Glacier in a Greenhouse is a student-led expedition from Durham University, and the recipient of this year's Land Rover 'Go Beyond' bursary, awarded by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). The Glacier in a Greenhouse team consisted of 7 3rd year Physical Geography students from Durham University, and one of our lecturers Professor David Evans, who is a leading expert in glacial geomorphology. Their mission to carry out research aimed at further understanding the historical and present processes of glacier interactions with mountain environments in a warming world.
How did you become involved in this particular project? Who came up with the idea for signing up?
As a group we all had a joint interest in glaciers and knew this was something we wanted to research and investigate further. We therefore decided to approach Professor David Evans, who carries out his own annual research expeditions, and he said that we could form a joint expedition with him. This was crucial for the success of our expedition, as it meant that we were able to draw on his wealth of expertise within the field of glacial research. This enabled us to focus our research ideas, and ensure the expedition was a success.
In order to fund the expedition, we originally applied for support from both the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Durham University, who both provided us with much needed funds. However by Easter 2011, we still needed more money, and more importantly still required a vehicle. At this point we were very fortunate to come across the Land Rover 'Go Beyond' Bursary, which is run by the RGS-IBG. We therefore quickly put together an application, but to be honest were slightly sceptical about our chances, taking into account the amazing trips that this bursary has made possible over the past four years. As it happens, the RGS-IBG and Land Rover decided to award us the bursary, which provided us with £10,000 funding and the use of a Land Rover Defender 110. It was this breakthrough that took our trip to a whole new level, and made it the incredible expedition that it was.
Why glaciers? I know that in the past, the award went to fault line studying, the rising of the Atlantic and the 50 line.
The primary reason for studying glaciers was the fact that the team were very interested in glacial processes and realised the best way to pursue this interest was to carry out research in a modern glaciated region. In terms of the wider context of modern glacial research, there are ever growing concerns over the future of many of the world's ice masses and their potential impact on sea level. This critical reason has launched glaciology to the forefront of geographical and scientific research in recent years. Furthermore, gaining a better insight and understanding of glacier dynamics and behaviour is crucial in order to accurately predict and mitigate future hazards associated with glacial environments.
Has any of you had previous off road experience?
In terms of previous off road experience, we were really lucky to be going with Dave Evans. He owns his own Defender 110 which he has been taking with him to Iceland for the last 11 years. However out of the 7 students we had hardly any experience; David had briefly driven a 4x4 off road in Bolivia, and I (Will) used to drive around in a field before I passed my driving test, but that was it!
A great thing about the Land Rover 'Go Beyond' Bursary, however, was that they sent us on a two day off road driving course at the Land Rover Experience Centre at Eastnor Castle. This was a great experience, which we would definitely recommend to anyone thinking of taking a 4x4 on an expedition. It allowed us to get to grips with the multiple gears, ranges and dimensions of the Defender and proved completely invaluable when it came to handling the off road terrain in Iceland.
Did you drive the Land Rover from the UK to Iceland or did you ship it there? How did you get along with the car?
We picked up the Land Rover from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), and our first challenge was therefore to negotiate rush hour traffic in central London, which turned out to require even more concentration than driving off-road! Having picked the Land Rover up, we packed up all of our scientific kit and food supplies and shipped the vehicle to Reykjavik from Immingham, UK.
Overall we could not have completed this expedition without the use of the Defender 110. Thanks to the excellent driver training we received we found the vehicle was ideal for any terrain that the glacial forelands had to throw at us. The harsh terrain undoubtedly took its toll on the Defender, with faults including failed electrics and a puncture. However, fortunately the problems we experienced were minor and could be put up with whilst away to save us from having to take a day out of research to visit a garage. Navigation proved less of an issue than expected, which ironically could be attributed to the remoteness of the area, with just a few gravel tracks being the only access routes serving the region. In fact, the only place we managed to get ourselves lost was on departure from the airport in Reykjavik! However, when it came to offroading, many of the mapped routes were barely visible and impenetrable; particularly on the approach to Eíriksjökull, our intended study site, which was surrounded by a dense lava field.
Tell me a little more about how you saw the expedition unfolding, before you set off.
Before we set off, it was very difficult to imagine exactly how the expedition would unfold. One thing we were certain of however was that it was certainly going to really push our academic and personal boundaries. We knew that the Icelandic weather could be unpredictable, and, because we were working in a glacial environment, we knew that despite it being summer it would certainly not be warm!
We were really looking forward to the opportunity to travel to areas that very few people had been before, and to discovering some of the incredible landscapes that Iceland has to offer. We were also really excited about the prospect of driving a Land Rover into these relatively unexplored areas, and negotiating the off-road terrain.
We ultimately realised that our days would have to consist of highly intensive data collection in order to carry out as much meaningful research as possible. However overall, we were really excited about the challenge that faced us, and could not wait to set off!
What data did you aim to gather from the glacier? Why did you choose that particular one?
We carried out research aimed at further understanding the historical and present processes of glacier interactions with mountain environments in a warming world, focussing on a region that has received very little previous research attention, due to its poor accessibility and harsh climate.
This research was undertaken on the North East outlet lobe of the plateau Icefield of Þorísjökull; looking specifically at the subglacial drainage system of the glacier, glacial sedimentary deposits, debris transport within the ice, landsystems mapping and reconstructing glacier growth and decay. Whilst we were each carrying out research on different aspects of the glacial landsystem, we aim to compile these individual research projects to give us a wider understanding of how the glacial system operates as a whole.
We originally proposed to base our research on Eirίksjökull, Iceland's largest table mountain. However it soon became clear that substantial research on Eirίksjökull would not be feasible, due to misleading mapped tracks and an impenetrable lava field. This unfortunately meant that we would have had to spend too much time everyday travelling to and from our study sites, and therefore would not have been able to carry out any meaningful research.
We decided therefore to carry out the majority of our research on the remote neighbouring plateau icefield of Þorísjökull; around an hour's drive from our base camp. Whilst there has been much research carried out on Iceland's glaciers, the research has not been distributed evenly across all the glaciers. Both Eirίksjökull, our intended site, and Þorísjökull, our actual site, are glacial landsystems that have received limited previous research attention. As a result we saw this expedition as an opportunity to contribute to the field of glacial research.
How did the Landy come in handy? Were there situations where it made a big difference, save from transport obviously?
Although accessible by track, the remote location, rugged terrain and limited access to roads, rendered a Land Rover an essential mode of transport, enabling us to travel off-road and reach study sites that would otherwise have been inaccessible. It also played a vital role in the transport of the specialised equipment and provided a welcome shelter and lunch spot when the weather decided to turn on us!
A very useful feature was that our Landy had two batteries – the main one and an auxiliary one. This meant that we were able to keep our laptops and cameras charged to enable us to type up our data, and update our Facebook page and blog in the evenings. The Landy was also fitted with a National Luna battery monitor, which was very important as it told us how much power we had left and stopped us from completely draining the battery!
Whilst we were not intending to encounter too many other people on our trip, the Landy was also fitted with a cage to ensure that our scientific equipment and personal kit was kept secure in the boot. However it did actually prove to be slightly too secure on one occasion when we accidentally managed to lock our only set of keys within the cage as we made one of our few tourist stops during our expedition! Luckily the back door was still open and after a rather lengthy process of dismantling the entire cage and unloading all of our kit we managed to retrieve them!
We also had lockable jerry cans on the roof in case we needed to transport spare fuel, and a remote controlled winch in case we ever found ourselves stuck. However luckily we did not need to call upon either of these features during our expedition. Finally the roof rack was vital to our expedition, as it enabled us to transport our extra kit that would not fit inside the Landy.
What was the weather like in the area? Did you have snowfall, cold weather or snow and ice along the way? What tires did you run?
For the most part we were highly fortunate with the weather. Having expected to see blue sky maybe once or twice throughout the expedition, we were extremely grateful to have clear skies on a number of occasions. However when the weather did turn it did so in impressive fashion. In our final week for example we were unfortunately caught in the tail end of Hurricane Irene!
Luckily however, none of the poor weather we experienced had much of an effect on the driving. Being summer we fortunately did not have to contend with snow or ice. However in our final week, the onset of torrential rain and gale force winds unfortunately coincided with the brief period that our windscreen wipers stopped working, which did make seeing where we were going a bit of a challenge at times!
What was your daily routine? What kind of data were you guys gathering and what was it's precise use?
Our daily routine consisted of waking up early in order to have porridge and set off by around 08:45. Getting to and from Þorísjökull each day took around an hour, with the drive taking increasingly longer as the expedition went on. This was due to increasing meltwater coming off the glaciers and carving out deep gullies that cross-cut the track. For the first half an hour of the journey we were lucky enough to travel along a relatively established track. However the second half an hour involved negotiated much more difficult off-road terrain where we were barely able to exceed a few km/h. During this time period, we had to concentrate hard to ensure that we didn't lose the track or damage the vehicle as we negotiated our way through a number of boulder fields.
We would then spend around seven or eight hours intensively collecting data, which for most of the group involved counting and measuring thousands of rocks that had been deposited by the glacier! This data was collected in order to try and ascertain how the glacier flows and transports debris, and ultimately how the landsystem operates and reacts to an ever changing climate. In order to inform this, data was also collected on the relative age of the landforms in the foreland using lichens. Hourly measurements were also taken on a glacial meltwater stream coming off the glacier, in order to help piece together the dynamics of the glacier.
What did you aim to do with the research once you've finished the expedition? Are you looking into further work with glaciers or was it a one time event?
Our different research projects are initially being analysed individually in the form of university dissertation projects. However the ultimate goal is to compile all of our research to give us a wider understanding of how the glacial system operates as a whole. It is hoped that in the future that some of this research may be submitted, in collaboration with Professor David Evans, to peer-reviewed academic journals. This would enable our research to bring a real contribution to the world of glacial research.
In terms of the future, this expedition has been an incredible experience, which has inspired a number of the group to carry on to postgraduate study. This will enable them to carry out further research in the field of glacial geomorphology, and to hopefully undertake a similar expedition in the not too distant future.
Please tell me of any special situations that occurred during the trip.
This expedition provided the opportunity to undertake research in an extreme glacial environment, on a glacier system that was relatively inaccessible, but significant in that it occupies a plateau located at the threshold of glacier existence in the North Atlantic. By working in such an unfamiliar, largely unexplored and potentially hostile environment, members of the team have been able to push their academic boundaries, gaining firsthand experience of undertaking new geographical research in challenging settings.
There were so many highlights. Firstly, Iceland is such an incredibly beautiful country, and we feel so privileged to have been able to see such spectacular scenery, that few people have seen before. The opportunity to get up onto the ice and explore the glaciers was incredible. Another highlight was seeing the Northern Lights. However, unfortunately only one expedition member was lucky enough to see them, and he neglected waking up the rest of the team, which needless to say did not go down well!
It is also impossible to talk about the highlights of this expedition without mentioning the off-road driving experience. This really was a once in a lifetime opportunity. After all, how many 20/21 year olds get to spend a month driving a Land Rover through Iceland, and have it count towards their university degree?!
Overall the entire expedition pushed us to our limits and provided us with so many experiences that will stay with us for life.
We would thoroughly recommend anyone thinking of carrying out their own expedition that requires funding the use of a vehicle to apply for the Land Rover 'Go Beyond' Bursary 2012. The vehicle could not have been more perfect and the financial support made this expedition possible. As well as this the support that we received from the RGS-IBG throughout the planning and execution of the expedition was invaluable. Also the bursary has now been increased to £15,000, with the opportunity to apply for an extra £15,000! (www.rgs.org/gobeyond)
You can find more information about the team here:
www.facebook.com/GlacierinaGreenhouse
Radu Tudoroiu
Radu Tudoroiu is a photographer and an editor for 4x4 Off Roads and other publications as well as an off-road enthusiast. Radu lives in Romania.
