International Fellow Awards: Modeling the Spatial and Temporal evolution of Vatnajokull Hydrology

Flowers, Gwenn E, Arlington VA

Investigators

Abstract

0000425 Flowers The International Research Fellow Awards Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will provide Dr. Gwenn E. Flowers with support for 12 months to work with Dr. Helgi Bjornsson, Head of Glaciology at the Science Institute of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, Iceland. The objective of this project is to understand the dynamics of ice cap hydrology that influence stable and unstable modes of water flow beneath Vatnajkull, Iceland's largest ice cap, and to test, improve and refine a numerical model in preparation for larger-scale investigations. Dr. Flowers will use a numerical model of glacier hydrology that she developed as the core of her doctoral research. She will use information available through the Science Institute of the University on Vatnajkull surface and bed geometry and hydraulic characteristics to evaluate how well the modeled drainage structure honors that which is presently observed. This project represents a first attempt to describe a complete computational picture of glacier hydrology. The results will benefit the field of glacier hydraulics and its impact on glacier dynamics. Dr. Bjornsson has been described as one of Iceland's preeminent glaciologists. He is the current vice-president of the International Glaciological Society. The Science Institute supports approximately 30 earth scientists, including 15 geophysicists, who would also interact with Dr. Flowers.