Finally, after two years of having to cancel the course because of the Covid-19 situation, the 20th Karthaus summer school on Ice Sheets and Glaciers in the Climate System took place from 24 May to 4 June 2022. 36 Students (mainly Ph.D.) affiliated to institutes from 12 countries took part.
The students had lectures in various topics within glaciology, including topics like continuum mechanics, kinematics, ice rheology, sliding and hydraulics, numerical modelling, polar meteorology, ice-ocean interaction, ice cores, the interaction of ice sheets with the solid earth, glacier fluctuations, and climate change.
During the first day all students presented their research topics in 3-minute pitches. This is always an important aspect of the start of the course, because students and teachers get to know each other quickly. In addition to lectures and exercises also computer projects, done in groups of three students, were part of the daily Karthaus programme. At the end of the course, the outcomes of these projects were presented in 12 presentations.
On Sunday 29 May, there was a well-deserved break from the theory and computer exercises, and an excursion took place. In snowy conditions we made a hike from Kurzras up to the Lazaun rock glacier (see photograph on the left). After sightseeing of the rock glacier, lunch was taken at the Lazaun restaurant. During lunch, the weather cleared and most of the students then hiked down to Vernagt from where they took the bus back to Karthaus, while others took the bus back from Kurzras.
A full list of students and lecturers can be found at the Karthaus-2022 website: http://www.projects.science.uu.nl/iceclimate/karthaus/ This website also contains the full program and more comments on the social aspects of the course.
The 20th Karthaus summer school on Ice Sheets and Glaciers in the Climate System took place from 24 May – 4 June 2022 in Karthaus, Schnalstal, northern Italy. The course was sponsored by:
- The Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University
- The Netherlands Earth System Science Centre (NESSC)
- Projecting Sea-Level Rise: from Ice Sheets to Local Implications PROTECT (EU Horizon2020 program)
- Dutch Polar Climate and Cryosphere Change Consortium (NWO Dutch Polar Program)
- The International Glaciological Society
- The International Arctic Science Committee
- &Trewitax – GlaciersAlive
Photo: C. Reijmer: Lazaun rock glacier. For scale, see the small line of students to the right of the glacier snout.