On the Expedition
Help uncover the secrets of geology and climate change hidden within Iceland’s glaciers.
Working in landscapes of almost unearthly beauty, you’ll rotate through various tasks between field sites. You’ll sample and measure sediments and glacial ice and document their size and type to help scientists understand how glaciers move and how they respond to geological events like volcanic eruptions. You’ll also help improve our understanding about what changing glaciers are telling us about climate change. You’ll learn to survey places that most people only see in photographs, using satellite global positioning systems, ground penetrating radar, and electronic distance measurers.
In your recreational time, you can enjoy hikes to yet more spectacular views of Iceland’s stunning glaciers and mountains.
Meals and Accommodations
You’ll be based in huts within one of the most popular natural areas in this unique island nation, with access to flush toilets and hot shower facilities nearby. Meals will be a mixture of fresh and tinned Icelandic produce prepared indoors on a field cooker.
About the Research Area
Slaftafell National Park - The area around Skaftafell is a remarkable oasis of greenery surrounded by the flat, grey Skeiðarársandur and the tongues of Skeiðarárjökull, Skaftafellsjökull, and Svínafellsjökull. The area’s great natural beauty makes it one of the most popular and well-visited regions of Iceland. The campsite at Skaftafell where Earthwatch teams stay also receives over 25,000 visitors during the summer months as many pass through on trips around the island.
Modrudalur, Northeast Iceland - The Jökulsá á Fjöllum river flows from the northern margin of Iceland’s largest ice-cap, Vatnajökull, to the north coast of the island. The river flows through some of Iceland’s newest land within the volcanic rifting zone, known as the Ódáðahraun, Iceland’s most rugged and desolate region. Many of the volcanoes and lava formations have been created since the retreat of the glaciers, i.e. within the last 8,000 years. Volcanic activity is ongoing with eruptions as recently as 1985. The huge Askja caldera erupted in 1875 sending ash across the Atlantic over Western Europe. Spectacular table mountains such as Herðubreið rise above the lava fields and are the product of volcanic eruptions beneath the former ice caps.