The Svalbard archipelago is one of the northernmost human settlements in the Arctic. The islands are permanently covered with ice, which varies in time due to a difference in seawater temperature on the east and on the west of the archipelago. There are over two thousand glaciers on the islands. About hundred fifty glaciers are monitored by the scientists for detection of global climate disturbance. In this arctic climate, lichens are the only life on the surface sustained, for part of the year, by the melting ice. The contrast between the vast ice-covered space and the lichen-covered flood zone plateau reminds us of the fragility and perseverance of life.

Svalbard: Melting Glacier

19” x 31”, lined