Cryoconite is a combination of dust deposits and algae that accumulate on the surface of permanent ice sheets, including glaciers. It has the unusual property of forming distinct holes, cryoconite holes, which become established as distinct small but complex ecosystems, inhabited by microbes and small multicellular organisms. The holes have a stark simple beauty, but are implicated in casing the ice to melt more quickly; also the dust often contains significant levels of radioactive material from nuclear weapons tests and unintended releases such as the Chernobyl incident. As the ice melts the radionuclides are deposited on previously pristine earth.
Not much of this is known to non-specialist audiences. This project will make these holes better known as a means to address climate change, and its implications, using a variety of creative approaches. By appreciating the tiny biomes as they are, unusual and interesting, it is intended that the subject can be communicated without stirring the defensive and aggressive attitudes which often sabotage discussion of the subject.
I choose to convey the beauty as opposed to the devastation, in order to empower viewers rather than frighten them. If you can experience the sublimity of these landscapes, perhaps you will be inspired to protect and preserve them.
Zaria Forman