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Ice Watch

December 10, 2015

An art installation in Paris at the COP 21 climate conference presents a reminder of the importance of the ocean in Earth’s climate. “Ice Watch,” created by the Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and geologist Minik Rosing, features massive chunks of melting ice arranged like the face of a watch, a reference to the passing of time. The chunks are actually pieces of calved icebergs taken from Davis Strait near Greenland, and are approximately 15,000 years old. The ocean is not mentioned in the original UN Framework Convention, nor in the Kyoto Protocol, but there is hope that acknowledgement of the ocean will make it into the final “Paris Outcome” document from COP 21. (Photo by Judy Fenwick, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)