Jökulhlaup
I like using uncommon words. And what could be more fun than working the word jökulhlaup into a conversation?
Jökulhlaup (pronounced jok-ulh-laup) is an Icelandic word. It combines jökull (glacier) and hlaup (running and flood).
Glacial meltwater can be trapped by an ice dam or against a glacial ice sheet. The meltwater can be caused by warm temperatures or by volcanic/geothermal heating.
The word was first used in the 1800s to describe the well-known subglacial outburst floods from Vatnajökull, Iceland’s glacial icecap. Nowadays, any large and abrupt release of glacial water is referred to as a Jökulhlaup across the world.
On my Alaska photo trip in February, we stayed in the town of Sutton. One of the highlights of the trip was an open-door helicopter ride to photograph an ice cave.
It was a chilly, but exciting ride to the ice cave!
The cave was formed by a jökulhlaup. A one-hundred-foot-deep glacial lake had been very slowly draining out of a small crack at the base of the ice. Over time, the crack widened and then reached a critical size.
The trickle suddenly transformed into a torrential flood, carving out this remarkable cave. We were able to explore several hundred feet into it. Being bathed in blue light and covered by millions of tons of ice is an eerie and thrilling sensation!
The Shot
I’ve made three attempts to photograph an ice cave. The first time, in Iceland, the cave was very short. I also failed to photograph into the light with a person near the entrance to provide scale.
The second time was during my summer of 2022 Alaska trip. Thick fog and rain forced our helicopter pilot to abort his attempt to land at the ice cave.
My third time was the charm. Helicopter access was easy, and I was determined not to repeat my prior compositional mistakes.
I’m trying to imagine how much water gushed out of the glacier to melt this passage!
There were several locations with good leading lines to the opening and silhouetted model. This one was the most pleasing. I was also hoping viewers could “step into” my shoes and feel the same excitement I was having.
I also captured a 2 minute, 45 second video walking through part of the ice cave. If you’re interested, it’s on my Zenfolio website at Zenfolio | Chuck Derus | Alaska.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus