Unique mineral columns in Ikkafjord are thriving again скачать в хорошем качестве

Unique mineral columns in Ikkafjord are thriving again

Researchers are pleased that the unique ecosystem surrounding the rare ikaite columns in Southwest Greenland appears to be recovering. New underwater videos provide insight into the colorful life within the exceptional columns. At the bottom of Ikkafjord in Southwest Greenland, approximately 1,000 columns rise from the fjord floor. An underwater monument unique to Greenland, as it is found nowhere else in the world. The mineral columns can grow up to 20 meters tall and 8 meters wide, and host a diverse range of animal and plant life. Since 1995, the international and interdisciplinary IKKA project has been studying the remarkable mineral columns in Ikkafjord, Southwest Greenland. The columns are made of the mineral ikaite—a fragile substance that can only exist in seawater below approximately 6 degrees Celsius. They have been under threat, but now researchers from the project bring good news. “We found that the seawater had become wonderfully cold again, only a few degrees above freezing. The many winter storms had managed to replace the seawater in Ikkafjord, and both the columns and the life on them seemed to be thriving again—much to the joy of both researchers and divers,” says Gabrielle J. Stockmann, who participated in the first investigations of the columns in 1995. Today, however, professional underwater photographers handle the filming. Credit: Uli Kunz, SUBMARIS.