Biogeomorphic responses to progressive deglaciation; current and future processes and trends.

Are you interested in Geosciences?

This post is a half time technical post combined with a research studentship opportunity. You will be preparing materials and equipment for practicals, assisting in equipment maintenance and demonstration of safe use and providing technical support for our geography, environmental and agriculture research, teaching and consultancy.

It is essential that you are educated to HND/ Degree/ NVQ level 3 in a sports science or physiology subject or have equivalent in service experience. Additional experience of working in a physical geography or geosciences laboratory in a technical role would be an advantage. Adaptable and eager to learn you will be self-motivated and an excellent communicator with experience of team working. Numeracy and an ability to demonstrate techniques are also essential.

The post is combined with a research studentship;

Aims of the project

1. To establish baseline data on the functioning of temperate glacier supra- and pro-glacial vegetative, invertebrate and microbial ecosystems.
2. To determine key environmental parameters controlling distribution and functioning of above ecosystems.
3. To quantify the geomorphic impacts of glacier surface ecosystems through processes such as biological darkening.
4. To undertake predictive modelling of ecosystem functioning and consequent biogeomorphic impacts under future climate change scenarios.

Brief project outline

Until relatively recently, glaciers were incorrectly assumed to be largely abiotic environments and, as a result, interest in the nature and dynamics of glacier ecosystems has received scant attention until relatively recently. Recovery of micro-organisms from deep ice samples in East Antarctica (Abyzov, 1993) stimulated great interest in the functioning of glacial ecosystems. Research to date has tended to focus on the ecosystems of high-latitude, polythermal glacial systems, with pioneering work undertaken to investigate nutrient budgets (e.g. Hodson et al., 2004; Hodson et al., 2005), microbial assemblages (e.g. Skidmore et al., 2000; Säwström et al., 2002; Lanoil et al., 2004; Bhatia et al., 2006; Price, 2007) and micro-invertebrates (e.g. De Smet and Rompu, 1994; Shain et al., 2001).

However, increasingly there has been a realisation that glacial ecosystems can impact upon the geomorphology of glaciers themselves, with features such as cryoconite hole habitats and blue-green algal communities leading to so-called ‘biological darkening’, with resultant impacts on ice surface albedo and consequent acceleration of surface melt rates (e.g. Hodson et al., 2013; Hodson et al., 2010a, 2010b). However, work to investigate the functioning and evolution in a warming world, of temperate glacier ecosystems remains highly limited. This is despite the fact that temperate glaciers provide a fresh water resource for approximately one fifth of the world’s population and under a warming climate, processes such as biological darkening are likely to enhance surface melt rates, while warming itself is likely to induce profound changes to ecosystem functioning and downstream nutrient and sediment delivery.

This study will allow an integrated biogeomorphic assessment of a temperate valley glacier in southern Iceland, which is already known to have a well-established supraglacial vegetative ecosystem (Porter et al., 2008) indicative of a more complex glacial ecosystem than those observed in High-Arctic polythermal settings. Links between vegetative and microbial/invertebrate supraglacial ecosystems will be explored, together with associated impacts on surface morphology and melt rates. This will be combined with a detailed study of proglacial meltwater stream ecology (comprising predominantly invertebrate and microbial communities) and assessment of controlling environmental parameters and linkages with supraglacial ecosystems such that predictive modelling can be undertaken to assess potential biogeomorphic impacts under changing climatic regimes.

As this is a 0.5 FTE time allocation for research, an initial field season will take place in year 1 and analysis of data undertaken in years 1 and 2. Subject to satisfactory completion, a second field season will take place in year 3, with further analysis in year 3 and 4 and write up/completion in years 5 and 6.

Contact Details:

If this interests you, please phone Jenny Harman, Technical Manager, on 01707 285184 or Malcolm Green, Senior Technical Manager on Hatfield 01707 284617 for an informal talk.

Closing Date: 30 November 2017

Reference Number: 015257

The University offers a range of benefits including a pension scheme, professional development, family friendly policies, child care vouchers, a fee waiver of 50% for all children of staff under the age of 21 at the start of the course, discounted memberships at the Hertfordshire Sports Village and generous annual leave.

Apply online at http://www.herts.ac.uk/contact-us/jobs-and-vacancies