Chapter 3 – Policy Implications for Gaelic - University of Edinburgh

the most popular pictures were of children, houses the church, mother, tree/shade,
and food. During the anthropological research four documentaries on the following
topics were made from the footage collected during the expedition: a day in
Kokobara, biodiversity and local resource use patterns, Expedition Kokobara, and
NGOs in Ifotaka.
Project Norway
This expedition to the Tunsberg glacier, Jostedal ice cap, the largest glacier on the
European mainland, in the Sognefjord area of southern Norway, in August 2011,
forms the latest phase of the Tunsbergdalsbreen project. The project was initially set
up by Brathay Exploration Group in the 1950s and then re-initiated in 2009 as a
collaboration between Brathay Exploration Group, the Field Studies Council (FSC),
the Norwegian Glacier museum and Newcastle University. The 2011 expedition team
of nine members was co-led by a University of Edinburgh student and the FSC and
comprised two University of Edinburgh students, geography and geomatic students
from other UK universities, FSC staff and outdoor enthusiasts.
The overall aim of the expedition was to promote understanding of glacial
environments and the effect climate change is having on the cryosphere. The
objectives within this aim were to produce educational material that could be used by
the FSC and The Norwegian Glacier museum to educate people on glacial
landscapes and climate change. Using Tunsberg as a case study, the expedition also
aimed to develop personal skills to equip team members to conduct further glacierrelated
work and to provide data on Tunsberg glacier for the Norwegian Water and
Energy Directorate - the organisation that monitors Norway’s glaciers – but does not
monitor Tunsberg due to its remote location.
All team members took part in a 3 day glacier training course, learning the essential
skills to conduct research on a glacier. The expedition also walked to a col to the east
of the Tunsberg glacier to take a panoramic photo of the glacier to compare with
photos taken from the same position in the 1950s, 2009 and 2010 and to collect
rubbish from the 1959 expedition. The Team then transferred to the glacier site and
carried out 7 days of glacial surveying, collecting data to determine the glacier front
position, glacier volume and velocity, and geomorphological data on the area in front
of the glacier to determine the timescale of retreat of Tunsberg glacier.
The data collected on the expedition showed that the volume of the glacier had
significantly reduced from 2010 to 2011 but that it had not retreated. Overall the
photographic evidence and data collected highlighted how the Tunsberg glacier was
definitely changing. An investigation into these data and climate data is currently
being undertaken to understand the causes of these changes. Results were
presented online and at the Royal Geographical Society Expedition conference in
London November 2011. Tunsberg glacier is now being used as a case study in
lessons run by the FSC to help young people understand glacial environments.
Project Borneo
As noted in the report on 2010 Expeditions, this expedition was originally scheduled
to take place in October 2010. However, due to a refusal of permits by the Malaysian
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