It was the second day of the expedition and we woke up in front of Monacobreen after a windy night.
Since the previous day offered a marvelous Zodiac cruise in front of Conwaybreen with blue-greenish pieces of ice in the sunshine and several bearded seals on ice floes, we were a bit hesitant about whether it was worth the effort to do another Zodiac cruise in the windier conditions this morning.
However, our expedition leader Zet made the right decision, as always, and we went off. Immediately, when we had all Zodiacs loaded with passengers, the wind calmed down and we spent some hours on the water with the Monaco Glacier cracking and calving in front of us.
Just a few years ago, the Monaco Glacier was one solid glacier front, but due to climate change and increased temperatures, a dramatic decline in the mass volume of most of the Svalbard glaciers has been observed. Today, the Monaco Glacier has retreated so much that there are now two different glacier fronts, divided by a mountain.
When there are calving occasions at the glacier front and big pieces of ice are falling into the water, water turbulence whirls nutrients up to the surface that thousands of kittiwakes take advantage of.
Among the ice floes and icebergs, in the sediment-rich brownish waters, all of a sudden a harbor porpoise showed up. It swam around our Zodiacs for quite a while, and our guide Gary even got some really nice pictures, even though it was very hard to photograph.
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© Matt Cheok -
© Matt Cheok -
© Matt Cheok -
© Matt Cheok -
© Matt Cheok
Please note: Depending on the lens used for a photo or video shot an animal may appear to be closer than it is. We always follow strict wildlife guidelines to ensure that we do not cause any disturbance.
