Cooperation between Landsvirkjun and Haskolan's Institute of Geosciences on Joklar research 1978 to 2022: Clipped on the big one

For about four decades the Science institute, University of Iceland (SI-UI) and National Power Company (NPC) have collaborated in various glacier research projects. Hydro-power production accounts for about 70% of total energy production in Iceland. In an average hydrological year, about 50% of inflow to reservoirs and diversions for 70% hydro-power energy production originates from annual glacier melt. In view of this knowledge of glacial processes is important for the National Power NPC. In the mid 1970's a radar system to measure glacier ice thickness profiles was developed and built at the SI-UI. This opened the opportunity to map glacier bedrock topography and improve the crude existing maps of glacier surface elevation, allowing estimation of ice volume, delineation of water catchments of individual glacier rivers and more. In 1980 Tungnaarjokull, the western outlet from Vatnajokull icecap, was surveyed with the radar system in collaboration of SI-UI and NPC. The results revealed that due to the bedrock topography the glacier water catchment was much smaller than the ice catchment. In following collaboration most of Vatnajokull (with additional support from Iceland Road Authority, Iceland Glaciological Society, Iceland Research Council and other funding), Hofsjokull and Langjokull, Iceland's three largest ice caps have been mapped. In 1988 mass balance of Tungnaarjokull and surface velocity at the mass balance survey sites was measured, and following that in 1992 a collaborative program to study the mass balance and surface velocity of Vatnajokull (similar to 60-70 sites annually) was initiated and a similar program for Langjokull (similar to 25 sites) in 1997. Test of automatic weather stations (AWS) on glacier surface to measure meteorological parameters was started in 1994 and currently similar to 10-15 AWS's collect data for estimation of glacier surface energy balance during summer on Vatnajokull, Langjokull and Myrdalsjokull. All this data forms the bases for glaciological research in Iceland and has greatly advanced the understanding of glaciological processes. From these data, numerical models of various complexity, describing the response of Icelandic glaciers to the current and predicted future climate have been developed. This collaboration has proved important for NPC, and hundreds of reports and numerous articles in international peer-reviewed journals have been written for advance of the science of glaciology in general.