Drangajokull is the northernmost glacier in Iceland. It sits on a remote, almost uninhabited peninsula that protrudes into the Greenland Sea from the top of the Westfjords. It is the only glacier in Iceland that is entirely under 1000m above sea level which we might expect to mean that it is very unstable - but in fact it is showing less mass loss than most other glaciers across the country. This is probably because it receives a lot of precipitation - as we were to discover for ourselves.
The B.I.G. North Pole Expedition team travelled to northwest Iceland early in April to make a ski traverse of Drangajokull while gathering snow samples and other data for several science studies. I had accessed the glacier the year before but too much snow had made it difficult while bad weather had cut my visit short. so we were delighted to arrive and find the route to the glacier accessible this year…..but our relief was short lived. Not only was the valley that would lead us to Drangajokull accessible, it was almost empty of any snow at all. The contrast between one year and the next would be shocking if it wasn’t already such a familiar story from accross the Arctic region and beyond. For decades less predictable environmental patterns have been forecast and now we are seeing that reality.
We were faced with 20km or more of grass, heath, rivers and stones between us and unbroken snow cover. The images of us portaging sledges and skis from one snow patch to another serve as a graphic illustration of the future we should all be expecting.
With a little help we reached the glacier and in the following days made a complete return traverse of the glacier on skis, collecting snow samples for back carbon, microplastic and heavy metal content analysis in five different locations. We collected additional snow samples in 13 different locations - and by turning our tents into makeshift labs, we were able to melt and filter these samples. These filters will be sent to our scientific collaborator and advisor, Dr Ulyana Horodyskyj at the University of Colorado.
Throughout the journey, cloud cover was recorded along with snow depth, snow density and albedo - valuable data points for a range of long-term studies - and in the evening we carried out the psychology tasks for a research project at the University of Durham.
Most importantly we, the team, worked really well together, overcoming bad weather and logistical challenges alike with positivity and humour making it a thoroughly awesome expedition that we all enjoyed and felt proud of on return. Huge thanks to the team, as well as our fabulous sponsors, partners and supporters for rallying to our new plan and for the continued confidence in the project and its aims.
You can still hear our reports from the field on the amazing tracking map created for us by @zerosixzero available on the B.I.G. Expedition website.