Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2019, Blaðsíða 16

This summer, Vatnajökull National Park
was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. In order to determine the suitability
of the Vatnajökull property, UNESCO
appointed the International
Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) to perform a
technical evaluation of the
world heritage nomination,
resulting in their approval
of the site in July. In addition
to the protection afforded a
national park, Vatnajökull
will now receive periodic
international monitoring.
Iceland now holds three
UNESCO World Heritage
demarcations. The first to receive this
designation was the cultural property
Þingvellir National Park, which was
awarded the notation in 2004. The island
of Surtsey, which emerged during subma-
rine volcanic eruptions from 1963 to 1967,
received UNESCO World Heritage status
as a natural property in 2008.
Unusual size
According to the Environment Agency of
Iceland, approximately 22% of the coun-
try is under environmental protection.
Vatnajökull National Park covers 14% of
Iceland, rendering it the largest protected
site in the country. The park was estab-
lished in 2008, and its borders have
expanded over the past decade to include
new sites of glaciovolcanic activity.
Those familiar with UNESCO sites
worldwide will note that it is unusual
for such a large part of a country to be
deemed a UNESCO site. As outlined in
the committee’s full nomination file, the
nominated property includes Vatnajökull
National Park as well as the adjacent
protected areas of Herðubreiðarlindir
and Lónsöræfi.
Natural laboratory
“The heart of Iceland really lies in Vatna-
jökull,” says Hrafnhildur Hannesdóttir,
one of four signatories to the UNESCO
nomination, and a glaciologist whose
PhD research studied the correlation
between climate change and the Vatna-
jökull ice cap. Hrafnhildur’s assertion
implies the geologic formation of the
island via volcanic activity affiliated with
the mantle plume, the physical location
of the site which comprises a consider-
able amount of Iceland’s highlands, and
the nation’s cultural relationship with
the glacier.
The UNESCO nomination was initiated
in 2016 by former Vatnajökull National
Park manager Snorri Baldursson. He
brought Hrafnhildur on board for her
work with Icelandic glaciers. “There are
few places on earth where you have this
interplay between volcanoes and glaciers,”
comments Hrafnhildur. “It is a natural
laboratory for studying glacier changes
in a warming climate. Lots of research
has been carried out on this ice cap; we
don’t have many glaciers of this size in
the world that have such a long history
of research.”
Glacial change
For her PhD research, Hrafnhildur stud-
ied ten outlet glaciers, correlating data
on how the ice cap’s southern side has
advanced and retreated in past centu-
ries. This research was funnelled into
modelling work to see how glaciers may
respond to a warming climate.
According to Hrafnhildur, her research
showed that “the ten glaciers all show
signs of retreat, and had their maxi-
mum sizes by the end of the 19th century.
Depending on the ratio
between the accumu-
lation area (above the
snowline) and the abla-
tion area (below), their
elevation, and if there is
a glacial lake, this influ-
ences how they respond.
It’s not enough to take
one glacier and tell the story; you need
to look at a selection to get the whole
picture.”
Range of support
The designation of the national park as
a World Heritage Site gives Hrafnhildur
hope for the continued protection of
Vatnajökull. “I hope that getting this site
on the UNESCO list means we receive
more support to build up the infrastruc-
ture of the park. In many areas, the park
needs more financial support for hiking
trails and visitor centres.”
Hrafnhildur knows this from experi-
ence, as she worked as a ranger at Askja,
Herðubreiðarlindir, and Kverkfjöll in the
mid-2000s. At that time, Hrafnhildur
participated in her first expeditions onto
the Vatnajökull ice cap.
“The Glaciological Society has a
weeklong expedition each spring to
Grímsvötn,’ she explains. “Since 2004,
I have joined them irregularly. This was
my first real connection to the ice cap,
and this led me to study glaciology.”
Ice met
Hrafnhildur works at the Icelandic
Meteorological Office (IMO), where she
conducts data-gathering of outlet glaciers’
fluctuation by involving voluntary citizen
scientists through the Icelandic Glacio-
logical Society. They visit approximately
forty glaciers annually to measure them
and share the measurements with an
international database on glacial changes.
Additionally, there is a dataset in
progress to outline Icelandic glaciers
from the 1890s until now, in order to map
an aerial view of the glacier masses over
the years. Hrafnhildur hopes this will be
included in the next Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change report.
Flowing channels
Due to glacial melt and volcanic erup-
tions, the UNESCO property will no doubt
undergo significant transformation in
the coming decades. Hrafnhildur notes
that “it’s a very dynamic area with floods
and eruptions, so of course that will influ-
ence the landscape.
“The boundary of the park on the
southern side is in most places based
on the outline of the glaciers in 1998.
Even though the glaciers are retreating,
the boundary will remain stationary in
some sense.”
The only foreseeable change to the
World Heritage property could come
via inclusion of additional protected
sites. The IUCN advi-
sory committee noted
that there are tentative
UNESCO World Herit-
age Sites proposed
from Iceland, including
Mývatn and Laxá near
Dettifoss, as well as the
Torfajökull Volcanic
System near the Laki craters. They note
these could be considered in the future
as an extension of the current Vatnajökull
property.
As for the UNESCO World Heritage
nomination, Hrafnhildur says, “I think
my work is done, but we continue with
more outreach projects. People working
in the tourist industry are really keen
on being able to educate their visitors.
They’re contacting the IMO and the Insti-
tute of Earth Sciences at the University
of Iceland asking us to help them with
educational signs along the glaciers. I
will continue to work both with Vatna-
jökull National Park and with local tour
operators to keep the channels flowing
with scientific findings.”
UNESCO
Embraces
Vatnajökull
Iceland’s National Park now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Vatnajökull's new status as a UNESCO site will encourage scientific exploration
Hrafnhildur Hannesdóttir
Words:
a rawlings
Photo:
Adobe stock
& Hrafnhildur
Hannesdóttir
News 16 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 14— 2019
“The heart
of Iceland
really lies in
Vatnajökull.”