The University of Copenhagen invites Anders Graver to produce a short film for Cop 27 that will follow the Geological Survey Bureau of Denmark and Greenland scientists William Colgan and Christopher Shields. But an accidental encounter with Greenland hunter Olennguaq Kristensen and his family changed the course of the documentary. “What’s going on on the ice,” Graver, director and producer of “Color of Ice,” told Glacierhub in an interview. “[It was] In two different worlds in the middle of the ice sheet, a very unlikely meeting. ”
Initially, the film planned to draw a “Hotrod” study by Colgan and Shields, a performance test of the electric-heated ice drill system on the Greenland ice sheet. Their research aims to insert temperature sensor cables into ice, which can provide important insights into deep ice temperatures, which is potentially key to predict future sea level rises. They mapped the same fields that scientists had previously tested more than 60 years ago.
However, on the journey, scientists meet Christensen and his family, returning from Pitfik’s space base to Savesivick’s settlement between the inland ice. The sea ice in the south was earlier than expected. During a meeting with the team, scientists and Kristenson shared sodas and stories about ice, and they agreed to take Anders to Savesivick to give him a chance to talk more about his experiences with climate change.
“Listen to science, but don’t stop there. There is no one on Earth who will not be deeply affected by the huge changes in the environment.”
The film’s vision changed at that time. The final product seeks a balance between two narratives: one from the messenger of science, one from someone with deep cultural experience. Intertwined in the documentary, the audience witnesses the different effects of global climate change.
The film still begins with an exploration of popular research by scientists. “We spent a lot of effort thinking and monitoring the health of Greenland ice, as shown in the movie,” Colgen said in an interview with Glacierhub. “The ice drills that follow in the movie are more experimental.”
Hot-based training, such as Hotrod, has been tested before. Their high power requirements and low permeability make scientists prefer mechanical drills, and these trainings are equipped with rotating blades to pass through the ice. However, mechanical training is expensive, requires large staff and heavy equipment, and even the smallest project takes months to complete. Colgan and Shields’ research aims to provide another opportunity for thermally melted drills using new technologies.
But the experiment did not achieve all the goals scientists hoped for. The thermal tip design is 15% efficient and converts electricity into long-term movement of just six miles per hour, Colgen said. But if they increase their efficiency to 80%, they will consider penetration at 33 miles per hour.
“Science is general [means] You do your best; you fail all the way. You fail over 90% of the time and you will continue anyway. Shields told Glacierhub. Despite their setbacks, Colgen and Hildes also found interesting enough results to provide new advice for the five-year project. The project will focus on improving drilling efficiency and ultimately try 500-meter holes.
While the specific findings of the research project may have encountered challenges, the film has valuable insight into climate change: how to attract a huge audience of climate change impacts.
“The messenger is important,” said Francesco Fiondella. “Communication is about building a narrative… How do you get it from science, which is talked about in the language of posters, abstracts and papers, which are meaningful narratives that can actually be understood by a variety of different audiences? ”
Colgan and Shields have proposed an idea throughout their study, borrowing from the national research strategy in Greenland: “Without us, we’ll get nothing.” Instead of pushing scientists’ narratives in scientific terms and then returning home at the end, the film features the views of people living in the region. As Shields explains, if you want to hear what Greenland looks like, there is only one place to go.
“My opinion is that we meet at the right place at the right time,” Christensen said in an interview with Glacierhub. “I’m interested when we talk about their hot jobs…. I think everything we’re doing is connected.” He explained that over the past few decades, Christensen’s local hunting areas have been getting smaller and smaller. Twenty years ago, the sea ice he and his family depended on would arrive around mid-October. Now it’s three months later, with less sealing. As a result, hunting becomes increasingly difficult.
Christensen said in the movie: “We have always been hunters and we want to pass it on to our children. Being able to sustain ourselves from what the land can give us. We pass on these traditions to our descendants and hope they can live like this, too.”
The Greenland ice sheet and other environments around the world are shifting due to climate change. With such an incredible, far-reaching concept, we need not only scientists to guide the conversation, Shields not only. The documentary “Color of Ice” attempts to support these necessary discussions by highlighting many voices experiencing the effects of climate change.
“Listen to science, but don’t stop there. There is no one on Earth who will not be deeply affected by the huge changes in the environment,” Shields said.
Watch “Color of Ice” now waterbear.com.
