Letters from Lisa

Collection of photos from my recent Earthwatch expedition in Iceland. Sad to say, I accidentally erased all of my video footage - but this gives a bit of the idea.

The purpose of the project was to collect data about the glaciers in Southern Iceland. As these glaciers press down, they form large pools of water underneath them. This water drains out as rivers, but can also collect over time underneath the glacier. Eventually, the glacier’s ice starts to float on top of the water, because ice is less dense than water, and when this happens, the water bursts out and causes destructive floods. Scientists want to figure out ways to predict when this might happen, and where the floods are likely to go.

It’s also possible that the glaciers will be affected by global warming and that this will lead to changes in how and when they produce these floods.

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