ARSF project IPY07_01; led by Dr. Johnathan Carrivick (Univ. Leeds).
Locations: Kverkjokull (Iceland), Volga-Skolpa outwash fan

Scientific Summary: The overall aim of this project was to undertake an interdisciplinary study of glacial meltwater discharge, proglacial floodplain dynamics, and ecological response in a volcanically-influenced proglacial river system. Whilst these three components have been studied separately in detail, quantification of their interactions had so far not been attempted. This research gap is important due to the requirement for accurate prediction of 1) Climate change effects on proglacial systems, 2) Volcanic / geothermal effects on proglacial systems, and 3) the effect of each of the above on river biodiversity. These effects were be addressed by:
(1) Modelling meltwater production on Kverkjokull, Iceland
(2) Modelling river discharge and sediment mobility of the Volga-Skolpa outwash fan in response to (1), and
(3) Modelling spatial and temporal stream macroinvertebrate community response to (1) and (2).

To achieve these aims field measurements were be made of
(i) Kverkjokull surface topography (LiDAR) and snow-ice interface,
(ii) Collection of meteorological data
(iii) Volga-Skolpa outwash fan surface topography (LiDAR),
(iv) River bed substrate and hydraulics, and stream macroinvertebrate communities.

Field measurements were meant to inform development, validation and integration of a
(a) Distributed energy balance model (Arrell et al., in press),
(b) Fluvial landscape evolution/stability model (e.g. Carrivick, 2006), and
(c) A model of ecological response to meltwater dynamics (Brown et al., 2003).