{"id":34210,"date":"2023-10-24t20:13:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-24t20:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=34210"},"modified":"2023-10-25t14:19:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25t14:19:02","slug":"icelands-glacier-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/icelands-glacier-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"transforming iceland | an unclear future for iceland’s glacier tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
on a july afternoon at the perlan museum in reykjav\u00edk, iceland, during the peak of tourist season, roughly two dozen visitors line up to enter the world\u2019s first indoor replica of a glacier. about 200 miles away, at a campsite parking lot in southern iceland, another line of tourists waits for their guided hike up to the real thing: skaftafellsj\u00f6kull, one of the country\u2019s disappearing natural landmarks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cwhen they are gone from nature, we will have already worked to preserve them,\u201d says j\u00f3hanna erla, the director of marketing at the perlan museum. a year ago, the perlan opened its ice caves exhibit \u2013 even integrating snow and ash from nearby volcanoes<\/span><\/span> into that first-ever indoor glacier replica<\/span>. but soon, ice caves like the perlan\u2019s may be all that\u2019s left for visitors. in 2003, iceland held a funeral for okj\u00f6kull<\/a>, the country\u2019s first glacier to vanish from climate change. researchers estimate<\/a> that by 2200 almost all of them will be gone. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n historically a geological menace for icelandic settlers, these icy goliaths have recently become a growing major attraction in the country\u2019s robust tourism economy, along with providing the backbone of its energy infrastructure. but iceland\u2019s population is over 4 times smaller than the number of international visitors, and the tourism boom comes at a carbon cost: despite iceland’s comparatively low greenhouse gas emissions, which advance global warming, visitors to iceland contribute <\/span>to a surprisingly high proportion of iceland’s carbon emissions.<\/span><\/a> with so much on the line, an uncertain future leaves the tourism industry scrambling to decide how best to share the experience of their glaciers before they\u2019re gone.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n iceland\u2019s glaciers grew over thousands of years as layers of snow compressed under their own weight to form hulking, crystalline expanses of ice, streaked with remnants of volcanic ash. encompassing 11% of the country\u2019s land, glaciers once posed a danger to early icelandic settlers as they melted seasonally, flooding valleys and creating torrential rivers that restricted travel. now, they captivate more than an estimated million visitors a year with their signature, ethereal blue glow. such nature-seeking tourists provide <\/span>39% of the country\u2019s gdp<\/span><\/a> and support <\/span>almost half of its jobs<\/span><\/a>. and in a country that boasts almost 100% renewable energy, more than 70% of it comes from hydropower that relies on water from glacier melt. <\/span> along with facilitating seasonal field work, gunnarsson leads guests and scientific researchers on seasonal glacier expeditions in iceland. from huts maintained by the glaciological society, researchers can get up close to glaciers to track their melt while in dialogue with people outside academia, like artists. for gunnarsson, engaging different parts of society with the reality of the climate crisis is an important step toward educating the public.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cwe know the data but scientists aren\u2019t always the best people to tell a story,\u201d he says, while acknowledging the complexity of having visitors travel from abroad for his expeditions. \u201cyou want people to witness climate change, but at the same time it’s fueling the climate crisis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n this irony is not lost on the country\u2019s officials. \u201c<\/span>you can’t really compare anything called tourism in my youth with what it is today. it’s just changed so dramatically,\u201d says <\/span>\u00d3l\u00f6f \u00ddrr atlad\u00f3ttir, former director general of icelandic tourism. in her 10 years as director, atlad\u00f3ttir often puzzled over how to solve the tourist industry\u2019s crowd-management issues. during her tenure, she<\/span> says she contemplated a disneyland-like approach to managing crowded natural tourist attractions. many popular sites, such as hot-steam geysers, glaciers, and volcanos, are dangerous for visitors in such large numbers, she says. by curating the experience more, she believes visitors would get a safer and more sustainable experience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n
<\/span>
<\/span>\u201cthe future is pretty scary, safe to say,\u201d says andri gunnarsson, the chairman of the icelandic glaciology society and manager of hydrological and glaciological research at landsvirkjun, the national power company of iceland. \u201c[iceland\u2019s glaciers] will disappear. there\u2019s no more uncertainty; it\u2019s just about the timing.\u201d as their glaciers vanish, iceland\u2019s energy landscape, tourism attractions, and economy will have to adapt.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n