Holocene sub-polar glacier fluctuations and glaciovolcanic floods

Lake sediments constitute natural archives reflecting past changes in the surrounding depositional environment. This PhD project is part of the NFR-funded project Southsphere and BCCR-funded project DYNASOR and highlights the use and versatility of lake sediments as palaeoenvironmental records.

Kerguelen Archipelago - Southsphere

Recent observations of ice wastage among SH mid-latitude alpine glaciers is chiefly attributed to a poleward migration and intensification of the SH westerlies associated with a continued positive phase in the Southern Annular Mode, the prevailing mode of natural climate variability in the SH mid-high latitude. By harnessing the potential of distal-fed glacial lakes to record continuous glacier fluctuations in the SH westerlies core belt this part of the PhD project aims to unravel new information on the past behaviour of this globally relevant atmospheric circulation system.

Northern Iceland - DYNASOR

Large volumes of abruptly drained meltwater can reshape landscapes and disrupt ocean circulation. This part of the PhD project aims to reconstruct the frequency and magnitude of Early Holocene glaciovolcanic floods along the proglacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum in northern Iceland by utilizing the potential of threshold lakes to capture slackwater deposits during floods combined with hydraulic simulations. Iceland is located near the confluence of multiple ocean surface currents suggesting relatively small perturbations in the form of meltwater pulses may affect global ocean circulation