From Ice Hotel to UNIS Field laboratory: a short history of research at Foxfonna

iEarth Digital Learning Forum (iEDLF) featuring Andrew Hodson on the 07.02.2025. Andy has worked in Svalbard since the early 1990's and he has been working at UNIS in some capacity since 2011. His work considers the implications of ground thaw and ice melt for the release of water, sediment and nutrients into runoff. Particular attention is given to glacier hydrology and how the sensitive ecosystems found at the ice margin are influenced by meltwater dynamics. Abstract The Foxfonna ice cap lies within easy reach of Longyearbyen, beneath the last operating mine in the area. It has just entered a period of terminal decline, yet only 20 years ago, SNSK, the company operating the mine, had the ambition of constructing an ice hotel inside it. This talk describes the ice hotel concept and its very sudden failure, which preceded incorporation of the project into UNIS teaching and research activities. The learning benefits of such “doorstep science” will be outlined, as will the students’ contributions to ongoing research at the site. In so doing it will be demonstrated how local glacier mass balance monitoring makes for excellent learning through guided field days and independent student projects.