Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Polar glaciers and ice caps as indicator of climate change  (GLINGE)

Outline
All available data indicate on the negative trends in development of glaciers and ice caps in polar regions during the last decades. These changes are manifested in: o reduction of glacier length, area and ice surface elevation; o long-term negative glacier mass balance records; o shift of equilibrium line altitude (ELA) and ice facies zones; o change of hydro-thermal state and internal structure of polythermal glaciers; o temperature changes in the surficial active layer; o instability of glacier behavior such as surge activity and iceberg outbursts; o trends in shallow and deep ice cores records. Nevertheless these glaciological indicators of climate change derived from conventional observations are often scarce or in some areas completely lacking; hence IPY provides unique opportunity to combine the extended field observations with a variety of remote sensing data and to reveal the comprehensive bipolar picture of the current state of glaciers as the indicator of climate change and the benchmark for comparison with past and future state, interpretation of most sensitive areas, and modelling.Primary lines of investigations are: o State and dynamics of polar glaciers and ice caps o Surficial and internal properties of polar glaciers and ice cap o Deep ice-core drilling of polar glaciers and ice caps o Iceberg calving of polar glaciers and ice capsFor each selected glacier or ice cap the following parameters will be measured in field and/or remotely: o surface mass balance o surface velocities (3-dimensional), preferably including seasonal cycle o bed topography o surface topography (with high accuracy) o surface albedo at the end of the ablation season ocalving rates o water pressure in boreholes o temperature profiles in the ice (for polythermal glaciers)In addition, the historical and proxy information on glacier length/area will be combined with the new maps and images to reconstruct glacier evolution from the Little Ice Age to the present.Methods of studies are: o Ground mass-balance and hydrological studies on glaciers using standard approaches and snow radar transects and shallow drilling o Glacier surface elevation and surface velocity measurements (ground-based, aerial and satellite surveys) o Interpretation and analysis of radar and passive images in different bands for glacier geometry, velocity, dynamics and ice-facies studies o Radio echo-sounding for internal structure and hydrothermal state studies o Deep ice core drilling, bore hole and ice core studies o Studies of glacial deposits and landforms

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
o Comprehensive datasets for target glaciers around the Arctic including new-type glacier inventory based on remote-sensing data with 3-D and dynamic componentso Enhanced techniques to retrieve glacier parameters from satellite data o GIS of ice body dynamics, hydrothermal state and instability based on remote and ground-truth datao High-resolution palaeoclimate records from deep ice-coreso Assessment of iceberg calving for glacier dynamics and as a hazard factor in hydrocarbon exploitation on sea shelveso Models of glacier behaviour for climate change scenarios

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Wide international collaboration is planned and confirmed by partners from Austria, Canada, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweeden,UK, USA, Uzbekistan. The project partly meet objectives of the WG on Arctic Glaciology of IASC, SCAR Physical Sciences Standing Scientific Group, GLIMS, IceSat and CryoSat international projects.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Key stationary and temporal field studies: Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and Svalbard, the islands of Antarctic Peninsula. Perspective ice drilling sites: the Northern ice cap on Novaya Zemlya, Vetrenny ice cap on Franz Josef Land, Amundsenisen on Svalbard, ice caps on Ushakov Island and De-Longa Islands.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 04/07-09/07      04/08-09/08      04/09-09/09
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
o Ice strengthened research ship o Helicopters o Snow terrain vehicleso Ice drilling capability o Fuel depotso Existing field stationso Radarso New field station o Satellites (for acquiring data sets)Part of logistical resources might be shared with other projects.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
YES - A limited number of automatic weather stations at remote sites will be kept in place. Stake networks for mass balance might be used in future. Infrastructural improvements in polar research stations will provide better logistics for post-IPY activities.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
YES - At this stage endorsed by:- the Russian National IPY Committee

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
YES

The project is new. Neverthless, it naturaly stems from ongoing national projects on polar glacier studies.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be managed from Moscow but will exploit existing management structures such as the IASC Working Group on Arctic Glaciology and new ones such as the Russian National IPY Committee, specifically in logistics integration.We will establish a dedicated project web site, where preliminary results and progress reports will be made available to collaborators.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Field work and research options for young scientists and students.Project results will be included to lectures and laboratory classes at universities of participating partners.Media coverage of our work in radio/TV documentaries and popular scientific literature.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Direct access for project members and collaborators will be managed online at time of start of the project.After elaboration results and data will be widely available on the web site and submitted to the relevant international databanks (e.g. World data Centers for Glaciology).

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Mainly from national funding organisations.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Andrey Glazovsky
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
Staromonetny, 29
Moscow
109017
Russia

Tel: [7] (095)1259011
Mobile: no
Fax: [7] (095)9590033
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation