Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Video shows a 'river of fog' rolling off the coast of Iceland

The eerie phenomenon seems to be a case of 'temperature inversion'

Kiran Moodley
Thursday 02 July 2015 09:56 BST
Comments
(Kjartan Gunnsteinsson)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A video has emerged of the bizarre sight of fog falling down a cliff like a waterfall in one of the most inhabitable areas of Iceland.

Kjartan Gunnsteinsson shot the "river of fog" at Latrabjarg, Europe's largest bird cliff in Iceland's southern West Fjords. The area is known for its rugged environment and only 7,5000 people live in 22,000 square kilometres of land.

Normally, hot air will cool as it rises into the atmosphere, but the opposite can sometimes occur in what is known as "temperature inversion." Thus, what Gunnsteinsson has captured is hot air high up acting as a seal to keep cold air and fog trapped below, creating the scene of a river of fog seeming to flow into the sea below.

The bizarreness of the scene caused many on social media to assume the pictures Gunnsteinsson initially published on Facebook were a hoax, but he said that it was 100 percent real.

"When I first put the pictures online, people said they were fake," he said. "But I can assure you this waterfall of fog is a 100 per cent genuine. Therefore I have decided to add the video as well to prove it."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in