Microbes and Glacial Melt

  Peter Fleming Award 2009 (Grant of £9000)
Dr A. J. Hodson (Biogeochemist, glaciologist); Dr. E. Hanna (Melt modeller); Dr T. Irvine-Fynn (Hydrologist); Prof. C. Clark (Glaciology/Image analysis); Mr. H. Langford (Geomicrobiology); Claire Plant (Biogeochemist); Dr. A.M. Osborn (Microbiologist); Dr. Matteo Spagnolo (Glaciology); Dr. Claire Boulter (Geomorphologist); Mr. Bill Nandris (Logistical support)
 
  The Project
The team will spend the summer on three Spitsbergen glaciers, at various stage of retreat, investigating the effects of micro-organisations on glacial melt. This will involve snowpit surveys, dust traps, surface runoff, ice sampling and biological incubations with molecular analyses to define microbial communities.

  Key Significance
Some 10 trillion micro-organisms are liberated from glacier melt by melting every year. These dark cells attach themselves to other particles, grow and increase surface melt rates by darkening the surface absorbing solar radiation. Ice melt is accelerated by this process; this in turn increases the area for which microbes can be released.

  See other work by this group in the field: mapping cryaconites with HighSpy (Video -10.9MB .wmv)

This research also forms the basis of the University of Sheffield Department of Geography’s Centenary Expedition.