--- title: Scientists Unveil Memorial To Iceland's 'First' Dead Glacier description: Iceland is mourning the loss of one of it's famous glaciers, Okjökull Glacier, in an official memorial ceremony. canonical: https://time.com/5631599/iceland-glacier-climate-change/ author: Currie Engel article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-22T19:12:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:41.170Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists Unveil Memorial To Iceland's 'First' Dead Glacier Lost To Climate Change og:description: Attendees will install a plaque with the inscription, "a letter to the future" og:url: https://time.com/5631599/iceland-glacier-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce399d9a808c1e9e/698a0041b21a9c31ed502150/iceland-glacier-memorial-e1563815289987.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: iceland-glacier-memorial og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Unveil Memorial To Iceland's 'First' Dead Glacier Lost To Climate Change twitter:description: Attendees will install a plaque with the inscription, "a letter to the future" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce399d9a808c1e9e/698a0041b21a9c31ed502150/iceland-glacier-memorial-e1563815289987.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Unveil Memorial to Iceland's 'First' Dead Glacier Lost to Climate Change ## Video: Global Warming Is Shrinking Glaciers Much Faster Than Scientists Thought, Study Finds [Watch (HLS stream): Global Warming Is Shrinking Glaciers Much Faster Than Scientists Thought, Study Finds](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EYwpoDH0.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2019-04-09. Earth’s glaciers are melting much faster than scientists thought. A new study shows they are losing 369 billion tons of snow and ice each year, more than half of that in North America._ by [Currie Engel](https://time.com/author/currie-engel/) ## Currie Engel Jul 22, 2019 7:12 PM UTC  The memorial for the Icelandic glacier is the first of its kind. The words are written by Icelandic author and poet Andri Snaer Magnason. The memorial for the Icelandic glacier is the first of its kind. The words are written by Icelandic author and poet Andri Snaer Magnason.Grétar Már Þorvaldsson / Málmsteypan Hella by [Currie Engel](https://time.com/author/currie-engel/) ## Currie Engel Jul 22, 2019 7:12 PM UTC Iceland is mourning the loss of one of its famous glaciers, Okjökull Glacier, in an official memorial ceremony that will take place on August 18\. Following an “Un-glacier tour” led by two Rice University anthropologists, the attendees will install a special plaque with a somber inscription, “a letter to the future,” which will commemorate the sad occasion. The formerly-massive body of ice, commonly referred to simply as “Ok glacier,” lost its glacier status in 2014 after melting down to only 0.386 square miles, or 6.6% of its original 5.8 square miles, _The_ _Guardian_ reported. Scientists cite global warming as the cause of this change in the glacier’s mass. The glacier is now categorized as something glaciologists call “dead ice,” which means that the glacier has stopped moving and has melted down into a different type of terrain called [moraine](https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glossary/term/moraine), an accumulation of clay, silt, sand and gravel. A 2018 [documentary](https://www.notokmovie.com/) called _Not Ok_ details the events of the glacier’s demise, and actually prompted the idea for the creation of a memorial. Produced by Rice University anthropologists, Cymene Howe and Dominic Boyer, and narrated by former Reykjavík mayor, Jón Gnarr, the film helps bring the dire effects of climate change to life in the form of a glacier-turned-narrator who talks at what Howe calls “mountain speed”— a slowed-down version of the former mayor’s voice. Howe tells TIME that it is really just “a small story that tells a much bigger story about climate change.” The documentary’s website calls this [memorial](https://www.notokmovie.com/) “the world’s first monument to a glacier-that-was.” Understanding the implications this event has on the Icelandic community, the anthropologists tasked famous Icelandic writer Andri Snaer Magnason with eulogizing this glacier and warning the future of what is to come. The chilling inscription on the plaque reads: “Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years, all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.” The memorial plaque also notes the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is currently 415 parts per million. But Ok isn’t the only glacier that scientists are concerned about. The [Thwaites glacier](https://time.com/5622632/thwaites-glacier-antarctica-melting/) in Antarctica— a glacier about the size of Florida— is another unstable body that is being closely monitored. The melting of this glacier would significantly raise sea levels. Iceland alone is home to over 400 glaciers, all of which could share [Ok glacier’s fate](https://www.icelandreview.com/news/first-glacier-lost-to-climate-change-to-be-memorialised/) by 2200, scientists say. Yet, it’s not alone. In a [press release from Rice University](http://news.rice.edu/2019/07/18/lost-glacier-to-be-honored-with-memorial-monument/), Howe explains that we aren’t just losing one of the planet’s large freshwater reserves, but also important cultural and scientific “histories.” “By marking Ok’s passing, we hope to draw attention to what is being lost as Earth’s glaciers expire,” she says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5631599/iceland-glacier-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5631599/iceland-glacier-climate-change/"},"headline":"Scientists Unveil Memorial to Iceland's 'First' Dead Glacier Lost to Climate Change","datePublished":"2019-07-22T19:12:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:52:41.170Z","description":"Attendees will install a plaque with the inscription, \"a letter to the future\"","url":"https://time.com/5631599/iceland-glacier-climate-change/","keywords":["climate change","Iceland","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce399d9a808c1e9e/698a0041b21a9c31ed502150/iceland-glacier-memorial-e1563815289987.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Currie Engel","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/currie-engel/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce399d9a808c1e9e/698a0041b21a9c31ed502150/iceland-glacier-memorial-e1563815289987.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"iceland-glacier-memorial","caption":"The memorial for the Icelandic glacier is the first of its kind. 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