These new programmes add a substantial global component to our existing portfolio of critical-metal research and in 2015, this included fieldwork on magmatic rocks in Madagascar, Morocco, Romania and the Outer Hebrides. UNESCO Global Geoparks In late 2015, at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, Global Geoparks became an official designation of UNESCO, putting them on the same level as World Heritage Sites and Man & Biosphere Reserves. The UK currently has seven UNESCO Global Geoparks that combine to make up 120 from across the globe, all of which are awarded because of their internationally important geological heritage as well as their sustainable development strategy and commitment to geoscience education. We have worked closely with all of the UK UNESCO Global Geoparks as well as with UNESCO, the Global Geoparks Association and the European Geoparks Network to achieve this, the first new designation that UNESCO has created since 1972. UNESCO Global Geoparks are the frontline of geoscience, offering a key platform to highlight and promote research and ideas. They provide an ideal opportunity for establishing collaborative research, with particular emphasis on natural hazards, climate change mitigation and good practice in mineral extraction, something that we can offer significant expertise in over the coming years. Iceland Glacier Observatory The BGS Iceland Glacier Observatory team have been building on the long-running unique study at Vírkisjökull in south-east Iceland by implementing new techniques and forming new collaborations with researchers from around the world. Our scientists were invited to join a team of glacial scientists from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the USA to study the remote Múlajökull glacier in central Iceland. This glacier has been the subject of recent global interest as it appears to be the only place on Earth where a drumlin field can actually be viewed in formation. The techniques that have been applied so successfully by our scientists at Vírkisjökull were specifically needed by the international team, in particular the structural analysis of the glacier surface and determining the relationship between glacier structure and the influence of its bed on glacier dynamics using ground penetrating radar (GPR). In addition, after successfully trialling the use of UAV photogrammetry at Vírkisjökull earlier in 2015, we sent in the drones to capture ultra-high resolution aerial photography and digital elevation models of the margin of Múlajökull and its drumlinised foreland. Detailed mapping of the crevasse patterns within the ice, combined with the GPR survey, is revealing clear links between the internal 3D structure of the glacier and the landforms emerging at its margin. Furthermore, these studies have identified 24 Annual science review Sun setting over the scientific research camp used by BGS scientists and their colleagues during last summer’s field campaign at Múlajökull in central Iceland.
Annual Science Review 2015-2016
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