Shocking video of glacier crumbling into the sea

By Dean Murray via SWNS

As the world experiences record heat - shocking scenes show a glacier crumbling into the sea this month.

Photographer and guide Paul Goldstein was leading a tour in Spitsbergen, north Norway, when a huge chunk of the Monaco glacier fell into the water.

The calving event, on 7 July, saw many tons of ice splashing into the water and forming a sizeable wave.

Paul, from Wimbledon, believes warmer global temperatures are having a negative effect on the ice in the region.

He explains: "Spitsbergen is one of my favourite destinations in the world; a combination of polar bears, ice and glaciers make it potent photographically.

"I first visited the Monaco glacier almost 20 years ago and it is distressing to see how much it has retreated, perhaps as much as a kilometre.

"Warmer temperatures leave indelible marks on such a staggeringly beautiful ice front."

"These images show not only the remarkable beauty of this breathtaking glacier complex, but also the precarious nature of such an ecosystem.

"Currently, most of Europe and indeed many areas of the world are reporting record temperatures. Spitsbergen is no exception.

"There are strict rules on distance from glaciers when in a Zodiac rib (rigid inflatable boat), but it is still a shock when thousands of tons of ice 'calve' with an artillery-like crump.

"Suddenly, as the concussion hits you, compressed glacial ice perhaps 20,000 years old is revealed for the first time and it seems to cover most of the blue and turquoise colour chart.

"Impressive, exciting, wildly dramatic but also sad. When will governments listen?"

Paul Goldstein was guiding on a small ice vessel in Spitsbergen, He guides wildlife photographers all over the world.

Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway.