Project description
Glacial aquifers’ evolution under climate change
The research on glacier evolution under climate change addresses changes in mass balance and related impacts on basal and downstream hydrology. However, consequences on groundwater are often not considered even though evolving knowledge of groundwater recharge, discharge and storage is essential for the provision of forecasts regarding water resources’ evolution and water-related risks under climate change. The EU-funded IceAq project intends to achieve an operational understanding of lesser-known aquifer systems in a glacial context and predict their hydrodynamic reactions to climate change. It will also investigate the potential glacier–aquifer interactions in deep recharge and formation of offshore fresh groundwater stocks in coastal areas. The project will focus on four outlet glaciers in eastern Iceland using existing data from geology to climatology and collecting new data on the field.
Objective
The research addressing glacier evolution under climate change is well developed, looking not only at changes in mass balance, but also at the associated effects on basal and downstream hydrology. However, aftermath changes to the groundwater component are rarely considered, even though evolving groundwater recharge, discharge and storage will be required to forecast the evolution of water resources and of water-related hazards under climate change. This knowledge gap is the object of IceAq.
IceAq will focus on 4 outlet glaciers of the Vatnajökull, the main icelandic icecap, which retreat under climate change is already documented. In addition to gathering of existing data (from geology to climatology), new data will be acquired on the field, mainly to characterise groundwater. Based on those data-sets, local comprehensive numerical models will be build, and then be integrated into a regional one, which will allow more realistic hydrogeological simulations, and the input of future climate scenarios.
The scientific perspective is threefold: achievement of an operational understanding and quantification of unknown or poorly known aquifer systems in glacial context, prediction of their hydrodynamic response to climate change, and exploration of the potential role of glacier-aquifer interactions in the mechanism of deep recharge and formation of offshore fresh groundwater stocks in littoral zones.
Outputs of the project will provide first answers to those interrogations, and be disseminated in the scientific community but also to the general audience through a participatory approach. The developed methodology will be applied in the future to other glaciated systems in different contexts.
Dr Vincent and the glaciology group of IES, UoI, have very complementary expertise, essential for this project. The planned research and training is expected to allow Dr Vincent to reach her career objectives and will offer her host new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations
Fields of science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrology
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesphysical geographynatural disasters
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesphysical geographyglaciology
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeology
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
101 Reykjavik
Iceland