office? it is. reporter: this is amazing. we met glaciologist m. jackson on top of one of her favorite places in the world. what is this called? we re on the glacier this is iceland s third largest glacier. reporter: that is the largest glacier mass in europe, more than half a mile thick in some parts. it is now dissolving before our eyes. getting to this glacier now requires a 30-minute hike over dry land that just a few years ago was covered in ice. jackson, who lives in oregon, has been studying iceland s glaciers for more than a decade. what exactly is happening here on iceland? there is roughly 400 glaciers on this island and the majority of them are melting at rates never before seen in human history. this island is losing its ice. reporter: and to see that she
took us inside this ice cave the pattern that the ice makes is so cool to show us what is essentially the melting glacier s plumbing system. all that water has to go somewhere, and it makes these tubes, they are bigger than they have ever been before to transport all that water. these tube was naturally happen but the scale of them is unnatural. reporter: and that s because of human-caused climate change. ice all over the planet is rapidly melting. scientists say all that water rushing into the world s oceans is not only making sea levels rise, but could also be changing the ocean s circulation and fueling more extreme weather events such as hurricanes and heat waves. m. jackson and her fellow researchers have launched a unique effort to bring attention, the very real possibility that iceland could lose nearly all of its ice in ea. driven to witness the ice
before it s gone. reporter: they produced a short film called after ice, using historical photos paired where drone footage to show the rapid decrease of the island s glaciers. want to find some icebergs? reporter: before we left, m. jackson want us to see one more thing. this place she calls a glacial grave yard. this is broken down bits of glaciers that have been here for centuries. reporter: we paddled through a paradox. you are watching total collapse. reporter: a lagoon of are wal collapse. a lag beautiful destruction. but she has not lost hope. she says we can still keep the planet from overheating and give the glaciers a chance to grow.e that means you and i have to act now. i want people to think about the future with ice. and that s what i fight for. reporter: ben tracy, cbs