Fieldwork in the freezer - GPRG collaborate in research on sources of groundwater systems in the Arctic

Steve Thornton spent 10 days in April 2014 with colleagues from the Dept of Geography working in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago situated in the Arctic ocean, 78 degrees north, approximately midway between Norway and the north pole.

Arctic scientist

The team were sampling subglacial and sub-permafrost water bodies as sources of sustainable groundwater. Steve brought expertise in groundwater sampling techniques, hydrochemistry and solute transport to assist the research team, which developed specialist equipment to collect groundwater samples at -20C.

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