Iceland Glacier conservation

Skaftafell National Park, Iceland, and Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.— In 1996, a volcanic eruption under Iceland's ice cap resulted in a dramatic flood that washed millions of tons of sediment and ice blocks into the Atlantic, causing millions of dollars of damage to infrastructure. These kinds of glacial events offer scientists a rare opportunity to understand how glaciers work, how climate change may alter their behavior, and how to prepare for future events.

Drs. Andy Russell and Fiona Tweed and colleagues are leading the teams into the vast glaciated landscapes surrounding Iceland's ice caps (July) to document evidence of past glacial floods on the landscape. They will also explore similar geological processes involving surge and outburst events on the largest alpine glacier in North America, Alaska's Bering Glacier (June), led by colleague Dr. Jay Fleisher (State University of New York, Oneonta) and his experienced field staff. The most recently recorded “jökulhlaup”, a huge flood that ensues when a volcano erupts under an ice cap and melts the ice, was in 2001 and caused millions of dollars of damage to local infrastructure.

You can join Dr Andy Russell as he attempts to clarify the role of glaciers in the global climate system. You will sample and measure sediments and glacial ice, document sediment size and type, and survey landforms using GPS.

Geological fieldwork takes persistence and attention to detail, but is easily learned with the expert training of your leaders, who have directed glaciological expeditions in Iceland, Greenland, Norway, and elsewhere. Rotating tasks between field sites, you'll sample and measure sediments and glacial ice and document sediment size and type. You will also learn to survey landforms that most people only see in photographs, using a Global Positioning System unit and a number of geophysical techniques. Expect breathtaking landscapes molded by glaciers and wind and surreal, moonscape-like expanses. In your spare time, you can enjoy hikes to yet more spectacular views of mountains and glaciers, or, in Alaska, navigate by Zodiac among icebergs. In Iceland, you will be based at an established campsite in one of the most popular natural areas in the island nation, with access to nearby huts for hot showers and flush toilet facilities. In Alaska, you will share "weatherport" house tents with teammates on the shore of Lake Vitus, with a view of the calving Bering ice front, icebergs, and the Chugach Range, enjoying occasional showers and the rigors of pit toilets. In both cases, you'll rediscover the simple pleasures of peanut butter and canned tuna and share cooking of nonperishable delights over camp stoves.