9 April 2022 | New Scientist | 33Secrets of the Arctic
A portrait of three intrepid scientists brings the reality of
glacial melting into sharp focus, finds Davide AbbatescianniFilm
Into the Ice
Lars Henrik Ostenfeld
CPH:DOX Film Festival
A MAJESTIC aerial shot of the
Arctic landscape opens Lars Henrik
Ostenfeld’s epic documentary Into
the Ice. Then his narration hits us
with the hard truth: “The Greenland
inland ice harbours a secret. You can
see our future in it.” As if to illustrate
what that future might look like,
the camera then pans to deep
rivers of meltwater.
The message of Ostenfeld’s
film is familiar, yet what sets it
apart is its focus on the fieldwork
of three of the world’s leading
glaciologists: Alun Hubbard,
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen and Jason Box.
Ostenfeld travels with them, on
three separate trips, to the Arctic
as they monitor how fast the
Greenland ice sheet is melting.
Ostenfeld provides intimate
portraits of the researchers,
highlighting their distinct
personalities and the motivations
behind their work. Box is a family
man who, when he isn’t playing
with his daughter, is happiest
digging the snow while listening
to ABBA’s hit Chiquitita. Hubbard,
the most adventurous of the three,
embraces the idea of living every
day as “a complete surprise”. His
perilous descent into the depths
of a seemingly bottomless crevasse
is a case in point.
Dahl-Jensen, as Box describes
her, is “about science with a capital
S” and is dedicated to drilling ice
cores as a window into the past.
“When you walk through ice, you
walk on climate history,” she says.
She points to a darker ice layer,
which dates from the last glacial
period, while a more distant, lighter
part is from an interglacial period.
During his time with the
researchers, Ostenfeld becomes
fully immersed in their work and
their mission. His presence is well
balanced and respectful, and his
feelings of concern, fear and
admiration emerge beautifully
through his intimate voice-over
commentary.
In this way, Ostenfeld achieves his
aim of creating a strong empathic
bond with the audience. This allows
him to deliver a more serious
message about the importance
of studying changes in the ice as
they are happening, no matter how
perilous an undertaking it may be.
Throughout, we learn how the
study of ice and its history are
essential to uncovering the scope
and consequences of climate
change, and the importance of
collecting and analysing data that
will help us update our predictions
of global sea level rise.
The initial light-hearted tone
and good humour of the scientists
gradually give way to a more
serious feel as the realities of life
and work in the Arctic become clear.
We see the scientists face a lashingstorm that forces them to hide in
their tents for two days. And we feel
their fear and excitement as they
take on the elements to gather data.
The dangers of fieldwork
become only too apparent as Box
learns of the death of his mentor,
climate scientist Konrad Steffen,
who fell into an ice crevasse
elsewhere in Greenland, on
a separate research trip.
Towards the end of the film,
Box and Hubbard head back into the
deep crevasse to resume their work,
only to discover an uncomfortable
truth: the meltwater under the ice
has progressed to a level never seen
before. The glaciers are melting at
a faster pace than we thought and
our predictions of sea level rise are
probably too cautious.
Accompanied by striking imagery
and an engaging instrumental
score, Into the Ice is a powerful
documentary and one of the
unmissable titles of this year’s
festival season. It doesn’t try to
soften the blow or to end on a
hopeful note. Instead, it is a
touching wake-up call, rich in
sincerity and brutal home truths. ❚Davide Abbatescianni is a writer
based in Cork, IrelandLeading glaciologist Alun Hubbard
descends into a seemingly
bottomless crevasseCP
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