Melting Ice Glacier

Majestic glacier towers over Arctic landscape in extraordinary pictures of ice melting into the ocean

Breathtaking images captured by photographer Hans Strand, 57, on journey through Greenland, Iceland and Norway
Mr Strand covered more than 1,000 miles of ocean on his daring expedition
The Swedish tutor says he was once almost killed by a collapsing ice cave in the dangerous North

These remarkable pictures show water crashing from a melting glacier 160 feet into the ocean at the Arctic Circle.

Tiny seagulls flitting around the frozen landscape and fishermen's trawlers dwarfed by gigantic icebergs emphasise the awe-inspiring scale of the scene.

The images were captured by Swedish photographer Hans Strand, 57, who took his life in his hands by exploring the extreme climate of the inhospitable north on a small ship.

Ice sculpture: The frozen water forms unique shapes on the water in Svalbard, as brave photographer Hans Strand sails past on his small ship

Ice sculpture: The frozen water forms unique shapes on the water in Svalbard, as brave photographer Hans Strand sails past on his tiny ship

Hostile climate: The Austfonna glacier waterfall in Svalbard, Norway, crashes 160 feet into the ocean in this awe-inspiring image

Seagulls fly past an Austfonna glacier waterfall

Big Freeze: Two seagulls fly past the Norwegian glacier, left, and fishermen steer their boat close to a giant iceberg in Disko Bay, Greenland, right

Dark waters: Mr Strand says that dramatic climate change is happening so fast he sees significant differences in and around Iceland, pictured, from year-to-year

Dark waters: Mr Strand says dramatic climate change is happening so fast he sees significant differences in and around Iceland, pictured, from year-to-year

Epic scale: An imposing panorama of an ice-fjord floating along the bone-chilling water in Svalbard

'These pictures show sculptures made of ice and frozen time,' said Mr Strand. 'The ice in the glaciers and floating icebergs can be more than 100,000 years old.

He hired the ship especially for a photographic workshop he was delivering to his students - taking further beautiful pictures during an expedition in Iceland and Greenland.

'I travelled to these northern latitudes because I am currently working on a book on the Arctic and I am also teaching workshops,' said Mr Strand.

'When I first went to Svalbard in 2004 there was plenty of sea ice around the islands during the summer.

'Today, eight years later, there is not a single ice floe - dramatic climate change is happening so fast that I have seen significant differences from year-to-year.

'Now you need to go as far north as the 82nd latitude to find sea ice.'

Frozen in time: Splendid 150-foot tall Fuglefjorden glaciers rear out of the water in Svalbard in this alien landscape