You are in: Home » Online resources » Arctic Environmental Metadata Centre

Titles of Grants alphabetically by Name of Principal Investigator

excluding NERC Studentships (funding for PhD students).
1965 to 10 May 1999.

Key :

NERC Newsjournal = NNJ;
NERC News = NN
A Project Proposal given here is derived from either a published document or database at NERC at Swindon. This describes what the grant holder originally applied to do with NERC funds.
"(abstract in NERC database)" refers to the ORACLE database at Swindon; the AEMC has a print copy of these records.
Copies of items from the publication NERC Series D, 1970-85, can be supplied by the Centre on request; very few complete sets exist in libraries.
The name of the university and department given here is where the principal investigator (PI) was located when the grant was awarded. To see their current location click on the hypertext links shown, as many are now working at new locations; others have retired, or in a few cases, have died.

S D Albon
Institute of Zoology, London
Host-parasite interactions and the population dynamics of reindeer (abstract in NERC database) in Svalbard
1997-99 £212165 over 3 years

I J Alexander
Aberdeen University, Plant and Soil Science
Effects of elevated nitrogen availability on the growth and mycorrhizal infection of arctic dwarf shrubs [Arctic Terrestrial Ecology Programme] (no abstract/#GST 533) in Svalbard
1991-94 £113252 over 3 years

I J Alexander/S J Woodin
Aberdeen University, Plant and Soil Science
N-use by Salix and Dryas in the high Arctic: Impact of atmospheric N deposition (#GRANTNO 9424) NN31, 1995
1994-97 £116366 over 3 years

Project proposal: To investigate the utilisation of soil N pools by Salix and Dryas and by their ectomycorrhizal associates in contrasting Arctic habitats and to assess long-term effects of elevated atmospheric N deposition. Measurement of above ground and below ground biomass, foliar N concentration and mycorrhizal infection on an established experiment. Measurement of delta 15N enrichment in soil and vegetation pools. Microcosm studies.

W E N Austin
Durham University, Geography

North-East Atlantic benthic foraminifera: modern distribution patterns and paleooceanographic significance (abstract in NERC database) cruise track in Norwegian Sea
1997 £8882 over 3 months
A high resolution benthic stable isotope record from ODP site 984 (abstract in NERC database)in the Norwegian/Greenland Sea
1996-97 £24908 over 1 year

S Bacon/P Wadhams
Sea ice and oceanic vertical circulation (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1998-2001 £143080 over 4 years

Project proposal: We will study the effect of sea ice on oceanic vertical circulation, meaning the local exchange of water properties in the Greenland Sea by convection, both to greater and lesser depths; the transfer of intermediate waters in the Nordic Seas to great depth in the North Atlantic via overflows between Greenland and Scotland; and the Atlantic thermohaline circulation as a whole. Three essential areas of this study will be the role of ice-ocean interaction in the Greenland Sea in triggering deep water convection, determination of the effect of ice on the convective processes in both shallow water and thermohaline processes in the North Atlantic, and the role of seasonality as it affects shallow and deep convection. We will carry out one summer and one winter expedition to the Nordic Seas to measure absolute circulation, winter ice formation and melt, deep and shallow convective intensity, and the effects of seasonality on local preconditioning and overflows. Satellite altimetry, and passive microwave and SAR measurements will link between and extrapolate from our measurements.

J L Bamber
University College: University of London, Mullard Space & Climate Physics
Topography of the Greenland Ice Sheet : modelling, measurement and validation (#GRANTNO 9791)
1995-98 £90529 over 3 years

Project proposal: To test and improve current techniques for radar altimeter data analysis over ice sheets, to use these techniques to generate a DEM of Greenland, to carry out a comprehensive validation of the DEM using field data and, finally, to use the DEM to study the ice sheets form and flow. The geodetic phase data from ERS-1 will be used to provide dense coverage over the ice sheet. A comprehensive validation dataset will be used, in conjunction with computer simulations, to assess the accuracy of the satellite measurements and the effect of different analysis techniques.
- Metadata: the Greenland Ice Sheet DEM is available by FTP access and a website at Bristol University, with permission from the PI.
  See also References to the data.

D J Batten
Aberdeen University, Geology and Mineralogy
Palynology of the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary Normapolles province (#GRANTNO 03425)
1978-83 £25694 over 5 years

Project proposal: To determine morphology, phylogeny, distribution and palynological facies associations of Normapolles pollen grains to provide basis for reliable correlation of Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary rocks in province extending from West Siberia across Europe to eastern North America and resolution of problems relating to origins and affinities of Normapolles. Numerous stratigraphically well-localised samples from outcrops chiefly in northern Germany and southern Holland to form basis of pilot project. Total organic content of palynological recovery studied and selected specimens examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Sample preparations from other regions to be scrutinized for comparative purposes.

R W Batterbee/R J Flower
University College: University of London, Geography
The extent and impact of atmospheric contamination in remote, high mountain lakes in Siberia: a paleolimnological approach NN26, 1993
[1993] £12956

D J Beerling
Sheffield University, Animal and Plant Sciences
The use of fossil plants to detect major changes in the global carbon cycle at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (abstract in NERC database) in Greenland
1997-98 £24456 over 1 year

Project proposal

M C Bennett
Bristol University, Geology

Geological reconnaissance of the East Seiland peridotite, North Norwegian Caledonides [lat. 71N, long. 22E] (#GRANTNO 3817) (abstract in NERC Series D, 1979, No.15, p.6)
1979-80 £1075 over 1 year
The petrological evolution of the Melkvann peridotite, Seiland Igneous Province, Norway (#GRANTNO 04517)
1981-82 £1500 over 1 year
- Project proposal: To establish the variation of intruding magma compositions with time, investigate the effects of assimilation on intruding magmas, define the physical conditions which existed in the zone of magma generation, the likely compositions of the source material and parental magmas, and investigate the mechanisms of emplacement. Mapping, to establish the sequence of intrusion. Detailed observation of dilational, replacive and reaction phenomena. Sample collection for petrographical and geochemical studies, using mainly XRF, NAA and microprobe techniques. This is a collaborative venture with Dr B Robins, Bergen University.

G R Bigg
University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences
Ground-truthing of modelled recent iceberg trajectories (abstract in NERC database) in the N. Atlantic region
1997 £9993 over 4 months

Project proposal: As part of NEAPACC Project, ocean circulation has been modelled (using a Global Ocean GCM) for the present dat and the last glacial maximum (LGM). The N Atlantic is a key region, given possible changes in its status as the major ventilating arm of the global thermohaline circulation. An iceberg trajectory model has additionally been developed, to stimulate present and LGM iceberg distributions and limits. These model data provide a means of model ground-truthing and validation, by comparison with the present distribution of icebergs. The present distribution is, however, poorly known. Thus, we propose to test the ocean model by obtaining available and new proxy data on the recent distribution of ice-rafted debris in intact core-tops, identified from sedimentology and magnetic susceptibility data.
Metadata: the PI states that "this pilot project is now the subject of a further, collaborative study".

J M Black
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
The relationship between partners' complementarity and reproductive success in a long-term monogamous species: the barnacle goose (#SMALLNO 1159)
1994 £19811 for 12 months

Project proposal: The study will examine reproductive success and duration of the pair bond in relation to the qualities of both mates in the barnacle goose. Factors investigated will include previous breeding experience, partnership tenure, age, body size, genetic origin, dispersal record and familiarity with breeding area. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust's large database of over 20 years worth of information on individually-marked birds in the wild Svalbard population of barnacle geese will be analyzed and two major papers will be prepared for publication.

J Bloemendal
Liverpool University, Geography
Rock magnetic study of ice-rafted contributions at DSDP: ODP Sites in the Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic [Ocean Drilling Programme] (no abstract/#GST 579) ?North of Arctic Circle
1992-93 £23,489 over 1 year

D J Blundell
Lancaster University, Environmental and Biological Sciences
Crustal structure of the Gardar Rift, Greenland (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.52)
1973-74 £2700 over 1 year

G S Boulton
University of East Anglia, Environmental Sciences

The chronology of glacier retreat in Vestspitsbergen (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.58)
1972-74 £825 over 2 years
Late Quaternary chronology of Spitsbergen (abstract in NERC Series D, 1977, No.9, p.13)
1975-77 £700 over 2 years
Quaternary history of Spitsbergen and the Barents Shelf (#GRANTNO 03854)
1979-8 2 £40634 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To identify the frequency and extent of glacier fluctuations in Spitsbergen and the Barents Shelf and to correlate them with climatic, oceanographic and other environmental changes in other parts of the Arctic and North Atlantic region. Logging of sequences of uplifted tills and marine deposits on Spitsbergen and cores from the Barents Shelf, which will be dated and correlated using 14C amino-acid, palaeomagnetic and palaeontological techniques. A wide range of palaeoenvironmental indicators will be examined.
Secular magnetic variation in the European Arctic during the Weichselian and early Holocene (#GRANTNO 04797)
1982-84 £5180 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To verify an existing pattern of secular magnetic variation from the Barents-Continental Shelf, and to extend this to the south in the Norwegian Sea and onto the mainland. Coring in the southern Barents Sea and on the Norwegian mainland, and sampling from pre-existing cores from the Norwegian Sea.
Coastal and shelf sedimentation in a glaciomarine environment (#GRANTNO 05515)
1984-87 £9105 over 4 years
- Project proposal: To investigate the processes, patterns and rates dispersal and deposition along a heavily glaciated linear coastline; to attempt investigation of the whole sedimentary system from glacial source via the outwash plain, coastal belt, shelf and into the deep ocean; to help generate facies models for glaciomarine environments; and to progress towards a mass balance for the whole system. From ship-borne and terrestrial work in SE Iceland (of which a substantial proportion is already complete) to identify both for land and continental shelf areas: sedimentary processes; patterns of sediment dispersal; rates of erosion, transport and storage; geometry and character of the principal sediment bodies.
- Metadata: Data collected from Iceland (eg tapes, maps, cores, seismic records) are at Edinburgh University. Please contact the PI for access.
  See also References to the data.

G S Boulton
Edinburgh University, Geology and Geophysics
Sedimentary architecture of a glaciated continental margin; the western Spitsbergen margin in the late Cenozoic (#GRANTNO 7713)
1990-93 £56562 over 3 years

Project proposal: (1) To develop models of sediment architecture and facies for a glaciated continental margin. (2) To relate the sequence to late Cenozoic glacial and climatic history. (3) To reconstruct sediment geometry character and origin along the continental margin by seismic profiling, sonar mapping and coring; (4) to establish sediment age by microfaunal analysis, aminostratigraphy, palaeomagnetism and stable isotope and geochemistry.
- Metadata: Data collected from off Spitsbergen (eg tapes, maps, cores, seismic records) are at Edinburgh University. Please contact the PI for access.
  See also References to the data.

R Bradshaw
Bristol University, Geology
Mineral chemistry of rocks from the Caledonides in Norway and Scotland (abstract in NERC Series D, 1977, No.9, p.6) in Nordland
1975-76 £992 over 1 year

G M Brown
Durham University, Geological Sciences
Rapid X-ray fluorescence analysis of rocks, silicate minerals, carbonates and sulphide ores (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 55) including samples from Greenland
[1960s] £23436 over 3 years

P E Brown
Aberdeen University, Geology and Mineralogy

Mineralogy and petrology of East Greenland Tertiary igneous rocks (abstract in NERC Series D, 1977, No.9, p.5)
1975-78 £12929 over 3 years
Petrology and geochemistry of igneous rocks - East Greenland and Gardar province (#GRANTNO 03710)
1979-81 £15000 over 3 years
- Project proposal: Petrogenetic evolution of the East Greenland (approx. 25 m.y. duration) and Gardar (approx. 200 m.y. duration) provinces from basalts and gabbros to under and oversaturated felsic plutons. X-ray fluorescence analysis of igneous rocks for major and minor elements.
The implacement of rapakivi intrusions and the development of continental crust in south Greenland (#GRANTNO 6336) NN1,1987
1987-90 £59012 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To assess the applicability of the analysis of marginal synclines as given by Ramberg (1967) in application to rapakivi 'mushrooms' in South Greenland' and the implications this has for evolution of the rapakivi suite and its contribution to the crust. Mapping of well exposed rapakivi intrusions to establish their 3-D shape, P/T conditions of their envelopes at the time of intrusion, and the relative roles of ductile deformation and stoping. Petrogenetic and isotopic studies.

J H Callomon
University College: University of London, Chemistry

Jurassic stratigraphy and ammonoid paleontology (#GRANTNO 03365)
1977-85 £7563 over 7 years
- Project proposal: To set up scales of standard zones based on ammonites in different Jurassic faunal provinces, particularly in the Boreal Province, as basic primary and secondary standards of reference for world-wide chronostratigraphy by correlation. To collect faunas under strict stratigraphical control from carefully recorded sections, particularly in the Arctic, and to evaluate them taxonomically, phylogenetically, and as guide-fossils.
Standard chronostratigraphy of the middle Jurassic (#GRANTNO 6108)
1985-88 £4975 over 3 years
- Project proposal: Definitions, correlations and standard zonations of the Bathonian and Callovian stages world-wide, based primarily on ammonite biostratigraphy in different faunal provinces: Tethyan, Submediterranean, Boreal and Pacific. Correlations with parallel standard zonations based e.g. on magnetostragraphy and micropalaeontology. Classical technigues of field-work: collection and preparation of fossil faunas under strict stratigraphical control from carefully recorded Sections, particularly in Europe, the Arctic, North Americia and the southern Tethys (India); their taxonomic and stratigraphical evualution particularly in comparison with comparison with reference material in museum collections.

M R Carroll
Bristol University, Geology
Subglacial volcanism and water contents of mantle plume magmas (#GRANTNO Feb98/GR9)
1998-99 £9578 over 1 year

Project proposal: The large magma volumes produced by mantle plumes are usually attributed to higher mantle temperatures, which lead to larger degrees of melting. Higher mantle water contents may also cause higher degrees of melting but original magmatic water contents of subaerial lavas are difficult to estimate because they degas during eruption. We propose to collect and analyze a suite of subglacial pillow basalts erupted in Iceland during the last Glacial Maximum; eruption under confining pressures up to several hundred bars inhibits degassing. Preliminary determinations of glass water contents in the quenched pillow rims from several Icelandic localities show water contents as high as 1.09 wt per cent. Additional sampling and analytical work will allow us to evaluate the relative importance of mantle water content and temperature in producing large magma volumes at hot spots.

C J Caseldine
Exeter University, Geography
Late Weichselian, early and middle Holocene environmental and climatic change in Northern Iceland (#GRANTNO 10207)
1995-97 £18301 over 2 years

Project proposal: To develop a high resolution proxy record of climatic and environmental change from a range of varying terrestrial sites representing different altitudinal bands in Northern Iceland between ca 11000-6000 BP utilising a detailed radiocarbon-dated tephrochronology. Use of pollen, macrofossil and selected isotope from gyttja sediments from topogenous fens and peat from sloping fens at a range of altitudes (0-700m) on the Trollaskagi peninsula, northern Iceland to develop altitudinal gradients of environmental and climatic change. Of central importance is a high resolution chronology to be provided by detailed radiocarbon dating of over 50 tephra horizons identified in the sediments.

K Coe
Exeter University, Geology
A study of the petrology and structure of the Pre-Ketilidian rocks in the Buksefjord region, West Greenland (#GRANTNO 01479)
1972-79 £27613 over 7 years

Project proposal: To study (1) Structural and petrological relations between gneisses and basic rocks, the origin of anorthosites and ultramafics, (2) the nature of the high amphibolite/granulite facies boundary, (3) the assessment of strain in high grade metamorphic rocks. Geological mapping at 1:10,000 or 1:20,000. Structural and geochemical analysis.

K Coe/B Chadwick
Exeter University, Geology
A field and laboratory study of the Ivisartoq map sheet, an area of Archean rocks in southern west Greenland (#GRANTNO 04237)
1981-85 £37813 over 5 years

Project proposal: To further understanding of the conditions of formation of Archaean crust; to investigate progressive changes in conditions and processes operating by making comparisons with other Archaean areas and with areas of more recent development. Field studies will include accurate mapping of lithological types, metamorphic grade boundaries and rock units according to age. A chronology and detailed structural history will be established. Laboratory studies will be used to determine (a) mineral and chemical changes taking place during metamorphism and structural evolution and (b) the source of magmatic rocks.

A Cooper
Oxford University, Biological Anthropology
Ancient DNA analysis of Beringian paleoecology in the Late Pleistocene (#GRANTNO Jul98/GR3)
1998-2001 £158473 over 3 years

Project proposal: Preliminary studies have revealed that Arctic permafrost deposits of Late Pleistocene mammalian bones contain considerable amounts of preserved DNA, providing an opportunity to examine the genetic consequences and population responses to climatic fluctuations and environmental change over the past 35,000 years. We will use genetic data from up to 40 specimens each of bison, mammoth, moose, caribou, brown and short-faced bears to observe the effects of genetic isolation in glacial refugia, genetic continiuity of paleoecosystems over long time periods, and the comparative genetic diversity and relationship of Late Pleistocene populations to those of the modern day.

J W Cowie
Bristol University, Geology
Precambrian/Cambrian of the boreal region (abstract in NERC Series D, 1977, No.9, p.14) palaeontology and stratigraphy of UK, arctic Canada and Greenland
1974-76 £5353 over 2 years

R M M Crawford/R J A Abbott
St Andrews University, Biology
Indicators of deleterious effects of climatic change in arctic plant populations [Arctic Terrestrial Ecology Programme] (no abstract/ #GST 532)
1991-96 £88897 over 3 years

G B Curry
Glasgow University, Geology
Collection of living brachiopods from Spitsbergen and Norway (#GRANTNO 6531) NN2, 1987
1987 £1356 for 1 month

Project proposal: To collect a range of living brachiopod genera from Arctic waters, which will be used in projects investigating morphometrics, genetics and immunology. Specimens will be collected by dredging from the German research ship "Polarstern" on cruise Ark IV/2, 7 June to 2 July 1987. Arrangements will be made to pick up additional specimens from marine labs in Spitzbergen, Tromso and Oslo.

W A Deer
Cambridge University, Earth Sciences
Expedition to East Greenland (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 113-114)
[1960s] £30227 over 4 years

D L Dineley
Bristol University, Geology
Collection of Siluro-Devonian Agnatha from Arctic Canada (joint expedition with US and Canada) (#GRANTNO 05960)
1990-91 £9400 over 2 years

Project proposal: To collect critical vertebrate material from well documented stratigraphic sections in Silurian and Devonian formations both marine and non-marine facies) in Somerset Island, Arctic Canada. Material of juvenile agnathans and of rare apparently aberrant forms will allow phylogenetic lineages in both cyathaspids and early traquairaspids to be traced. With logistic and financial support from and co-operation with American and Canadian bodies localities in Somerset Island, discovered by the PI, will be examined. Collecting will be confined to few horizons for which all biostratigraphic data will also be gathered. The material will be used in the completion of palaeobiological and stratigraphical studies of the agnatha.

J A Dowdeswell
University of Wales Aberystwyth, Earth Sciences

Glaciological measurements and modelling of surging ice caps in Svalbard (#GRANTNO 04663)
1982-88 £118743 over 6 years
- Project proposal: Large-scale glaciological study of surging ice caps in Nordaustlandet, Svalbard to better understand (1) fundamental physical mechanisms of large-scale surging activity, (2) coupling and response between climatic variables and ice dynamics with possible applications to other present-day and former ice sheets. Development of joint programme with Norsk Polarinstitutt. Fieldwork will include (1) airborne radio echo sounding of ice thickness, surface and bed conditions, (2) measurement of surface velocity (by satellite geoceiver), near-surface mass balance and temperature. Computer modelling of ice cap dynamics will use these data and numerical methods based on finite elements.
Form and flow of the ice caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic (#GRANTNO 9958)
1995-98 £161396 over 3 years
- Project proposal: Produce digital map of ice margins and ice divides for ice caps in Severnaya Zemlya. Describe digitally ice cap surface form, thickness & bed elevation. Interpret ice cap flow dynamics. Measure ice cap mass balance and thermal structure. Model numerically response of ice caps to climate change in context of strong climatic gradient across Eurasian High Arctic. Use digital Landsat imagery and GPS points to map ice margins and ice divides. Use 620 MHz radio-echo sounder to describe ice topography and thickness on regional grid and flowlines. Model ice cap dynamics and response to environmental change using 3-d time-dependent finite difference (for Late Weichselian) and energy balance (for next 50-200 yr) methods.

J A Dowdeswell
Cambridge University, Scott Polar Research Institute

Glaciological investigations of ice cap dynamics in the Russian High Arctic (#GRANTNO 8507) NN23, 1992
[1992] £154372
- Project proposal (a) To produce a digital map of the ice margins and ice divides on the ice caps of Franz Josef Land, Russian High Arctic, using Landsat CCTs and GPS points. (b) To conduct airborne radio echo sounding of the ice caps on Franz Josef Land over systematic grids and along major ice flowlines. (c) To use Landsat imagery and radio echo sounding data to infer the dynamics of the major drainage basins within the archipelago. (d) To model, using a 3-dimensional time-dependent finite difference approach, the response of the ice caps on Franz Josef Land to determine (i) future global warming and potential contribution to global sea level change, and (ii) climate change over the last glacial-interglacial cycle. (e) To conduct a preliminary investigation of the glaciology of the more easterly archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya using Landsat digital data.
  - Metadata:the Franz Josef Land Digital Map (on Exabyte tape) may be viewed by arrangement with the PI.
Long-range side-scan sonar investigations of the Polar North Atlantic: patterns and processes of sedimentation on a glaciated passive continental margin (#GRANTNO 8508) NN23, 1992
[1992] £99624
- Project proposal: A 41 day cruise to the Polar North Atlantic margins took place in summer 1994. Approximately 300,000 sq.km. of the sea floor from continental shelf break to deep ocean were imaged, using GLORIA long-range side-scan sonar and 3.5 kHz equipment, along the Svalbard-Barents Sea and Greenland continental margins. This formed the main dataset used in this project. The study was a major UK contribution to the European Science Foundation programme on the "Polar North Atlantic Margins: Late Cenozoic Evolution" (PONAM), and also served to integrate groups of scientists from several countries, who participated in the cruise and subsequent data interpretation.
  - Metadata: the GLORIA long-range side-scan digital mosaics are stored on a CD-ROM. A copy is archived at the Southampton Oceanography Centre.
Turbid plumes derived from glacial meltwaters: dynamics, forcing factors and sedimentation (#SMALLNO 0679)
1992-93 £14487 over 1 year
- Project proposal: (1) To measure the changing extent and thickness of a plume of turbid glacial meltwater entering a Spitsbergen fjord through the melt season. (2) To describe the stream discharge meteorological and oceanographic parameters affecting time-dependent plume dynamics and assess their importance as forcing factors. (3) To examine the resulting pattern and rate of sedimentation. Use remote camera located at elevated site to photograph turbid plume at hourly intervals. Acquire and analyse data on fjord currents, water turbidity, salinity, temperature. Analyse data on tides, wind and meltwater discharge collected by research station staff. Acquire and analyse cores. Assess sedimentation rates using traps and Pb210 dating. Correlate with plume dynamics using time series analysis.

J A Dowdeswell
Bristol University, Geographical Sciences

Geophysical and geological investigations of sedimentation and ice-ocean variability on Arctic continental margins (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1998-2001 £242192 over 3 years
with
N H KENYON, Southampton Oceanography Centre
T Rosell-Mélé, Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry Research Group, University of Newcastle
- Project proposal: We will investigate the development of the continental margins of the Polar North Atlantic during the Late Quaternary, which is related strongly to the growth and decay of ice sheets on Greenland and Eurasia. The glacial and palaeoceanographic conditions in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea are, in turn, linked to Quaternary climate change. Variations in ice-ocean-climate interactions on the Polar North Atlantic margins have produced a distinctive record, including huge submarine fans, slides and channel systems, and deep-ocean sediments which indicate palaeoceanography and ice-sheet dynamics. Side-scan sonar, 3.5 kHz profiling and core data will be used to investigate: debris-flow dimensions, frequency, and mechanical properties; the timing and character of a submarine mega-slide and a channel system; sedimentation rates, past ice-sheet dynamics and ocean conditions. These geophysical and geological data will be linked with two numerical modelling studies: to test numerical ice-sheet model predictions on time-dependent glacial sediment flux to the margin and to calibrate a numerical model of submarine debris-flow mechanics.
Geometry and dynamics of large ice caps in the Canadian high Arctic (#GRANTNO Dec98/GR3)
1999-2002 £153394 over 3 years

H I Drever
St Andrews University, Geology
Geological expedition to Ubekendt Ejland, West Greenland
1965-66 £1905 over 2 years

D J Drewry
Cambridge University, Scott Polar Research Institute
Glaciological measurements and modelling of surging ice caps in Svalbard (#GRANTNO 4663) (abstract in NERC Series D, 1985, No.26, p.13)
1982-85 £58842 over 3 years

D J Drewry/V Squire
Cambridge University, Scott Polar Research Institute
Climate-related remote sensing of polar ice (#GRANTNO 04662)
1982-86 £111548 over 4 years

Project proposal:Conduct joint SPRI-RAL airborne remote sensing and concurrent surface studies of land and sea ice in N Atlantic to (1) investigate role of ice and ice-ocean interactions in modulating global climate, (2) improve and develop radar altimeter techniques and data analysis in relation to anticipated participation in ESA remote sensing projects especially 1986 launch of ERS-la. Ground-based measurements of physical and electromagnetic properties of ice/snow (standard and new (cavity) techniques), surface and airborne studies (cm-wave) length altimeters, microwave radiometers, aerial photo of sea ice in E Greenland Sea and (using above plus m-wave length radar ice sounder and new 1GHz system developed during this project.

C H Emeleus
Durham University, Geological Sciences
The petrology of the Igaliko Nepheline Syenite Complex, South Greenland (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 114-116)
1965-66 £4200 over 3 years

P R Evans
Durham University, Zoology
Seasonal changes in flight muscle mass in shorebirds: implications for population dynamics (#GRANTNO 5010) (abstract in NERC Series D, 1985, No.26, p.27) arctic-breeding birds
1983-85 £30198 over 2 years

I J Fairchild
Birmingham University, Geology
The cyanobacterial imprint on late precambrian carbonates (#GRANTNO 6533)
1987-90 £3656 over 3 years

Project proposal: To compare the origin of late proterozoic stromatolitic carbonates with that of associated inorganic carbonates. To review the consequences for microstructural taxonomy of stromatolites, and hence for stromatolite biostratigraphy. To review timing and mechanism of dolomitization and subsequent events in typical shallow marine proterozoic dolostones. Study of material from the Canyon Formation of central east Greenland and collaboratively, the Draken Formation of NE Spitsbergen and the Atar Dolomite of NW Africa. Combination of existing field data and detailed petrography including cathodoluminescence and UV fluorescence, minor element analysis by ICP spectrometry, carbon and oxygen isotopic analysis.
- Metadata: PI states that no new material was collected during the grant. Material used (rock specimens and thin sections) are curated by the Curator, School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham.
  See also References to the data.

A Fallick/M Pringle
Scottish University Research and Reactor Centre (SURRC), East Kilbride, Glasgow: Isotope Geoscience Unit
Calibrating geological and astronomical time: the Neogene volcanic stratigraphy of Iceland (abstract in NERC database) NNSummer, 1996
1996-98 £103572 over 2 years

A Ferguson
Queen's University of Belfast, Biochemistry
Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the phylogeographic origins and genetic interactions of two brown trout races (#GRANTNO 7601)
1990-92 £30466 over 2 years

Project proposal: To determine the phylogenetic and geographical origins, and the pattern of post-glacial spread of the two major races of brown trout in north-western Europe. To examine the genetic effects of natural and artificial mixing of the two races and the implications of such mixing for genetic resource conservation and management. Restriction endonuclease analysis, using a range of four, five and six base recognition enzymes, to reveal mitochondrial DNA polymorphism in natural populations of brown trout in Ireland, Scotland and Iceland. Polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of mitochondrial DNA regions in selected key lineages identified by restriction analysis.

J G Fitton
Edinburgh University, Geology and Geophysics

Geodynamic significance of the Siberian flood basalt province NN24, 1993
[1993] £75974
Mechanisms of crustal accretion in Iceland (#GRANTNO 1897)
1995-96 £23211 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To test the Palmason model of crustal accretion in Iceland using predictions based on observed compositional differences between lavas erupted in the neovolcanic zone and those preserved in the Tertiary lava pile. Quantification of the relationship between magma composition and lava-flow volume and site of eruption. Basaltic lava samples will be collected from large and small flows, erupted on and off axis, and analysed for major and trace elements and radiogenic isotope ratios in order to assess the degree of depletion in the mantle source.

J G Fitton/D Saunders
Edinburgh University, Geology and Geophysics
Nature and origin of the Iceland plume [Ocean Drilling Programme] (no abstract/#GST 673)
1992-94 £59542 over 2 years

J J M Flegg
British Trust for Ornithology
Conservation of wading birds in Britain, migration studies (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.22) some data collected in Iceland
1972 £1310 over 6 months

G R Foulger
Durham University, Geological Sciences

Establishing a Durham GPS capability (#GRANTNO 7151)
1987-89 £9058 over 3 years
- Project proposal: Precise positioning using the Navstar GPS is being developed rapidly in the USA. It promises the ultimate possibility of making rapid geodetic measurements with an accuracy that will enable present day tectonic movements to be monitored. The principle objective is to establish links with workers in the USA, initiate the first GPS field geodetic study with UK involvement and gain experience in data reduction, with a view to ultimately establishing a Durham GPS effort. The PI will co-operate with USA and Icelandic scientists in the establishment of a geodetic network in the South Iceland Seismic Zone using GPS receivers in August 1986, and its remeasurement annually or biannually. A number of trips will be made to the USA in order to reduce the data and gain familiarity with various aspects of the hardware and data processing.
Neotectonics of the north Iceland accretionary plate boundary using GPS satellite surveying (#GRANTNO 6676) NN2, 1987
1987-90 £31609 over 3 years
- Project proposal: Following 8m of local crustal widening in the Krafla fissure swarm, N.Iceland, the principal objective is to monitor broad lateral tectonic response in those adjacent rift, transform and intraplate regions that have become loaded. The project will study the interdependence of volcanism, crustal accretion and plate motion. A dense, 15,000 km2 geodetic network encompassing the plate boundary will be installed using GPS satellite surveying techniques, measuring 1225 baselines. Several older networks will be remeasured yielding immediate neotectonic results. The survey is mounted in collaboration with Icelandic, American and German scientists.
Neotectonics of the north Iceland accretionary plate boundary using GPS satellite surveying: Phase 2, the first remeasurement (#SMALLNO 0161)
1990-91 £10000 over 1 year
- Project proposal: (1) Study of the spatial and temporal pattern of post rifting strain relation across the Icelandic spreading plate boundary. (2) Modelling of lithospheric thickness and asthenospheric viscosity. A 63 point, 200 x 200 km geodetic network encompassing the northern volcanic zone of Iceland was measured using GPS satellite surveying in 1987. This network will be remeasured using the same technique in 1990, following an interval of 3 years. The survey will be a UK/Germany/Iceland collaborative project. The strainfield detected will be used to calculate possible rheological models for the Icelandic accretionary plate boundary.
Study of the processes of non-couple earthquakes (#SMALLNO 0377)
1990-91 £4992 over 1 year
- Project proposal: To study the physics of non-double seismic failure, including the source displacement fields, stress conditions, and the role of fluids, to discover the physical conditions that result in such failure, and new implications for rock mechanics theory. We will collect high quality digital earthquake data from the Hengill volcano-geothermal area, Iceland, using 35 REFTEK data loggers in a 25x30km network for 3 months. We anticipate recording 1000 events within the network. We will apply seismic tomography, ray tracing to correct focal sphere plots, p- and s-wave amplitude modelling for moment density tensors and waveform modelling to obtain source time histories.
Study of crustal deformation around the spreading and transform plate boundary in Iceland using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) satellite surveying (#SMALLNO 0834)
1992-93 £7578 over 1 year
- Project proposal: (1) To improve constraint of the current rapid deformations in and around the Krafla spreading segment, NE Iceland, and to model the results to study the rheology, structure and stress diffusivity close to the spreading plate boundary. (2) To study interseismic strain accumulation in the SISZ and seek preseismic strain precursors. We will use NERC GPS receivers to (1) remeasure and densify strategic parts of our existing, rapidly-deforming, GPS network in NE Iceland, (2) participate in the resurveying of the SISZ GPS network with USA and Icelandic colleagues. The data will be processed using the Bernese GPS software and the deformation results modelled using analytical and numerical methods.
Spatial and temporal variations in stress field that accompany spreading episodes and large earthquakes and resulting tectonic and morphological evolution (#GST 1144)
1995-97 £74383 over 2 years
- Project proposal: To (1) refine models of the spreading cycle and structure at the Krafla accretionary segment, N. Iceland; (2) determine and regional stressfield variations accompanying a single cycle, a series of historic cycles and many cycles in N. Iceland; (3) assess segment evolution, inter-segment event triggering and morphological dependencies in N. Iceland and on the Reykjanes ridge. Collect new GPS data, assemble old geodetic data spanning 60 years of a spreading cycle in N. Iceland and the Reykjanes ridge, predict tectonic history, morphology and evolution, compare with history and morphology and test theories of tectonic cyclicity.
Imaging the Iceland ridge-centred hotspot [IRICH] (#GST 1238)
1995-98 £10000 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To determine the structure of the Iceland surface to about 1,000km depth. To obtain models of 3-D P- and S-Seismic velocity, anelasticity, anisotropy, temperature, melt distribution, density and viscosity. To relate the results to crustal and mantle structure and processes, plume origin, morphology and dynamics, melt flow and ridge-plume interaction. High-quality digital teleseismic data from permanent and temporary networks in Iceland, Britain, Norway and on the N. Atlantic sea floor will be collected and used to study crustal and mantle structure using the methods of receiver function modelling, seismic velocity and attenuation tomography and seismic arrival time delays. Existing data, e.g. gravity will be integrated to determine other physical properties e.g. melt distribution.
Structure of the crust and upper mantle of Iceland: confronting the current controversy (abstract in NERC database) NNSpring, 1997
1997-99 £77072 over 2 years

P F Friend
Cambridge University, Earth Sciences
Upper Palaeozoic sedimentary and tectonic history of East Greenland (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 47)
1967-68 £17066 over 3 years
Metadata see: Friend, P.F., et al, Meddelelser om Grønland, 1983, Vol.206, No.6, pp.1-96, "Devonian sediments of East Greenland, IV - Review of results."

C R L Friend
Oxford Brookes University, Geology
Ultra-high resolution of the evolution and architecture of archaean high-grade gneiss complexes (#GRANTNO 8879)
1993-96 £26572 over 3 years

Project proposal: To investigate the extent of early archaean rocks in West Greenland. To establish accurate protolith ages and ages of important metamorphic events for a poorly known part of archaean crust. To understand the place of these events in late archaean terrane assembly. New fieldwork and shrimp single zircon U/PB dating to reveal the extent of early archaean rocks. The ultra-high resolution of the ages of magmatic and metamorphic events will facilitate better modelling for a) early crustal evolution and b) the mechanisms for the assembly of early continental crust.

P D Fry
Luton College of Higher Education, Science
The ecological roles of pycnogonids on N E Atlantic and E Arctic demersal fishing grounds (#GRANTNO 3558) (abstract in NERC Series D, 1980, No.16, p.25)
1978-81 £26697 over 3 years

W G Fry
Luton College of Higher Education, Science
The ecological roles of pycnogonids on N E Atlantic and E Arctic demersal fishing grounds (#GRANTNO 03558)
1978-81 £28167 over 3 years

Project proposal: To determine the role(s) of numerically dominant pycnogonid species in foodwebs on demersal fishing grounds in the North Sea and East Arctic. Bionomic, biometric, biomass and zoogeographic analysis of existing and future pycnogonid collections, in collaboration with UK and European fisheries authorities and museums, in relation to associated benthos, ground characteristics, water masses and commercial fisheries. Analysis of demersal fish stomach contents.

N H Gale
Oxford University, Geology and Mineralogy
Analysis of geological and meteoritic materials for uranium and thorium by delayed neutron method (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 58-59) incl. Greenland/Iceland samples
1960s £5000 for 3 years

K Gallagher
Imperial College: University of London, Geology
The long-term denudation chronology of the East Greenland margin (North of 72degN): the role of the margin as an analogue for exploration beyond the North Sea (abstract in NERC database)
1997-99 £17815 over 2 years

R A Gayer
University College Cardiff: University of Wales, Geology

Geological investigations of the Porsangerfjord area of West Finnmark, North Norway
1965-66 £1300 for 2 years
The correlation of the Caledonian Sequence of Vest Finnmark and Nor Troms, N. Norway
1967-68 £3030 over 3 years
The development of the Caledonian orogeny in Finnmark, North Norway (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.58)
1971-74 £5625 for 3 years
The tectonic controls of Finnmark Caledonides, North Norway (abstract in NERC Series D, 1977, No.9, p.7)
1974-77 £9610 for 3 years

I L Gibson
Bedford College: University of London, Geology
A geological and geophysical drilling investigation in eastern Iceland (#GRANTNO 3554) (abstract in NERC Series D, 1979, No.13, p.5)
1978 £34747 over 6 months

J D Haigh
Imperial College: University of London, Physics
An investigation into the radiative impact of minor atmospheric constituents and of polar stratospheric clouds on stratospheric ozone distribution [Universities Global Atmospheric Modelling Community Research Project UGAMP] (no abstract/#GST 678)
1992-95 £44632 over 3 years

M J Hambrey
Liverpool John Moores University, Biological and Earth Science
Facies and landforms associated with thrusting in a surge-type, tidewater glacier, Svalbard (abstract in NERC database)
1996-97 £24417 over 2 years

W B Harland
Cambridge University, Earth Sciences

Geophysical, stratigraphical and paleontological investigations in Spitsbergen (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 79-80)
1967-68 £1500 over 1 year
- Metadata see: Harland, W.B., "The Geology of Svalbard", published by Geological Society, London; 1997, 521pp. (Geological Society Memoir No.17)
Reconstruction of Caledonian geology in Spitsbergen as a key to tectonic evolution of the Arctic and North Atlantic (#GRANTNO 04342)
1981-83 £56683 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To determine successive palaeogeological configurations, from late Precambrian through mid-Palaeozoic time, and especially to estimate distribution of the strike-slip component in the Caledonian orogen plus the location and history of Iapetus Ocean. Two field studies (each in 2 years) of: (1) geosynclinal strata to find source direction of Vendian ice sheets, other sediments, and earlier volcanics; (2) strain of metamorphic rock structure 15 km deep in geosyncline to test new ideas of localized or general shear zones. To test competing Arctic-North Atlantic palaeogeologic reconstructions from a comprehensive library study.
- Metadata see: Harland, W.B., "The Geology of Svalbard", published by Geological Society, London; 1997, 521pp. (Geological Society Memoir No.17)
Vendian stratigraphy and sedimentology of the East Greenland Caledonides in relation to the tectonic evolution of the North Atlantic region (#GRANTNO 05438) NNJ, Vol.3,No.5, March 1985
1984-88 £102872 over 3 years
- Project proposal: in relation to the East Greenland depositional environment and to erect detailed stratigraphical correlations with an apparently almost identical sequence in east Svalbard, and with similar sequences in Scandinavia, Scotland and Newfoundland. By means of a 2-season collaborative field programme, focusing particularly on a Vendian tillite sequence, palaeocurrent and other sedimentological data will be assembled. Geochemical techniques are expected to aid correlation. Associated groups will obtain palaeomagnetic, radiometric and biostratigraphic data. Thus the role of major strike-slip motions in the Caledonides will be assessed.
- Metadata see: Harland, W.B., "The Geology of Svalbard", published by Geological Society, London; 1997, 521pp. (Geological Society Memoir No.17)

J K Hart
Southampton University, Geography
An investigation of the dynamics driving the responses of ice caps to climatic forcing (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1999 £46333 over 1 year
with
P R SAMMONDS, Department of Geographical Sciences, University College London
A J PAYNE, Department of Geography, University of Southampton

Project proposal: The response of ice sheets and glaciers to climatic forcing (and thus any resultant sea level change) depends not only on mass balance changes, but also on the nature of the underlying substratum (deforming bed). It has been recently suggested that in West Antarctica, the behaviour of the fastest moving parts of the ice sheet (the ice streams) are particularly sensitive to the behaviour of this underlying layer. However, the exact geotechnical behaviour of the subglacial till is not clear and the few process studies that have been carried out in recent years have produced differing results. There is now an urgent need to understand till behaviour and its relationship to glacier dynamics. This project will investigate the behaviour of a small Arctic ice cap (Langajökull, Iceland). This will be carried out by detailed ice cap survey; ice sheet modelling; and subglacial process. This ice cap has been chosen because it is small enough to be studied as a whole and rests on deformable sediments.

A D Headley
University of Bradford, Environmental Science
Photosynthetic and respiratory responses to temperature in some arctic plants of varying latitudinal range [Arctic Terrestrial Ecology Programme] (no abstract/#GST 530)
1991-94 £102772 over 3 years

I D Hodkinson
Liverpool John Moores University, Biological and Earth Science
Temperature climate change and environmental constraints on the life history strategies of arctic terrestrial invertebrates [Arctic Terrestrial Ecology Programme] (no abstract/#GST 534)
1991-94 £170000 over 3 years

M J Hole/G Rogers
Aberdeen University, Geology and Mineralogy
The relationship between picritic magmatism, mantle plumes and continental break-up (#SMALLNO 1581)
1994-96 £18661 over 2 years

Project proposal: To investigate the relationship between trace element depleted picritic dykes within the British Tertiary Igneous Province and those associated with the Iceland plume, and to assess the implications for the thermal controls on continental flood basalt magmatism and continental break-up. (1) Expansion of a preliminary high-precision trace element database. (2) Generation of a stable and radiogenic isotope database. Use of the above geochemical data to examine the possible source regions for the magmas and the mechanisms of magma generation and emplacement during plume-related continental break-up.

P R Hooper
University College Swansea - University of Wales, Geology
The correlation of the Caledonian Sequence of Vest Finnmark and Nor Troms, N. Norway
1967-68 £2068 over 3 years

J A Johnson/P D Stevens
University of East Anglia, Mathematics and Physics
Numerical model of the Norwegian and Greenland Seas (#GRANTNO 6716) NN4, 1988
1988-89 £19941 over 1.5 years

Project proposal: To develop numerical models of the Norwegian and Greenland seas, that include open boundary conditions to the adjacent seas and oceans. Further numerical analysis to deal with the effects of sea ice data assimilation. The 1984 Cox code for baroclinic ocean circulation is running on the CYBER 205 at UMRCC with topography, coastline and stratification appropriate to the Norwegian and Greenland seas.
- Metadata: PI states "no data collected"

J A Johnson
University of East Anglia, Mathematics and Physics
Numerical model of the Norwegian and Greenland Seas (#SMALLNO 0164)
1990-92 (amount of grant not stated)

Project proposal: To develop a fine resolution numerical model of the Norwegian and Greenland Seas. To use a three-dimensional primitive equation ocean model coupled to a sea-ice model.

K C Jones
Lancaster University, Environmental and Biological Sciences

The use of lead isotope ratios for source apportionment of natural and anthropogenic lead inputs to the Norwegian arctic and sub-arctic (#SMALLNO 0846)
1992-94 £3000 over 2 years
- Project proposal: Use ICP-MS techniques to measure the lead isotope ratios of sectioned, dated peat cores collected from various locations in Norway. These cores have/are being analysed for a full suite of heavy metals and trace organic contaminants to build up the most complete picture of long-term inputs in pollutant fluxes to remote areas of Arctic and sub-Arctic. Sectioned peat core samples will be digested and prepared for analysis at Lancaster, but analysed for 206pb/207pb at the Scotish Universities Research and Reactor Centre.
Temporal trends and the spatial distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls and other trace organic contaminants in sub-arctic and arctic regions: A study using high resolution peat coring (#SMALLNO 0606)
1992 £13868 over 1 year
- Project proposal: Make measurements of PCBs and other trace organics in dated sectioned samples of Norwegian peat profiles obtained from a range of ombrotrophic peat bogs between 58degN and 70degN, to examine temporal trends in deposition over the last 50 or so years and look for evidence of atmospheric transfer of these chemicals to sub-Arctic and Arctic regions. Sample peats from 10 location (in collaboration with Norwegian scientists) using a high resolution corer developed by Professor Clymo at London University. Analyse the samples at Lancaster by capillary GC-ECD/GC-MSD and quantify over 50 individual organochlorine compounds.

R L Jones
Cambridge University, Chemistry, Centre for Atmospheric Science

Studies of polar stratospheric ozone using numerical models and observations obtained during the AAOE and AASE campaigns (#SMALLNO 0388)
1991-92 £13510 over 1.5 years
- Project proposal: To study the processes relevant to ozone depletion in Polar regions. To investigate the chemical evolution of the low stratosphere during the 1988/89 northern winter using numerical models and AASE data, and to use data from both the 1988/89 AASE and the 1987 AAOE campaigns to study the wider hemispheric effects of photochemical perturbations in polar regions. The study will make use of ensembles of air mass trajectories from the Meteorological Office strat./mes. model to simulate the behaviour of the 1988/89 northern winter vortex, and a Lagrangian photochemical model to compute ozone loss. Observations from the AAOE and AASE campaigns will be used to investigate transport of air from polar regions to lower latitudes.
Observation and modelling studies of reactive constituents in the polar low stratosphere (#GRANTNO 8176) NN18, 1991
1991-95 £49858 over 4 years
- Project proposal: To make and interpret measurements of the concentrations of nitrogen, chlorine and bromine oxides in the lower stratosphere in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. To observe the seasonal evolution of chemical composition in both polar regions. To improve understanding of the processes which lead to global ozone loss. A novel star-pointing UV-visible spectrometer will be used to obtain measurements of OCIO, NO2, NO3, BrO and O3 in the northern hemisphere during the 1991-1992 European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Expedition, and in the Antarctic during the 1993 winter. Zero-dimensional and trajectory photochemical models will be used to interpret the observations.

R L Jones/J A Pyle
Cambridge University, Chemistry
Modelling of the Northern Hemisphere lower stratosphere during the EASOE campaign (#GRANTNO 8171) NN18, 1991
1991-94 £14363 over 3 years

Project proposal: To study the chemical and dynamical evolution of the lower stratosphere during the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE) November 1991 - March 1992. To study processes relevant to ozone depletion; to attempt to quantify ozone loss; to study transport of chemically perturbed air to lower latitudes. The study will be carried out using numerical modelling techniques. Global studies will use the UGAMP model, with improved photochemical and physico-chemical packages, the latter for processes on polar stratospheric clouds. A trajectory model will be developed and used.

S Laxon
University College London, Space and Climate Physics
Arctic Ocean circulation and ice freeboard through space-borne altimetry (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1998-2001 £124833 over 4 years

Project proposal: This proposal uses novel satellite techniques to provide large-scale quantitative measurements of oceans and sea ice which are of direct relevance to the polar climate system. It will exploit the unique capability developed at UCL to ingest and analyse satellite altimeter data over ice-covered seas. Our studies show that, using a repeated time-series of altimeter height profiles, spaceborne measurements of ocean variability and ice freeboard, and thus ice thickness, can be obtained over the Arctic Ocean. The proposed programme aims to build on these discoveries to generate a five-year time-series of these parameters from current and future satellite missions; ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat. Our comparisons of model and observed ocean variability will provide essential quantitative validation of ocean model predictions in the Arctic. The first-ever maps of sea ice thickness, from satellite estimates of ice freeboard, will be generated and validated against upward-looking sonars.

A Long
Durham University, Geography
Late Quaternary ice sheet dynamics in West Greenland (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1999-2002 £85836 over 3 years
with
J LLOYD, Department of Geography, University of Durham
M RASCH, Danish Polar Center
D A KUIJPERS, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
R PELTIER, Department of Physics, University of Toronto

Project proposal: Our aim is to investigate the dynamics of the Arctic Continental margins since the last glacial maximum (LGM). The work will involve two cruises in Disko Bugt, West Greenland, where new data relating to relative sea-level change and glacio-isostatic rebound will be collected and used to model ice sheet dynamics. This work will be paralleled by a seismic survey and a programme of piston core collection. These offshore records will be used to assess the evidence for rapid instabilities in the ice sheet margin since the LGM by tracking episodes of meltwater/iceberg and sediment release through Disko Bugt to the outer shelf edge. In addition the empirical data and model outputs will be compared with existing climate records to examine the sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet to climate change. The work is interdisciplinary and benefits from the close involvement of the Arctic Toronto.

R E Long
Durham University, Geological Sciences
North Iceland Seismic Experiment, (NISE). (#GRANTNO 05779)
1985-86 £3000 over 1 year

Project proposal: Following the first observations of tensile crack type earthquakes the principle objective is to test the hypothesis that such events characterise accretionary plate boundaries. This experiment will also investigate the top 20km beneath a spreading centre, being the first phase of a project to determine the detailed deep structure of this anoomalous zone. A dense seismometer network with an aperture of about 20km will be deployed to record both local and teleseismic earthquakes. The Krafla area of northern Iceland where spreading has positively been identified is chosen as an appropriate one for this experiment which is mounted in collaboration with Icelandic scientists.

K McCaffrey
Kingston University, Geological Sciences
Tectonothermal processes in orogenic belts: rates and controls (#GRANTNO Dec98/GR3)
1999-2001 £91585 over 2 years

Project proposal: Oblique convergence is characterised by partitioning of tectonic transport into arc-normal and arc-parallel components resulting in contrasting tectonic signatures within the magmatic are compared to the fore- and back-arc settings. The East coast of South Greenland provides a complete transect through a Palaeoproterozoic arc system exposed at mid-crustal levels. A combined structural, precise geochronic and geochemical approach will enable us to: determine the role of plutonism; timing and rates of tectonic decoupling; geometry of deforming partitioning; the nature of the lower crust and its contribution to the tectonic reorganisation of this arc system. We expect to impact on current debate on rapid and episodic thermal events in orogenesis and mid-crustal behaviour of the overriding plate during subduction.

D McKenzie
Cambridge University, Earth Sciences
Melt generation beneath Iceland (#SMALLNO 1151) NN27, 1993
1993-96 £14967 over 3 years

Project proposal: The PI wishes to combine detailed field observations on a small segment of Mid-Atlantic Ridge in N.E Iceland and detailed analytic studies to understand how melt separates from its residue. Samples from carefully mapped flows that can be stratigraphically dated will be analysed for major, minor and trace elements, as will the fluid inclusions in olivine.

P K H Maguire
Leicester University, Geology
A surface/borehole seismic study of seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) and lower crustal reflectivity beneath the Iceland-Faroes Ridge to constrain models of the development of the Iceland plume (#SMALLNO 1398) NN31, 1995
1994-97 £18283 over 3 years

Project proposal: To determine the 3-D form and internal structure of lavas identified as SDRs off Iceland east coast, to understand their emplacement dynamics above a plume, and off the Faeroes' margin, to develop the thermo- mechanical model of continental rifting over the plume. To investigate lower crustal reflectivity in an environment dominated by young igneous processes. The Faeroes-Iceland Ridge Experiment is scheduled for July 1994. Borehole and surface, wide angled to zero-offset, 3 component recording from the airguns will provide P and S wave models for the SDRs and for the lower crust. Possible re-orientation of S-wave polarizations from the SDRs into the underlying dykes on Iceland will be used to examine the nature of the SDR base.

I L Mainland
Sheffield University, Archeology and Prehistory
A sheep grazing and foddering experiment at the Upernaviarsuk Agricultural Research Station in Qaqortoq (abstract in NERC database) In Greenland; also in Iceland
1996-97 £2176 over 1 year

R G Mason
Imperial College: University of London, Geology

Crustal growth in Iceland (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, page 6)
1967-68 £7215 over 2 years
Crustal growth in Iceland (#GRANTNO 03286)
1977-80 £8412 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To obtain factual information about relative movement, if any, between the eastern and western parts of the country that might be related to present-day spreading of the mid-Atlantic ridge. The geodetic networks established in 1968 and subsequent years across various parts of the post-glacial rift zone, comprising more than 100 concrete markers and last measured in 1972, will be re-measured to an accuracy of better than 1 ppm using a Mekometer.

S D Mobbs
Environmental Centre, Leeds University
Measuring and Modelling Surface Fluxes in the Marginal Ice Zone (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1998-2001 £35237 over 3 years
with
I JONES, Environment Centre, University of Leeds
M J YELLAND, James Rennell Division, Southampton Oceanography Centre
C KING, British Antarctic Survey
P S ANDERSON, British Antarctic Survey

Project proposal: Fluxes of heat, moisture, radiation and momentum vary considerably between ice/atmosphere and ocean/atmosphere interfaces. The intermingling of ice and ocean surfaces in the Marginal Ice Zones causes highly complex behaviour of surface fluxes in this region. Determining air-sea interactions over the polar regions is an essential part of understanding the global climate system. This project will measure radiative and turbulent fluxes in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ). The inhomogeneous nature of the MIZ makes the air-sea interaction there more difficult to predict than that over pack ice or open ocean. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) will be used to model the turbulence above the MIZ. The difference in roughness length, surface temperature and albedo between areas of sea-ice and areas of open water is often great, leading to large variations in heat, moisture, momentum and radiative fluxes. LES modelling can capture the atmospheric response to spatially varying surface conditions on these fine scales more realistically than using parametrisations for all scales of turbulence. Parametrisations of the aggregate (i.e. on scales larger than the leads in the ice) fluxes will be derived from the LES modelling for use in larger scale models. Such parametrisations are necessary in order for global circulation models to simulate and predict climate with more accuracy. Shipboard measurements of heat, moisture, momentum and radiative fluxes will be taken. Atmospheric profiles will be measured using tethered balloon and radiosonde launches. These measurements will be used for initialisation and validation of the modelling.

S Moorbath
Oxford University, Geology and Mineralogy

Geochronological-isotopic investigations of early Archean supracrustal rocks, Isua, Greenland (no abstract) NNJ, Vol.2,No.6, July 1978
[1978] £1726 over 3 months
Geological age and isotope research (#GRANTNO 02724)
1975-80 £37897 over 5 years
- Project proposal: To study the ages of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks especially within the oldest known parts of the earth's crust, e.g. Greenland, southern Africa. To study petrogenetic problems, especially on early Precambrian rocks, granites, continental and oceanic volcanic rocks Rb-Sr and U-Pb age determinations. Pb-Sr isotope and rare earth abundance studies.

S Moorbath/N H Gale
Oxford University, Geology and Mineralogy

Geological age and isotope research (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 72-73) areas of work are Greenland, Norway, Austria and UK
1962-73 £168958 over 11 years
Geological age and isotope research (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.63) areas of work are Greenland, Norway, Austria and UK
1972-75 £53456 over 3 years

T Murray
Leeds University, Geography

Mechanical conditions and "sticky-spots" beneath high Arctic glaciers, Svalbard (abstract in NERC database)
1998-2000 £32372 over 2 years
Multi-annual dynamics and mass balance of Svalbard glaciers (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1999-2001 £32713 over 3 years
with
M HAMBREY, Institute of Geography & Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
A LUCKMAN, Department of Geography, University of Wales, Swansea
J WADHAM, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol
- Project proposal: The contribution of Svalbard glaciers to sea level rise has been estimated to be larger than that of any other Arctic region outside Greenland. The accuracy of this estimate, based on extrapolation of measurements from three glaciers, is called into question because of lack of validation and failure to account for superimposed ice in mass balance and multi-annual ice dynamics in mass transfer. This project will re-assess Svalbard’s contribution to sea-level rise by quantifying the influence of these factors on glaciers previously used in predictions. Fieldwork will measure present dynamics, evidence of past dynamics and superimposed ice formation, and radar interferometry will quantify regional dynamics and volume changes to put the measurements into a wider context. Models will produce a revised estimate of the contribution of Svalbard glaciers to sea level rise and assess the sensitivity of this estimate to climate change.

T Murray / J A Dowdeswell
Leeds University, Geography
Glacier surging and fast flow: subglacial sediment deformation and ice-bed coupling (#GRANTNO 9031)
1993-96 £45694 over 3 years

Project proposal: Characterize basal conditions beneath surging glacier in the high Arctic; measure rheological properties of basal sediments; investigate spatial and temporal variations in partitioning of flow between sliding and deformation year round; identify controls on sediment coupling; identify basal processes that drive surface velocity variations. Use bore-hole instruments (1) thermistor strings to measure glaciar thermal regime; (2) viscosity sensors (plough & drag type) to measure effective viscosity and yield strength of basal sediments; (3) drag spools and tilt-cell strings to measure sliding and sediment deformation in situ beneath actively surging glacier.
- Metadata: Borehole instrumentation data (as above) on PC hard-drive backed up onto 1.6/3.2 Gb tapes or CDs, and floppy discs. GPR data is on CD-ROM, floppy and hard drive, backed up on tape. For access to both please contact PI.
  See also References to the data.

A E Mussett
Liverpool University, Earth Sciences
Ar-Ar dating of Indian, Greenland, Scottish and other rocks (#GRANTNO 7080) 1988-89 £2190 over 1 year

Project proposal: To provide radiometric dates and, in some cases, temperatures of various rocks. Use of the 40Ar-39Ar step-heating method on minerals on whole rocks

P W Nienow
Glasgow University, Geography
Ice dynamics and runoff in high Arctic glaciers and response to climate change (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1999-2002 £53269 over 3 years

Project proposal: An improved understanding of the glacier hydrology and ice dynamics of High Arctic glaciers is critical if the potential importance of the contribution of runoff from these glaciers in response to climate change is to be fully realised. The dynamics of High Arctic glaciers is poorly understood and in particular, it is not clear whether ice-motion responds to changes in sub-glacial hydrology due to the impact of hydrology on rates of basal motion. Since the profile of an ice mass is critical in controlling it’s mass balance (and thus runoff and potential impact on sea-level) and ice dynamics critically affects the profile of a given ice mass, it is essential that we have a better understanding of the controls on the dynamics of Arctic glaciers. We will conduct an integrated field and modelling study which will determine: i) the structure of the sub-glacial drainage system and the hydraulic geometry of the individual passageways of John Evans Glacier, Ellesmere Island; ii) whether the structure of the sub-glacial drainage system evolves spatially during the melt season and if so, what are the mechanisms responsible for this evolution; iii) whether changes in the sub-glacial drainage system affect rates of glacier motion’ iv) the extent to which any changes in glacier motion are the result of changes in the rate of basal sliding.

M R Palmer/K V Ragnarsdottir
Bristol University, Geology
Trace element mobility and B and Sr isotope systematics in active geothermal systems in Iceland (#GRANTNO 7681)NN14, 1990
1991-93 £35150 over 2 years

Project proposal: To study the major and trace element chemistry of fluid and rocks in active geothermal systems in Iceland. This will reveal trace element mobility, isotope systematics and alteration history of MOR hydrothermal systems as well as their analogy for ocean chemistry. Fluid and rocks will be collected from 6-9 geothermal systems and analysed with ICP-MS TIMS, AA, spectrophotometry, microprobe and SEM. The major element results will be modelled with codes that calculate species distribution, phase equilibria and mass transfer. The trace elements and isotope systematics will be compared to current knowledge of MOR hydrothermal fluids.

I Parsons
Aberdeen University, Geology and Mineralogy

Cooling rates in igneous intrusives deduced from feldspar ex-solution microtextures (#GRANTNO 05028)
1982-85 £13480 over 3 years
- Project proposal:We have discovered, using electron microscopy, that microperthitic alkali feldspars in plutonic igneous rocks often contain small volumes which preserve 40-350 mm scale coherent exsolution textures. We have found in one intrusive that their periodicity can be related exactly to distance from contact and hence cooling rate. The aim is to establish the applicability of method. Collection of rock suites, from syenogabbro, syenite, alkali and rapakivigranite intrusives of well defined 3D shape in South Greenland and the Oslo province, offering a range of feldspar compositions. High resolution electron microscope, electron microprobe, and ion microprobe study.
Microtextural variations in plagioclase feldspars from the Skaergaard intrusion (#SMALLNO 0282)
1990-93 £3932 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To explore the use of plagioclase feldspar microstructures to provide quantitative information on the thermal history of igneous rocks. Collection of carefully characterised and located samples from the Skaergaard intrusion, East Greenland; investigation using transmission electron microscopy.

J D A Piper
Liverpool University, Geophysics
Precambrian palaeomagnetic studies in of N.W. Scotland, Greenland and Sweden (abstract in NERC Series D, 1979, No.13, p.9)
1974-80 £8908 over 6 years

M C Press
Manchester University, Environmental Biology
Nutrition of hemiparasitic angiosperms (#GRANTNO 7827)
1991-94 £66512 over 3 years

Project proposal: To determine (1) the extent to which inorganic solutes limit the growth of hemiparasites; (2) the response of stomatal conductance and transpiration rates in hemiparasites to solute supply; (3) host responses to hemiparasitic infection. Perturbation experiments with inorganic solutes, growth of hemiparasites in the absence and presence of host plants. Measurements of growth, nutritional status, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. Abundance of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes. Field investigations in sub-Arctic Sweden, investigations in controlled environments chambers.

J Preston
Queen's University of Belfast, Geology
Structural, petrological and geochemical study of Tertiary basalts in North-West Iceland (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.60)
1971-74 £2207 over 3 years

K Priestley/R S White
Cambridge University, Earth Sciences
ICE: Iceland Crustal Experiment (#GRANTNO 9410) NN31, 1995
1994-97 £96186 over 3 years

Project proposal: To determine crustal thickness and upper mantle structure in NE Iceland neovolcanic zone and integrate this with geochemical, petrological, tectonic and controlled source studies in the same area, and in the context of the North Atlantic spreading centre and the Iceland mantle plume. By installing five broadland seismometers in specially constructed vaults, and deploying a temporary array of 6 further broadband stations across the NE Iceland neovolcanic zone and adjacent crust: analysis using primarily teleseismic receiver functions and modelling of waveforms from local and regional earthquakes.

I R Pringle
Cambridge University, Geodesy and Geophysics
Rb-Sr and U-Pb geochronology and related isotope studies (abstract in NERC Series D, 1977, No.9, p.4) samples from N. Norway and Spitsbergen
1970-80 £68359 over 10 years

D M Ramsay
Dundee University, Geology
Structure and petrogenesis of Caledonian igneous and metamorphic rocks in Northern Norway (#GRANTNO 00017)
1966-79 £19888 over 13 years

Project proposal: To study the anatomy and evolution of the Caledonide orogen in N Norway, including the resolution of the relationship between Ordovician and Late-Silurian orogenic phases. To assess the status and significance of basement involving the nappe pile and to carry out comparative studies of stratigraphy and structure of nappes in the East Finnmark and North Troms areas. Metamorphic and structural geology; fieldwork.

C G Rapley/D J Wingham
University College: University of London, Mullard Space and Climate Physics
Ice sheet and climate interactions (#GRANTNO 9600)
1994-97 £588797 over 3 years

Project proposal:(1) To use the ERS-1 altimeter observations for measuring accurately the elevations of the ice sheets and shelves of Antarctica and Greenland, and to use repeated observations to make estimates of their contribution to the mean sea level; (2) To implement a programme of regional orbit modelling, SAR interferometry and high resolution altimetry to support investigations of ice sheet climate interactions; (3) To implement a field programme to verify these measurements.

H G Reading
Oxford University, Geology and Mineralogy
Sedimentation studies in Finnmark, North Norway (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 51-52)
1960s £5690 for 3 years

W G Rees / J A Dowdeswell
Cambridge University, Scott Polar Research Institute
Analysis and Interpretation of ERS-1 Products from Large Ice Masses (#GST 508) incl. Svalbard, Greenland and Franz Josef Land
1990-93 £46,600 over 3 years

Metadata: See SPRI Technical Reports in Remote Sensing, 1993, No.2., 20pp.

R Riding
University College Cardiff - University of Wales, Geology
Calcareous algae near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary (#GRANTNO 04334)
1980-83 £7742 for 3 years

Project proposal: Systematic revision of late Precambrian and early Cambrian calcareous algae in order to determine their nature and diversity and evaluate possible environmental controls on calcification processes and their significance for events and stratigraphy near the boundary. Collaboration with USSR Academy of Sciences in systematic and stratigraphic study of material from Siberia and Mongolia housed in Moscow; ultrastructural (SEM) studies in Cardiff. Comparison with specimens from Western Europe, North America and Australia in the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

S Runcorn
Newcastle University, Physics
Correlation of paleomagnetic directions and ages of Tertiary igneous rocks (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, page 6) incl. samples from Greenland
[1960s] £23870 for 6 years

P Sammonds/S Murrell
University College: University of London, Geological Sciences
Mechanical properties of Greenland ice under simulated downhole conditions (#SMALLNO 1035) NN26, 1993
1993-94 £17455 over 1.5 years

Project proposal: Determine flow law parameters and other mechanical properties of natural Greenland ice at 200-400m depth intervals down the GRIP borehole by applying simulated downhole temperature/pressure conditions to samples in the laboratory and measuring mechanical properties under these conditions. Deform samples over a range of strain-rates by deviatoric stresses applied at 0 degree, 45 degrees, 90 degrees to the borehole vertical using UCL's specialised servo-controlled, low-triaxial testing apparatus. Concurrently measure acoustic emission to detect cracking and acoustic wave velocity changes to measure development of anisotropy. Perform optical microscopy.

W A Sarjeant
Nottingham University, Geology
Dinoflagellates and acritarchs: their use in Jurassic correlation and paleontology (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.74-75) some studies from Greenland
1970-72 £2600 over 2 years

N J Shackleton
Cambridge University, Botany
Themoluminescence dating of middle Pleistocene deep-sea sediments and cave calcites (#GRANTNO 03174)
1977-85 £118994 over 8 years

Project proposal: To apply T-L dating technique to calcite foraminifera; testing method by multiple analyses in well-dated sediment cores. To utilise technique to date British and North West European middle Pleistocene marine deposits and to problematic deep-sea deposits near Antarctica and in the Norwegian Sea. To apply proven T-L dating in cave stalagmites. Thermoluminescent properties of foraminifera will be examined as a function of their species, their known absolute age and the radioactive environment in which they are preserved using laboratory techniques similar to those successfully developed for dating stalactites. Calibration will extend to limit of usefulness for dating.

J Shaw
University College Cardiff - University of Wales, Geology
The magnitude of the Upper Tertiary palaeomagnetic field (#GRANTNO 3363) (abstract in NERC Series D, 1985, No.26, p.8) in Icelandic lavas
1978-86 £56394 for 7 years

D Siveter
Leicester University, Geology
Cambrian bradoriids of the North Atlantic Region: the origins and early evolution of the Ostracoda (#GRANTNO 8655)
1993-96 £128533 over 3 years

Project proposal: To characterise Cambrian ostracods from Britain, N. America and Greenland in terms of biology, taxonomy and stratigraphical and geographical distribution. Hence to evaluate their value in biostratigraphy, and their role in the origin and early evolution of the group and in the Cambrian metazoan radiation. Morphological analysis of museum material and new collections from selected localities/critical horizons; concurrent with SEM, light photography and determination of shell chemistry. Rigorous taxonomy combined with improved knowledge of distribution in space and time will be used to test models of ostracod phylogeny and to establish their stratigraphical significance.

D E Sugden
Aberdeen University, Geography
Landscapes of glacial erosion in Baffin Island NNJ, Vol.2,No.1, February 1976
[1976] £1459

B A Sturt
Bedford College: University of London, Geology

Structure and petrogenesis of Caledonian metamorphic and igneous rocks in Northern Norway
1965-66 £5279 over 3 years
Structure and plutonic history of Caledonian rocks in Northern Norway
1967-68 £795 over 4 years

J Sutton
Imperial College: University of London, Geology
Geology of large scale Pre-Cambrian structures (article in NERC Series D, 1970, No.1, p. 86-87) incl. S. Greenland
[1960s] £1000 over 2 years

J H Tallis
Manchester University, Environmental Science
Arctic ecosystems and environmental change [Arctic Terrestrial Ecology Programme] (no abstract/#GST 531)
1991-96 £199970 over 3 years

W H Theakstone
Manchester University, Geography

Glaciological, geomorphological and sedimentological studies at Okstinden and Svartisen, Norway (#GRANTNO 03474)
1978-79 £658 for 2 years
- Project proposal: To study glacier surface strains and basal ice deformation in relation to glacier structures and fabrics, glacier flow variations and internal drainage development before, during and after drainage of an ice-dammed lake, and wind and air temperature profiles at the glacier surface. To study glacial lake sedimentary structures in relation to variations of composition and texture. Continuous recording of glacier surface strain. Theodolite surveys of stakes. Dye tracer injection into moulins. Continuous recording of meltwater discharge. Photogrammetry: ice-dammed lake and glacier margin. Automatic datalogging of wind and air temps (3 sites). Recording of lake temps. Field and laboratory analysis of sediments.
The influence of climate-related accumulation area processes of melting, percolation and isotopic fractionation on temporal variations of glacier river discharge and composition (#GRANTNO 7253) ?at Okstinden/Svartisen
1989-92 £25601 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To determine processes generating water inputs to glacier drainage systems above the equilibrium line and their variations in relation to local weather conditions, isotope fractionation and the chemical composition of deposited snow. To investigate percolation processes, assessing the utility of Chernobyl fallout as an indicator of them in central North Norway. Temporal and spatial sampling of snow and firn during Winter and Summer seasons, using a PICO 20m corer. Field and laboratory examination of inter-relations of snow grain size, temperature, water content, isotopic and chemical composition. Gamma spectrum analysis. Glacier river discharge recording. Radio-echo sounding.

R Thompson
Edinburgh University, Geology and Geophysics
High latitude long period secular variation (#GRANTNO 3414) (abstract in NERC Series D, 1980, No.16, p.13) Iceland/Greenland, palaeomagnetism
1978-80 £3245 over 2 years

M Tranter/J A Dowdeswell
Bristol University, Geography
The routing of snowmelt through a sub-polar glacier, Spitsbergen (#SMALLNO 0946)
1993-94 £14724 over 1 year

Project proposal: To determine the hydrology of a sub-polar glacier from an examination of how snowmelt drains through the system, and to determine whether or not subglacially routed water is present in the bulk meltwater. To determine the concentration of the tracer ions, Cl and NO3, is snow and ice, and to examine the co-variation of these ions with crustally derived ions, such as SiO2 and Ca2+. Co-variability of these ions has been sucessfully used to determine flow routing in Alpine glaciers.

M Tranter
Bristol University, Geography

Source of excess CO2 in glacial runoff, Finsterwalderbreen, Svalbard
1996-98 £25850 over 1.5 years
- Project proposal: To ascertain whether or not microbial oxidation of organic matter or Fe(III) oxidation of sulphates in subglacial environments contributes to the excess dissolved CO2 in runoff from a polythermal-based glacier on Svalbard. The major ion, delta13C, delta34S, delta18O, and delta18O-SO4 of isotopic signatures of subglacial upwellings will be measured, along with the delta13C of inorganic and organic carbon, and the delta34S of the bedrock. The combination of measurements will allow the solute acquisition mechanisms to be determined.
Perturbation of atmospheric CO2 concentrations by glacial fluxes of water and solute during the last glacial cycle (abstract in NERC database) field data from Iceland and Greenland
1997-2000 £100560 over 3 years
The hydrochemistry of runoff from large terrestrial ice masses on the crystalline bedrock (#GRANTNO Dec97/GR3)
1998-2001 £187927 over 3 years
- Project proposal: There is little hydrochemical data in the literature to assess the chemical weathering of granite and continental shield by larger ice masses, despite these being the lithologies that underlay large areas of the Laurentian and the Scandanavian ice sheets. Hence, the role of glaciers in global geochemical cycles cannot be qunantified with certitude. Calculation of global silicate weathering rates over the last Glacial is based on Ge:Si ratios in marine opals, but the impact of glacial runoff on these ratios has yet to be assessed. This propoposal aims to examine the chemical weathering mechanisms beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet (overying continental shield) and Jostedalsbreen Ice Cap (granite) to address these shortcomings, and to assemble a glacial Ge:Si dataset so that the role of glacial runoff to marine Ge:Si ratios can be better assessed.
Chemical weathering in the proglacial zone - source or sink of CO2 (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1998-2002 £66488 for 3 years
with
J WADHAM, Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol
S BROTTELL, Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
R RAISWELL, Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
R HODGKINS, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London
- Project proposal : The role that glacial chemical weathering may play in regulating atmospheric CO2 concentrations is currently an area of great interest. Recent literature has identified the proglacial zone as a region which may support globally significant rates of chemical weathering, particularly during deglaciation. However, this remains conjecture until field evidence is provided. This piece of research addresses this shortfall by determining the magnitude of chemical weathering in a well-defined, proglacial plain at Finsterwalderbreen, Svalbard. In addition, the mechanism and controls on chemical weathering will be determined, with the aim of assessing whether or not atmospheric CO2 is consumed. This is particularly important given recent advances in glacial chemical weathering which suggest that the net impact of glacial solutes on global geochemical cycles is to stimulate the oceans to degas CO2 rather than to consume atmospheric CO2 as does chemical weathering in non-glacial terrain.

M E Tucker
Newcastle University, Geology
Sedimentology of Late Precambrian dolomites of Western Europe (#GRANTNO 03608)
1978-80 £1798 for 2 years

Project proposal: To establish the palaeo-oceanography and palaeoclimatology of Late Precambrian Dolomites in NorthWest Europe (S.Norway, N.Norway and W.Scotland), their diagenesis and geochemistry, and significance with regard to the subsequent Late Precambrian glaciation Local mapping and logging of sequences in the Mjosa, Rena and Trysil regions of Southern Norway, over two field seasons. Examination of equivalent sequences in Western Scotland. Collection of samples and their analysis in the laboratory to include X-ray diffraction, electron probe and scanning electron microscopy.

B G J Upton
Edinburgh University, Geology and Geophysics
The structure, chrolonology and petrology of Gardar 'giant dykes' in the Mellem Land - Gustav Holm Nunatak area, south Greenland
1982 £5199 over 6 months

Project proposal:To investigate extent, structure, composition and chronology of the 'giant-dykes' To spend one (3-week) field-season (1982), working in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Greenland. To be followed by laboratory studies at Edinburgh on the petrology of the 'giant dykes'

P J Valdes
Reading University, Meteorology
Understanding and improving the representation of Arctic land ice in atmospheric GCMs (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE) 1999-2001 £159369 over 3 years

Project proposal: The expected future global warming will increase the significance of melting in the mass balance of all Arctic ice masses. It is typically confined to a narrow band around the perimeter of the ice sheet. Thus resolutions much higher than those typically used in climate models are required, and downscaling techniques are often employed. We will study the surface mass balance of Greenland and other Arctic ice masses using a hierarchy of models, including high resolution climate models, limited area models, and low resolution models with downscaling. This will improve our understanding and confidence in downscaling techniques, and the representation of the cryosphere in climate models and in turn allow us to devise improved models. The work will examine future climate change scenarios and will lead to improved estimates of sea level associated with Arctic ice masses.

P Wadhams
Cambridge University, Scott Polar Research Institute

Ice floe dynamics and oceanographic eddies in the marginal ice zone of the East Greenland current (#GRANTNO 03889)
1979-85 £88473 over 6 years
- Project proposal: To observe the occurrence, structure and motion of eddies along the ice margin. To measure relative drift velocities of small and large floes due to wind and wave action. To account for the floe size distribution near the ice edge and for the patterns of ice drift seen there. To study a year's Landsat imagery of the outermost 150 km of the East Greenland ice cover, analysing floe sizes and ice features, with additional study of TIROS N and airborne imagery where necessary. To carry out two field experiments using helicopters from icebreakers to set out radar targets, the first experiment being the YMER-80 expedition in June 1980.
The ice budget of the Greenland Sea from submarine sonar and satellite data (#GRANTNO 6886) NN4, 1988
1987-88 £14164 over 9 months
- Project proposal: To develop and apply a technique for estimating the ice volume and ice balance in the Greenland Sea by the use of satellite passive microwave data validated by submarine sonar data on ice thickness. A contribution to the Greenland Sea project of the Arctic Ocean Sciences Board. 1. To analyse Arctic sonar data collected by the PI in May 1987 from HMS "Superb". 2. To use this as quantitative validation for airborne passive microwave radiometers flown by NASA along identical track. 3. In this way to develop an algorithm for converting SMMR and SSM/I data into mean ice thickness. 4. Hence to obtain Greenland Sea ice volume and balance.
Climate-related analyses of new sea ice thickness datasets from the Arctic (#GRANTNO 8177) NN18, 1991
1991-93 £25817 over 2 years
- Project proposal: To determine Arctic sea ice thickness distributions during 1988, 1989 and 1990 from upward sonar data as a test of the response of the Arctic sea ice cover to climate change. To statistically analyse the datasets using an existing package developed by the PI; to compare the results with 1987, 1976 and earlier data and with oceanographic data from the Greenland Sea; to determine nature of interannual variability and to examine evidence of trends.
Investigation of small scale ice dynamics within the Odden by the use of a GPS/Argos drifter (abstract in NERC database) Located in the Greenland Sea. NNSpring, 1997
1996-97 £23765 over 1 year
Analysis and interpretation of sea ice and ocean data from a 1996 British submarine voyage, and initial development of a data management system (abstract in NERC database) voyage was to the Greenland Sea and Arctic Ocean
1997-99 £116906 over 2 years

P Wadhams/N Fenton/D Crane
Cambridge University, Scott Polar Research Institute
Ice edge effects on light penetration into a water column (#GRANTNO 9283)
1993-96 £14062 over 3 years

Project proposal: (1) To measure the irradiance entering the water column from the edge of an ice floe. (2) To incorporate this data into a descriptive model of light penetration through sea ice. An opportunity has arisen to participate in an ice camp in the Arctic. At a suitable site at the edge of a floe, irradiance will be measured at points inland from the ice edge. Measurements will be taken beneath the ice and down the water column using an underwater radiometer. This will provide a 3-dimensional picture of light penetration at an ice edge which will be incorporated into a bio-optical model.

M E R Walford
Bristol University, Physics

The use of adaptive radio-echo sounding to improve our interpretation of the climatic history recorded in ice-cores obtained from boreholes in polar ice masses (#GRANTNO 05959)
1985-1987 £5000 over 3 years
- Project proposal: Profile measurements on cores taken from polar ice masses provide very valuable date on climatic history. Drilling is slow and expensive and the value of borehole data can be enhanced by extensive radio-echo studies. The 3D form of the glacier and the internal structure of layers in the ice using a phase-sensitive echo sounder and an adaptable monocycle system will be studied. We already have a low-frequency monocycle radar and a 60MHz quasi-monochromatic system. We are developing a 60MHz adaptable monocycle radar and plan to hire a 220MHz adaptable moncycle system. A program of fieldwork in Arctic Canada is planned for 1986 in cooperation with borhole studies. Radar results will be worked up subsequently in Bristol.
A radio echo study of the water distribution in a glacier (#GRANTNO 04883) ?at Sorglaciären
1982-1985 £5000 over 3 years
- Project proposal: To study the distribution of water in a temperate or partly temperate glacier by radio echo sounding methods. Glacier water strongly effects the mechanical properties and movement of a glacier. It enters into the complex relationship between a glacier and local climate and in some regions can supply human economic needs. Radio echoes scattered from water bodies within or beneath a glacier will be recorded as functions of time and position of the transceiver on the glacier surface. These data will be processed using pulse-compression and aperture-synthesis computer programmes already developed at Bristol, to determine changing distributions with time of water in the ice.

B J Walton
Portsmouth Polytechnic, Geology
Use of an electron microscope at CU for mineral analysis (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.61) samples from Western Greenland
1970-74 £392 over 4 years

A J Watson
University of East Anglia, Environmental Science
The influence of ice and fresh water on the Nordic Seas thermohaline circulation: a study using SF6 and d18O (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1998-2000 £142967 over 3 years
with
K J HEYWOOD and P F DENNIS, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia

Project proposal: New tracer techniques will be used to investigate the origin of ice-melt input to, and inter-mixing with, the water masses around the Greenland Sea. The role of ice and freshwater inputs in both limiting and promoting deep convection, and the formation of the dense water overflow at the Denmark Strait will be quantified. Our tools will be SF6 and d18O tracer techniques plus Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers, hydrography and remote sensing measurements. ARCICE is ideally timed to take advantage of a SF6 release experiment begun in 1996 in the Greenland Sea. This will be producing its most informative data on water mass transport during ARCICE. d18O provides unique information on the source of ice-melt, while hydrographic measurements will enable us to measure oceanic heat, mass and salt transport into the Arctic. Primary data will be collected on the James Clark Ross, and augmented with data from other vessels and stationery moorings in the Denmark Strait.

J S Watterson
Liverpool University, Geology
Measurement of tectonic displacements at major Precambrian boundaries in Greenland (#GRANTNO 01785)
1972-82 £35490 over 10 years

Project proposal: To determine the magnitude and direction of the crustal displacements on two major Precambrian boundaries (Nagssugtoqidian and Ketilidian). To compare the tectonics of these boundaries with more recent tectonic events and to determine if the Precambrian events, initiated at least 2700 m.y. ago, are consistent with a plate-tectonic regime. To study the relationship between tectonic deformation and complementary metamorphic reactions. Structural field work. Collection of samples for geochemical analysis by XRF.

R S White/R Scrutton
Cambridge University, Earth Sciences
Structure of the East Greenland volcanic continental margin and adjacent oceanic crust of the Irminger Basin (#GRANTNO 8031) NN18, 1991
1991-94 £70420 over 3 years

Project proposal: (1) To determine the deep structure and rift architecture of the east Greenland volcanic continental margin at a point conjugate to the existing Hatton Bank margin survey; (2) To study the evolution of mantle temperature anomalies generated by the Iceland hotspot by measuring crustal thickness variations along a transect across the oceanic Irminger Basin from the rifted continental margin to the present Reykjanes ridge spreading centre. By two-ship multichannel expanded spread, disposable sonobouys and ocean bottom seismometer profiles using large airgun and explosive sources for crustal velocity structure to Moho; by deep penetration single ship MES reflection profiles for crustal architecture; and by magnetic and gravity measurements for mapping lateral variations in crustal structure and distribution of igneous rocks.
Metadata: RSW states "NERC cancelled the East Greenland cruise, so we never worked there - instead we worked off Rockall".

T M L Wigley
University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit
Climatic and oceanographic change in the eastern North Atlantic, 1600-1800 AD: A pilot study (#GRANTNO 04038)
1980 £9800 over 1 year

Project proposal: To examine historical data sources to assess their value for reconstructing atmospheric and oceanographic conditions in the eastern North Atlantic for the period 1600-1800 AD on the annual to decadal time scale. Data will be obtained from primary historical maritime records. The types of data to be abstracted will be: direct observations of wind direction and weather conditions, the location of North Atlantic currents, the position of the polar ice pack and the location of whales, fish and seals.

T M L Wigley/A E J Ogilvie
University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit
Decadal time scale links between Greenland ice core 0-18 and temperature (#GRANTNO 7013)
1989-91 £17172 over 2 years

Project proposal: Decadal and longer timescale climate data from Iceland will be compared with ice core 0-18 data from Greenland to see whether the rather poor correlations observed at the annual level improve as the timescale lengthens. Climate data will be assembled using instrumental records (which extend back to around 1800) and documentary historical evidence (back to 1600). Correlation methods will be used to evaluate the link between oxygen isotope values and temperature on annual, decadal and longer timescales.

P B Wignall
Leeds University, Earth Sciences
The Permo-Triassic (P/TR) mass extinction in boreal latitudes (abstract in NERC database) In Greenland
1997-99 £77122 over 2 years

A J Wilmott
Keele University, Mathematics
Modelling coastal polynyas with special reference to the [North] Water polynya (abstract in NERC database) In northern Baffin Bay
1998-99 £65880 over 2 years

B F Windley
Leicester University, Geology
Continental accretion in Mesozoic and Palaeozoic Cordilleran batholiths in relation to early continental growth in Archean gneissic complexes (#GRANTNO 03198)
1977-83 £37524 over 6 years

Project proposal:To compare the structure and geochemistry of Archaean high-grade complexes (Greenland, Scotland, Limpopo, India) with that of similar batholithic complexes at Cordilleran continental margins in Connemara (Palaeozoic) and California and Peru (Mesozoic) to determine to what extent continental growth in the Archaean is consistent with a modern plate tectonic regime. Field work in the tonalites, gneisses, magmatites and layered gabbro-anorthosite complexes within Mesozoic batholiths in Western America together with a comparative study of their mineral and bulk chemistry with that of similar rocks in Connemara (Palaeozoic) and Scotland-Greenland-Limpopo-India (Archaean).

D J Wingham
University College: University of London, Mullard Space and Climate Physics

Mass balance fluctuations of the Greenland ice sheet 1991-1998 by radar altimetry and modelling (abstract in NERC database)
1997-2000 £169388 over 3 years.
Ice dynamics and mass flux of Arctic Ice Caps and the Greenland Ice Sheet using satellite radar interferometry (#GRANTNO Feb98/THEM:ARCICE)
1998-2002 £119376 over 4 years
with
J A DOWDESWELL, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol
A survey of the ice caps and glaciers of the Russian and Canadian High Arctic, and the NW Greenland Ice Sheet, will be performed using interferometry. Complex radar images from the ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites 1991-1996 will be used to determine the synoptic velocity fields of these ice bodies. Repeated velocity retrievals, on time-scales of days, weeks and years, will be performed to investigate glacier surge initiation and propagation. This velocity data, when combined with ice thickness and other ground data, can be used to estimate the calving mass flux of the High Arctic ice caps and glaciers and, coupled with existing precipitation and ablation estimates, determine the High Arctic contribution to sea-level rise. This work contributes to the international VECTRA programme, providing ice sheet modellers with the velocity field of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

D J Wingham/J A Dowdeswell
University College: University of London, Mullard Space and Climate Physics
Synthetic aperture radar interoferograms to investigate ice dynamics in Svalbard (abstract in NERC database) NNSummer, 1996
1996-99 £168916 over 3 years

S J Woodin
Aberdeen University, Plant and Soil Science
Effects of acidic deposition on Arctic bryophytes (abstract on NERC database) ?fieldwork in Svalbard
1998 £24280 over 6 months

A E Wright
Birmingham University, Geology
The geological structure and petrology of the Angmagssalik area, East Greenland (abstract in NERC Series D, 1973, No.4, p.65)
1968-72 £3020 over 4 years

Scott Polar Research Institute

University of Cambridge

Titles of Grants alphabetically by Name of Principal Investigator