Yesterday I blogged about the art exhibition which our Iceland team have been a great part of. I'd tantilised you with the prospect of finding out how their science could impact people round the globe and left you with the question - where does all the water from the glacier go?
Please
feel free to leave comments below. I'll endeavor to get your science questions
answered by Jez and the team, but please be patient with me.
Go see Jean’s ‘Melt’ exhibition NOW. It’s on in the Tower Foyer Gallery, University of Dundee and runs until 29th March. For opening times of the Tower Building see the previous link.
So to quench your palpable intrigue here's Part 2/2 where we hear from the groundwater experts on the Iceland project. Again this is written
by me, Lauren, your intrepid press officer in BGS Edinburgh.
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| Also on display at the exhibition is Andrew's famous fieldwork hat! |
Hydrologist Dr Andrew Black from the University of Dundee explains why a lot of his time in Iceland is involved with
trying to measure the volume of water in the river. "All the water from the glacier catchment emerges into the river system via a lake"
“It’s
about trying to understand how the outputs of this large
and hostile glacial system link to its inputs [about 7m of snow and
rainfall a year]. If we succeed in that we can make better predictions
about how long the ice has
left before it either completely vanishes from this part of Iceland or
if some
new equilibrium might be achieved.”
Jean worked alongside Andrew on the bridge over the river "stopping traffic so he could safely dangle bits of equipment into the river to measure its flow". Jean also said she was spooked by the river because “when I came back to it a few minutes later the water level
had visibly risen, you were actually experiencing the glacier melting before
your very eyes, it was a shock”.
Whilst i sat in the audience listening to Andrew talk about his experiences it occurred to me that this band of scientists are in
a very unique position. For many years now they’ve been privileged to witness, record and study in detail the changes
to this environment that not many other people ever have or will. With their arsenal of science equipment including weather stations, boreholes, seismometers, webcams…….(the list goes on here)..... I don’t think even the
locals know the glacier in the intimate and in-depth way this team
do. More importantly this work isn't just about doing science for science's sake. What they've learned, through hard graft and ongoing collaborations, has the real potential to benefit hundreds of millions of
people around the globe. Brighid O Dochartaigh, hydrogeologist at the BGS, explained more of this in her talk.
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| Brighid proudly stands next to her Icelandic jumper on display at the exhibition. Hand knitted by herself with wool from the island it's a thing of beauty coveted by her collegues! |
“We’ve discovered there’s a thick permeable
aquifer made of sand and gravel that’s sat just in front of the glacier, in the area called the sandur. During
winter there’s more water flowing underground through here than there is
water flowing in the river. Close to the glacier this aquifer is filled in
part by the river but further away it’s filled by mostly rainfall. This
could be really significant and important for future water resources around the globe, not just in Iceland.”
“In many areas people rely extremely heavily
on melt water from glaciers, in areas like the Himalayas people
rely on it for drinking water. So if these glaciers disappear, as we’re seeing
on Iceland, then that's a massive problem and we’ll have to find replacement sources of water. The work we’re
doing on Virkisjokull suggests there could potentially be a large store of
water underground that’s replenished by rainfall and not glacial melt water which clearly could
be really important for those living close to it. So I’m lucky enough to
work in this amazing place and do work that could have important ramifications all
around the world”.
With potentially global benefits to the work the team are
doing in Iceland it’s clear to me that grabbing every chance to communicate
their work is essential. What could be more important, other than the work itself, than raising awareness of
not only our local ancient environments and evolving landscapes but the future
security of water around the globe?
By doing outreach collaborations with CechrArtist in Residence Jean Duncan, and previously with the Royal Society Summer
Science Exhibition (see our 2013 online outreach on that), the team are making
their work accessible and understandable. Not only that but they hope such events will inspire a whole new generation of young and early-career scientists. Not only do you get great science by bringing different skills and people together but great art too.
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| Together again: scientists and artist reunite at Jeans 'Melt' exhibition From left to right: Andrew, Verity, Jean, Brighid and Jez |
Jean's closing comment: “I wanted to record the changes
happening as the glacier is dying, nothing stays the same out there. The place,
people, history, geology and geography came together and became a strong memory
for me. What I came away with was a picture of this landscape that’s never
going to be the same again because it’s changing constantly. So I’ve made these
sketches but when everyone goes back in April it’s not going to look the same. It
was a really unique opportunity.”
Thanks again for reading,
Lauren
Go see Jean’s ‘Melt’ exhibition NOW. It’s on in the Tower Foyer Gallery, University of Dundee and runs until 29th March. For opening times of the Tower Building see the previous link.
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