Black Rapids Glacier

The Black Rapids Glacier abstract glacier painting by Tatiana Iliina was released yesterday. This is the 36th painting in the collection and, at 16" x 16", is the first one done in a smaller size.

Black Rapids Glacier, located in Alaska, U.S.A., is famous for being a glacier that is subject to "surging". That is, it can move very quickly.

In 1937, the Black Rapids Glacier was documented as moving about 220 feet per day, or a mile a month for a few months.

The glacier has been in decline for several years, however it is thought possible that another surge could occur.

Puncak Jaya, Indonesia - Witnessing the Last Years of an Icecap

Puncak Jaya, located in Papua Province in Indonesia, is the tallest peak between the Himalayas and the Andes.

At 4,885 m., Puncak Jaya is the 9th "most prominent" peak in the entire world, based on surrounding terrain. Having a year-round snowcapped peak also made it one of the curiosities of the tropical world.

The Puncak Jaya Icecap is the latest subject in Tatiana Iliina's collection of abstract glacier paintings. This is also only the second glacier painting to be done in the 48 x 48 size.

The original discoverer of the ice cap, the Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz, was ridiculed in Europe for having claimed to have seen snow in the tropics. But the icecap on Puncak Jaya has existed for centuries.

Now, if current melting trends continue, it will be gone in five years. In fact, there is a race against time going on right now on Puncak Jaya as scientists hope to salvage irreplaceable data contained in the ice..

This summer, an expedition led by glaciologist Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University and oceanographer Dwi Susanto of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, completed the complex job of bringing core samples from the disappearing glaciers back to the U.S. for further study.

These core samples will reveal invaluable information concerning the Earth's atmosphere and other data going back hundreds or thousands of years.


The glaciologists' helicopter picking up core samples near the peak of  Puncak Jaya.

Milk Lake Glacier - 30th Abstract Glacier Painting by Tatiana Iliina

Artist Documents the Disappearance of Disappearance 

Canadian artist Tatiana Iliina has created a growing collection of paintings that celebrate the fleeting beauty of an ecosystem in rapid transition.

From the Himalayas to the Rockies, from the Alps to the Andes, most glaciers around the world are receding every year.

If the glaciers themselves have become transitory objects, the period of receding for a glacier is as ephemeral as it gets.  In the tens of thousands of years of history any one glaciers may only recede across a certain stretch of ground only once. As the glacier retreats, a piece of the Earth that was permanently frozen in time sees the light for the first time in eons.

When the snow melts the following year, the land has only been covered for a few months. The situation is very limited in scope. There are only so many glaciers and each season of melt can only be seen once. Although there are still glaciers on the planet that should last for hundreds, if not thousands of years, the total number and volume of the glaciers is declining quickly. The receding ancient glacier will ultimately become a rare and incredible event.

Canadian Arctic and Rocky Mountain glaciers showing net mass balance decline

A study, released today by Statistics Canada, covering three prominent Arctic and Rocky Mountain glaciers, shows that the glaciers in both regions are shrinking - although those in Rockies are shrinking faster. (via BigCityLib). My question, looking at these charts, is what percentage of the glacier's mass do these numbers represent.

Cumulative Net mass balance, Western Cordillera glaciers
(click the graph to get a better look)

Cumulative Net mass balance, High Arctic glaciers

According to the study, the glacier ice mass balance is "thought to provide one of the clearest signals found in nature to monitor ongoing trends in climate."

Pasterze Glacier, Austria's mightiest, has lost half its volume since 1851

The Pasterze Glacier is Austria's longest, currently approx. 8.4 km. in length. It is about 1800 hectares in area and is located in the Eastern Alps, directly behind Austria's largest mountain, the Grossglockner. It is shrinking by approx. 10 m per year and has lost about half its volume since measurements were first taken in 1851.

The photo at left from 1910 shows the Pasterze in its prime, an imposing feature in the valley where it ended at the time. Now, the terminus of the Pasterze has retreated each year since the heavy snowfall of 1965-66.


Tatiana Iliina has created an abstract painting recognizing this mightiest of the Austrian glaciers.

Not surprisingly, the painting is entitled "Pasterze Glacier". As is her customary practice, Tatiana has used a palette knife technique to execute this painting. This is the 33rd painting in Tatiana's "Receding Glaciers" collection.

With this painting, Tatiana is taking the genre to the next level. While in the past, each painting has been sold, the plan now is to build up a collection of these paintings to be available for exhibition both online, in galleries or possibly other venues.

For the time being this painting is still available for sale. However, once the exhibition is established, the availability of these paintings will be reduced and the price will be increased.

(Nov. 15/10) this painting has now been sold)

Online Exhibition by eco artist Tatiana Iliina

"The Glacier Collection" is a series of captivating abstracts that celebrates the beauty of the planet's glaciers and draws attention to the fact that most of these glaciers are receding at a rapid pace.

This online exhibition has been conceived by Montreal artist Tatiana Iliina to allow access to as great a number of people as possible.

This painting is entitled "Grinnell Glacier", one of the famous glaciers of Glacier National Park in the U.S. The painting is 30x36" and is painted in acrylics.


















(the painting was sold to a private collector)

The Whitechuck Glacier

The Whtiechuck Glacier is located in the North Cascades in Washington State, USA.

This was the 15th painting in the series. (this painting is in a private collection)