Visitors looking at this exhibition chronicling the retreat of glaciers and sea ice will likely think of climate change and the warming of our planet. The earth has been warming since the Ice Age, but the current warming is accelerating beyond what would be natural for interglacial cycles.

In Northern regions, melting permafrost releases fossil methane and other greenhouse gases in huge quantities, warming the atmosphere and increasing permafrost melt, which in turn leads to the release of more methane. The summer sea ice on the Arctic Ocean is melting, exposing open water. The dark water absorbs more sun energy than reflective ice, leading to warmer water and more ice cover melting. David hopes anyone viewing this exhibition will be motivated to take action as we confront the challenges the future holds.

This concludes our audio tour of Painting at the End of the Ice Age. I invite you to spend more time in the exhibition. Thank you for joining, and enjoy your visit to the Anchorage Museum.