Jökull - 01.01.2004, Page 87

Society report
Report on the first SEDIFLUX Science Meeting in
Sauðárkrókur, Iceland, June 2004
Fiona S. Tweed
Geography, Staffordshire University, College Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 2DE, UK; f.s.tweed@staffs.ac.uk
The European Science Foundation (ESF) Network
"Sedimentary Source-to-Sink-Fluxes in Cold En-
vironments"(SEDIFLUX) is scheduled to run from
2004 to 2006. The Network will form a framework
for integrated and multidisciplinary investigations of
sediment fluxes and the relationships between clima-
te and sedimentary transfer processes. The Network
aims to strengthen existing research collaborations
and to build new partnerships within Europe and furt-
her afield. This is an account of the first SEDIFLUX
meeting in Iceland in June 2004.
The SEDIFLUX Steering Committee met on the
17th June and the first SEDIFLUX Science Meet-
ing took place in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland, from Ju-
ne 18th - June 21st, 2004. It was organised by
Achim Beylich, the Chair of the SEDIFLUX Network
(Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim), Þor-
steinn Sæmundsson (Director of the Natural Science
Research Centre of North-western Iceland), Armelle
Decaulne (Clermont-Ferrand) and Olga Sandberg
(Goteborg). The Science Meeting welcomed thirty-
eight participants from twelve countries and was
honoured by the presence of Frank Ahnert and his wi-
fe Bridget.
The journey from Reykjavík to Sauðárkrókur for-
med the focus of the first of two field excursion
days. Locations en route illustrated Holocene sea
level change, volcanic and tectonic activity, slope
processes, tephrochronology, and landscape develop-
ment. The spectacular Vatnsdalshólar rockslide in
particular prompted a lively field discussion!
The Science Meeting at Sauðárkrókur was held
over two days and included three keynote lectures -
Olav Slaymaker (Vancouver) discussed scaling relati-
ons in drainage basin sediment budgets, Norikazu
Matsuoka (Tsukuba) talked about the possibilities of
a global network for monitoring periglacial processes
and Philip Wookey (Stirling) summarized the In-
ternational Tundra Experiment (ITEX) outlining the
ways in which SEDIFLUX could benefit from the
experiences of this project. The meeting comprised
nineteen talks, sixteen poster presentations and two
working group meetings. The presentations cov-
ered a wide range of topics within the SEDIFLUX
remit, including process monitoring and modell-
ing, source-to-sink correlations, landscape ecology,
sediment budget studies, and the analysis of sedi-
ment sinks. Working group meetings helped to
decide a programme of future activities for the
SEDIFLUX Network and provided useful opport-
unities for discussion.
The second excursion day took participants from
Sauðárkrókur back to Reykjavík via Kjölur along the
rugged and scenic Icelandic interior road that passes
between Langjökull and Hofsjökull. This journey
provided a transect across some of the most geomorp-
hologically and ecologically varied environments in
Iceland, and included visits to Hveravellir, Gulfoss
and Geysir and an evening picnic in Þingvellir Nati-
onal Park. Several small dust storms near Hvítárvatn
provided an excellent reminder of the profound influ-
ence of aeolian processes in this fragile and dynamic
landscape.
The first SEDIFLUX Science Meeting was very
smoothly organised and participants benefited from
truly excellent hospitality and fine weather throug-
hout. The Skagafjörður District Heating and
Waterworks Company sponsored a cocktail reception,
JÖKULL No. 54, 2004 87