Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas. The second largest island in the archipelago is Nordaustlandet (North East Land), most of which lies under large ice caps. “The Nordaustlandet cap gushes high volumes of meltwater. Even though this was taken just 600 miles from the North Pole, the temperature was in the high 60’s.

The Arctic could be completely devoid of sea ice during the summer in the next 10 to 20 years. This striking scene is a reminder of the fragility of this icy ecosystem.” – Paul Nicklen In bringing attention to the issue of global warming, the rock group Pearl Jam’s latest album GIGATON features Paul Nicklen’s photograph “Ice Waterfall”. The title signifies a measurement of mass equal to one billion metric tons (or 1.1 trillion pounds) ,documenting the human output of greenhouse gases that contribute to the melting of polar ice. Variety Magazine wrote, “Pearl Jam’s notoriously diehard fanbase got their first taste of “Gigaton” on Jan. 11, 2020 when mysterious augmented reality billboards featuring Paul Nicklen’s album cover photo of a Norwegian ice waterfall appeared in 12 cities worldwide.

Using a dedicated filter on Instagram or Facebook Lens, fans could watch the ice rapidly melt while an instrumental audio snippet from the album played in the background.” Paul Nicklen’s “Ice Waterfall” is one of the most important images documenting the change in Arctic temperatures of the last decade.