Academic CentreStudies of Contemporary Glaciers by Latvian Scientists: Significance, Content and Results
Kristaps Lamsters, Jānis Karušs
Due to modern climate change and globally increasing atmospheric and ocean temperatures, glaciers are retreating worldwide thus more and more affecting the environment. Their global impact raises concerns and the need to understand the dynamic behavior of glaciers and the complex interaction between the cryosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
Since 2014 scientists from the University of Latvia have contributed to the studies of modern glaciers and polar environment by conducting scientific expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic and by developing polar science studies in Latvia. Cooperation has been established with several institutes in Latvia and abroad including the National Antarctic Scientific Center who owns the Akademik Vernadsky station in Antarctica and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń who manages the Polar Station “Hahut” located in Svalbard.
The article describes the chronology and locations, methodology and the main results and their importance from studies performed on scientific expeditions to Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard and Antarctica. The specific research fields include studies of glacier geometry and mass changes, thermal structure, drainage systems, and subglacial topography. The developed methodology allows performing high-precision measurements with ground-penetrating radar on glaciers. In combination with the acquisition of aerial photographs by unmanned aerial vehicles, this approach allows the construction of digital elevation models of glacier surface and bed. In addition, collaboration with scientists from the various other scientific fields has resulted in studies related to persistence of pollutants in polar regions, characterization of microbial diversity and other ecological issues.
In order to further develop the field of polar research in Latvia, the authors encourage the establishment of a long-term national polar research program and recommend that Latvia join the Antarctic Treaty and the Arctic Council as an observer country.