The Surging Glaciers of Northwest Isfjorden

Shortly before the team's arrival on Svalbard, authorities on the island became aware of a fuel contamination issue which had damaged the engines of local boats. As a result, it was deemed unwise for the team to camp on the glaciers of Nordre Isfjorden National Park as a boat ride back to Longyearbyen could not be guaranteed. To work around this the team arranged passage with visiting leisure boats, making three journeys to their field site and concentrating efforts around the the Borebukta region where the Borebreen and Nansenbreen glaciers terminate. Here they measured crevasse squeeze ridges (CSRs) which are indicative of past glacial surging. Similar measurements were taken in the Adventdalen region, which did not require boat travel. Combined with field samples, geomorphological mapping and drone surveys, it is hoped that these measurements will enable a greater understanding of the dynamics at play in glacial surges. Due to the fuel issue, plans to monitor current glacier dynamics were pivoted to the Borebreen glacier. Heavy crevassing prevented the installation of geophysical sensors here and the team instead installed seismic stations to measure meltwater conditions and a time lapse camera. The latter, combined with drone surveys will be used to develop an understanding of the surface features of the Borebreen glacier during surging.