived periods of very fast flow during which it advances. Paulabreen last surged between 2003 and 2006, advancing 1.5km in that period. This rapid advance turned the calving front into a crevassed and jumbled mess. In this photo we see a mix of glacier ice, refrozen water ice and crevasses infilled with basal sediments, resulting in a beautiful and chaotic pattern of contrasting textures, twisted into place by the grinding force of the surge.