ACDC summer school 2015

30 eager European and US-based PhD students and PostDocs joined some 10 lecturers in Laugarvatn, Iceland, to spend two weeks together delving into this year’s topic ”Climate and Volcanism”.

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Student-led summary of key aspects of this year’s topic Climate and Volcanism. Photo by Daniel McCoy

The diverse background of the lecturers and students reflected the interdisciplinary nature of the topic, bringing together atmospheric science, aerosol chemistry and physics, geology, glaciology, oceanography and paleoclimate.
The most challenging but exciting aspect of the theme proved to be linking the wide range of time scales involved, from Earth’s mantle processes, via the glacial cycles and mid-ocean ridge volcanism to the rapid sequence of events following a single volcanic eruption.
When not listening and discussing the latest scientific buzz about how volcanoes affect climate and vice versa (!), students were working hard on group projects on tephra, lake sediments, mid-ocean ridges and sea level, causality and volcanic aerosols.

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Eager inspection of a section of volcanic ash deposits. Photo: Henning Åkesson

The two weeks were blessed by unbelievably good weather. This provided great conditions for several field excursions around central and southern Iceland, including vast lava fields, natural hot springs and glaciers.

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Snow scooter excursion to learn how to measure surface energy balance, mass balance and glacier motion at the ice cap Myrdalsjökull. Photo: Henning Åkesson

Several people involved in ice2ice were present, namely Kerim Nisancioglu, Nora Loose, Henning Åkesson (all Bergen), Rasmus Anker Pedersen and Hannah Kleppin (Copenhagen).
Henning Åkesson, PhD student