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Seismic Investigation of Glacial and Magmatic Activity at Vatnajökull icecap, Iceland with implications for natural hazard monitoring in glacio-volcanic regions

Project description

Assessing the most active volcanoes in Iceland to reduce their risk to local populations and infrastructure

Active ice-covered volcanoes present considerable danger to society due to their explosive, ash-rich nature and the potential to generate destructive glacial outburst floods. The ability to monitor their activity is complicated because volcanic and glacial earthquakes can appear identical in the seismic record. However, newly developed waveform correlation approaches could help distinguish between glacial and volcanic seismicity. The EU-funded SIGMA project will apply these methods to an exceptional seismic dataset in Iceland and develop a new automatic classification software. This includes creating a new micro-seismic catalogue to characterise events as glacial or volcanic using statistical analysis tools. Furthermore, glacial events will be used to calculate subglacial hydraulic properties, important for modelling future glacier behaviour.

Objective

Active ice-covered volcanoes present considerable danger to society due to their explosive, ash-rich nature and the potential to generate destructive glacial outburst floods. However, the ability to monitor their activity is complicated by the difficulty in discriminating volcanic and glacial earthquakes as they can appear identical in the seismic record. My recent work in Chile and Alaska has demonstrated how newly developed waveform correlation approaches could help distinguish between glacial and volcanic seismicity. The multi-disciplinary SIGMA project will apply these methods to an exceptional seismic dataset in Iceland while developing a new automatic classification software. The work plan includes creating a new micro-seismic catalogue in which events will be characterised as glacial or volcanic using statistical analysis tools. Furthermore, glacial events will be used to calculate subglacial hydraulic properties, an important requirement for modelling future glacier behaviour. The 3 targets areas across the Vatnajökull ice cap include some of the most active volcanic and glacial regions in Iceland. Under the supervision of Dr Magnússon and Prof. Aðalgeirsdóttir at the University of Iceland, and Dr Jónsdottír during a secondment at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, I will receive exceptional training in research and transferable skills that will allow me to fulfill my future career goal of becoming a leader in geophysical monitoring of volcanoes and other natural hazards. Being based at the University of Iceland will mean joining a world-leading research institute in geosciences with opportunities to develop internal and international multidisciplinary collaborations. Ultimately, the project will help future activity assessments at the most active volcanoes in Iceland and in turn, reduce their risk to local populations and infrastructure, while contributing towards the long-term EU target of ensuring a more resilient society against natural hazards.

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

HASKOLI ISLANDS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 184 239,36
Address
SAEMUNDARGOTU 2
101 Reykjavik
Iceland

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Region
Ísland Ísland Höfuðborgarsvæði
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 184 239,36
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