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icebergs

Zaria Forman's glacier drawings are cooler than cool. They're ice cold.

When you stare into one of Zaria Forman's iceberg drawings, you can almost see your breath in the air.

Using pastels on paper, Forman brings to life photorealistic drawings of glaciers, icebergs, and waves that astound the eye.

[rebelmouse-image 19528397 dam="1" original_size="750x750" caption=""B-15Y Iceberg, Antarctica no. 1" by Zaria Forman, used with permission." expand=1]"B-15Y Iceberg, Antarctica no. 1" by Zaria Forman, used with permission.

Each drawing can take anywhere from a few weeks to three months or more depending on its size and scale. Forman prefers pastels because of their simplicity and light touch. And despite the grand scale of her projects, she rarely uses an eraser.

"I love the simplicity of the process, and it has taught me a great deal about letting go," she explains over e-mail.

More than just beautiful, Forman's work is an accessible entry point to an important conversation.

She has dedicated her career to highlighting the effects of climate change through her art.By focusing on visuals of melting ice and warming water, she hopes her work will inspire others to act and protect these pristine places from further destruction.

"I hope to facilitate a deeper understanding of the climate crisis, helping us find meaning and optimism in these shifting landscapes," she writes. "I hope my drawings serve as records of landscapes in flux, documenting the transition, and inspiring our global community to take action for the future."

[rebelmouse-image 19528398 dam="1" original_size="750x460" caption=""Maldives no.15" by Zaria Forman, used with permission." expand=1]"Maldives no.15" by Zaria Forman, used with permission.

[rebelmouse-image 19528399 dam="1" original_size="750x499" caption=""Cierva Cove, Antarctica no. 2" by Zaria Forman, used with permission." expand=1]"Cierva Cove, Antarctica no. 2" by Zaria Forman, used with permission.

Forman's work has attracted a lot of attention, with her pieces going viral across the Internet — a sure sign that her mission to use art to raise awareness about the effects of climate change is working. She's constantly looking to hone her craft and share her work and message with new audiences.

In 2015, Forman participated in a four-week art residency aboard the National Geographic Explorer, where she saw things most people only dream of seeing.

The trip was her first visit to the bottom of the planet, and two years later, words still can't do the experience justice. "In all my travels I have never experienced a landscape as epic and pristine as Antarctica," she writes.

[rebelmouse-image 19528400 dam="1" original_size="750x500" caption=""Errera Channel, Antarctica no. 2" by Zaria Forman, used with permission." expand=1]"Errera Channel, Antarctica no. 2" by Zaria Forman, used with permission.

On the trip, Forman explored Whale Bay on the western side of the peninsula. There, wind and waves carry icebergs into the bay, where they get stuck in the shallow water and melt slowly, creating "iceberg graveyards."

It's a sight she'll never forget and one she knew she had to preserve in pastels. "Our little boat circled around the most astonishing, intricately sculpted, glowing blue icebergs I have ever seen," Forman writes, still in awe of the experience. "I had no idea there were so many shades of bright sapphire blues!"

[rebelmouse-image 19528401 dam="1" original_size="750x520" caption="A process shot of Forman completing "Whale Bay, Antarctica no. 4," used with permission." expand=1]A process shot of Forman completing "Whale Bay, Antarctica no. 4," used with permission.

Forman has since returned to Antarctica and Greenland to join NASA's Operation IceBridge, a project mapping the geometry of the ice at the North and South Poles. For two weeks, Forman flew with the IceBridge crew soaring 1,500 feet above the glaciers and sea ice, gaining yet another new perspective few have ever seen.

Finally getting to sort through the endless number of stunning photos from @nasa's #OperationIceBridge recent Summer Melt flights over the Arctic. MY GOODNESS they are stunning. I can't wait to start this new series! 📷NASA//DMS
A post shared by Zaria Forman (@zarialynn) on Aug 16, 2017 at 3:14pm PDT

Forman's work is a beautiful yet grim reminder that there's not time to waste.

Climate change impacts the way we live and the planet we love. From losing our traditions and way of life to putting our planet's remarkable natural spaces and wildlife in jeopardy, there is no shortage of reasons to act.

[rebelmouse-image 19528402 dam="1" original_size="750x488" caption=""Cierva Cove, Antarctica no. 1" by Zaria Forman, used with permission." expand=1]"Cierva Cove, Antarctica no. 1" by Zaria Forman, used with permission.

You can see Forman's work in a solo show at Winston Wächter Fine Art in Seattle through Nov. 4, 2017.

Heroes

Who's ready for some good news about icebergs? Because they're doing something cool.

Who’s ready for some ACTUALLY GOOD NEWS about icebergs?!

Ooo! Ooo! I am! Image from NOAA's National Ocean Service/Flickr.

Because icebergs kind of get a bad rap.

Every time we hear about icebergs, it's because of something negative. Melting glaciers. Rising sea levels. Wrecked ocean liners.

Bad stuff, icebergs, bad stuff.

You sink one ship... Image from Willy Stöwer/Wikimedia Commons.

But it turns out, icebergs aren't all bad.

I mean, nothing covered in penguins can be THAT terrible. Image from Jason Auch/Wikimedia Commons.

Icebergs are basically giant fertilizer bags for the ocean, scientists have found.

As icebergs melt, they release minerals like iron into the ocean. These minerals can act like fertilizer, encouraging the growth of microscopic marine plants known as phytoplankton.

Image from Prof. Gordon T. Taylor, Stony Brook University/Wikimedia Commons.

In fact, you can track where an iceberg has passed by watching where new phytoplankton growth happens. One group from the University of Sheffield looked at satellite images and found that the fertilization effect can last for more than a month after an iceberg has passed through an area.

As the phytoplankton grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for photosynthesis. This new plant growth captures carbon, helping to reduce climate change.

When the phytoplankton die, some of them sink to the bottom of the ocean, effectively trapping all that carbon down there, a process known as carbon sequestration.

Plankton blooms can sometimes be large enough to see from space, so that's a LOT of carbon. Image from NASA/WIkimedia Commons.

We've known about this effect for a while, but that study from the University of Sheffield says that icebergs may be responsible for as much as a fifth of the carbon sequestration in the ocean around Antarctica.

This is a very good thing because it keeps the carbon out of the atmosphere and slows climate change.

As climate change continues and the Earth gets hotter, it's expected that there will be a lot more icebergs in the future as ice shelves and glaciers break up, creating new 'bergs.

"It's not you, it's me, glacier."

This means the icebergs' effect on the ocean's carbon sequestration might become more and more important in slowing the effects of climate change.

"If giant iceberg calving increases this century as expected, this negative feedback on the carbon cycle may become more important than we previously thought," said Professor Grant Bigg, who led the Sheffield study.

While it's certainly better for everyone if most icebergs stay with their parent glaciers, they're not inherently bad on their own.

Let's be clear, icebergs are not going to save us from climate change. We can't just dump them in the ocean and hope things will get better. This isn't "Futurama."

As much as we wish it was. GIF from "Futurama."

Carbon sequestration isn't going to offset the more than 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide we're putting into the atmosphere each year. But understanding icebergs and their role in carbon sequestration can help us find new ways to talk about potential solutions.

We still need to do a lot to fight climate change, but it's cool to see that nature is helping us do that all on its own.

Yeah, nature! Image from iStock.

The Earth is a very complex system with a lot of different little processes that all add up to one beautiful planet. The more we know about how it works, the more we can do to keep it healthy, whole, and habitable.

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Heroes

There are so many icebergs, we thought we’d see who's who from this year's class.

Icebergs! They're gorgeous, chilly, and might remind you of some of the people you went to high school with.

Or at least they might by the end of this article.

And because sea ice is breaking off more frequently, we're seeing more and more of these gorgeous chunks of icecap float away into the sea. With so many icebergs hitting the news lately, we thought we'd take a look at this recent class to see what their future holds.

Most likely to end up in a cocktail glass: Franklin.

Franklin may be small, but he enjoys the finer things in life. Image from Liam Quinn/Flickr.

Most likely to star in a "Titanic" remake: Aisha.

She's been the star of the school play since "Dr. Seuss Meets the Easter Bunny" back in kindergarten. Image from Kim Hansen/Wikimedia Commons.

Most likely to become an ice sculpture ... goes to Malcolm.

He's taken every single arts and crafts class. Even woodworking! Image from Drew Avery/Flickr.

Most likely to be on the cover of National Geographic: Emilia.

Looking stunning, as always. Image from Drew Avery/Flickr.

Most likely to be confused for the island of Jamaica: Bobbi.

Bobbi, also known as B-15, was nearly 200 miles long and broke off Antarctica in the year 2000. Image from NSF/Josh Landis/Wikimedia Commons.

Weirdest fashion sense: Nathan.

You're supposed to be 90% underwater, Nathan! Image from robynm/Pixabay.

Best bromance goes to Jesse and Sam.

They're inseparable! At least they were, but I hear they might break up soon. Image from Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia Commons.

Most likely to have a meltdown: Anders.

High-stress situations make him sweat! Image from Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia Commons.

Best party host goes to Kim.

Everyone always comes over to her place on Saturday. Image from Jason Auch/Wikimedia Commons.

...and finally, last but not least, class president: Stephanie.

She ran on calving reform and fewer leopard seals. Image from Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

This a big class! And that's the problem.

It's great to see all these icebergs, but what's not so good is their rate of graduation.

It's hard to count exactly how many icebergs exist at any one time, but experts say we have more today than we did even when the Titanic sailed. And that's because they're graduating from their ice shelves (and glaciers) much too quickly.

So while they're stunning, we're seeing these beauties way more often than we should be. Seriously, it seems like every year, there's some new mega-berg, like this one in 2014 or this one in 2010. In fact, Antarctica is losing over 300 square kilometers of sea ice every year.

We'd rather see these icebergs stay together! (BFFs! Never lose touch! Class of '16 forever!)

I mean, check out these pictures from NASA. Those are the before-and-after shots of a 20-mile-long iceberg about to crack its way off the Nansen Ice Shelf.

Images from Jesse Allen/NASA Earth Observatory.

The breakup happened over the last two years. The crack itself runs nearly the entire length of the ice sheet and is as wide as a football field.

Don't leave us! Stay together! Image from Jesse Allen/NASA Earth Observatory.

That whole section is about to detach from the ice shelf.

And though sea ice doesn't contribute to sea level rise (as opposed to land-based ice), too much melt can cause other problems, like slowing down ocean currents and increasing the amount of sunlight being absorbed by the ocean. Plus, big ice shelves help act like a cork, keeping land-based ice from slipping into the sea, where it does contribute to sea level rise.

Climate change is one of the biggest problems we are going to have to tackle in the near future and, unfortunately, there are still people — people who want to be world leaders — who refuse to take it seriously.

There's still plenty we can do — like letting go of fossil fuels — so don't despair. But now is the time to act and keep next year's "Iceberg Yearbook" as small as possible.