Subglacial Volcanism: Ice & Fire
The eruption past and present of volcanoes below ice sheets provides a paradox of ice and fire which is both dramatic and poorly understood due to the inaccessibility of modern subglacial analogues. To date the products of subglacial volcanism have been subjected to limited research primarily from a volcanological perspective. As a consequence the few facies models that exist often lack glaciological credibility. Glacial geomorphologists have tended to focus exclusively on the jökulhaups that may be generated by volcanic activity as opposed to the volcanoes themselves.
This research theme is led by Professor Bennett and approaches the task of reconstructing subglacial volcanic environments from a glacial perspective with the ultimate aim of modelling the impact of such environments on ice dynamics of adjacent ice sheets. There are a number of on going research projects within this theme. In 2004 a large mapping project on the Jarlhettur was completed and will be published shortly. The Jarlhettur is a series of ridges formed during the last glacial cycle by subglacial fissure-style eruptions beneath the Icelandic ice sheet and lies to the east of the Langjökull ice cap in Iceland.
This mapping work was supported by the NERC Airborne campaign in 2001 and by the Royal Society. More recently work has focused on large diamict fans formed in giant subglacial lakes in the lee of volcanic tuya (subglacial volcanoes). This work will be published in 2006 and provides unique insight into the glacial sedimentology of a subglacial lake. A selection of images from both research projects is provided below.
Sedimentary facies from diamict fans formed in large subglacial lakes in the lee of volcanic tuya in Iceland.
Facies model of a diamict fan formed in large subglacial lakes in the lee of volcanic tuya in Iceland.
For more details contact Professor Matthew Bennett
