Voyage North - a photo essay: (9) Fata Morgana on leaving Tasiilaq

Fata Morgana are mirages. We are accustomed to the idea of a mirage in a very hot desert; but all that is required for a mirage is a series of layers of air at different temperatures. This can equally occur in very cold locations. There are specifics to the optical effects found in cold latitudes (do click the link and have a look at the explanation and description).

As we moved towards the open sea from the shelter of the bay and inlet at Tasiilaq, we saw distant cliffs (how distant? Further than our brains thought, because of the clear air!) with strange-looking icebergs along the base of the mountains . . . straining the camera zoom to its maximum, as the light dwindled in the evening, sailing south into darker latitudes . . .  the photos are also subject to optical haze.

To start with, I had no idea what I was seeing, but luckily we had on board someone who had worked for over 20 years in Antarctica, who knew all about ice and cold air. I had previously talked with him about Antarctica and was fortunate to be standing near him on deck when all this appeared before us.

Actual physical icebergs in front. Against the cliff, centre of the image, apparent hazy vertical structures - mirages:

A bit of berg - centre of image - seemingly floating in midair:

Mirages all along the base of the mountains:

And here in close-up: the slabby bit in the middle, with vertical ribs and holes in it . . . isn't real.

And here's a wider view of the same piece, with another unreal area at the far left; there is a real berg in front!

The apparent wall of misty ice stretching from left to right, passing behind the berg in front and emerging again on the right . . . all of that slab is mirage:

In front are two real bergs. Behind are real mountains and the Greenland Icecap. In between are things looking like pillars or buildings, or strange L-shapes . . . these are mirages:

The strange sandwich-like protrusion at the far left in the distance, and the rectangular slab beneath . . . all mirage:

And here, to the right of the same berg, slab like 'structures' which are all mirage, with the faint and hazy real icecap behind:

After sailing a bit further on, here is another angle on the sandwich mirage:

Can you trust your eyes at all? Are these real or mirage? I think these are real!

But these are certainly mirage:

Real in front, mirage behind:

Two real bergs in front; the slabby ribbed bits behind are mirage. Behind that is the real icecap.

The mountain is real, all the ice, the whole of that horizontal band, is mirage:

Real mountain, mirage ice, poor light and optical haze . . . I have no idea what the cylindrical thing is, to the right in the water:

 Little bergy bits and growlers in front - real; tall bits at the foot of the mountain - mirage:

Mountain real, slabs mirage:

Mountain and icecap real; tall bits and 'wet' bits all mirage:

Camera struggling with the light! 'Wet' bits to the right - mirage:

The mountain and icecap are real - all the rest is mirage:

The dark shape is a real beg with the light behind it, casting the front in shadow. The huge 'sandwich' across the horizon - hazy and about 12 miles away - is a mirage:

All mirage and optical haze:

But this one is a real berg with the fog coming in!