UNIS /About /Staff /Andy Hodson

Andy Hodson

Professor, Glaciology

andrewh@unis.no
4777016634

A 207

Arctic geology

Andy’s research largely takes places in Svalbard and Antarctica, but he has also worked in Greenland and northern Sweden. His work considers the implications of ground thaw and ice melt for the release of water, sediment and nutrients into runoff. Particular attention is given to glacier hydrology and how the sensitive ecosystems found at the ice margin are influenced by meltwater dynamics. He also looks at the microbial ecosystems within the ice itself, since there are fewer habitats more vulnerable to the impacts of climate warming than ice and snow.

Publications Google Scholar

Current Projects

CryoScope 

02/25 – 01/29, UNIS lead

CRYOsphere Science Concluding in new Observations and Productive Exploitation. Lead Institution: FMI (Helsinki). EU HORIZON-CL5-2024-D1-01 (No. 101184736).

We examine the impact of glacier retreat upon fluid migration, including how groundwater and gases (especially methane) and their movement towards the land surface. For this purpose, and following from the GlaciGas Project, we have established a new glacier forefield observatory which will be incorporated into the ELMER/ICE modelling framework in collaboration with Thomas Zwinger (CSC, Finland).

The build-up of methane beneath the sea ice in front of the marine-terminating Fridtjovbreen (and others like it) was discovered during the CLIMAGAS Projecct and is now receiving close attention in the GlaciGas Project.
The build-up of methane beneath the sea ice in front of the marine-terminating Fridtjovbreen (and others like it) was discovered during the CLIMAGAS Projecct and is now receiving close attention in the GlaciGas Project.

GlaciGas

01/24 – 12/26, Project Leader

Climate-driven methane outgassing at terrestrial and marine-terminating glacier margins. Research Council of Norway (NFR, Project Number: No 343293). 

We examine the processes and fluxes of methane escape at the immediate margin of retreating glaciers in Svalbard. We study both land-based and marine-terminating glaciers and aim to understand the sources, fluxes and likely future changes of the gas emissions from these rapidly changing environments.

Metallica

07/23 – 06/26, UNIS lead

Meltwater release of heavy metals from glacier to ocean in a Changing Arctic. Lead Institution: University of Tromsø. Research Council of Norway (NFR, Project Number: No 334596). 

My role is to examine the impact of the glacier forefield upon nutrients and metals exported from glacier basins by runoff, which forms the basis of Leo Magerl’s PhD (at UiT).

Recent projects

Lagoon Pingo Seep starts to freeze at the end of summer, but you can see how the constant gas emissions retard the rate of ice formation. Also shown is a system of hydrophones and dissolved methane detectors developed for flux monitoring as part of TerraSeep. The centre of the pool releases about 1 ton of methane each year.Lagoon Pingo Seep starts to freeze at the end of summer, but you can see how the constant gas emissions retard the rate of ice formation. Also shown is a system of hydrophones and dissolved methane detectors developed for flux monitoring as part of TerraSeep. The centre of the pool releases about 1 ton of methane each year.
Lagoon Pingo Seep starts to freeze at the end of summer, but you can see how the constant gas emissions retard the rate of ice formation. Also shown is a system of hydrophones and dissolved methane detectors developed for flux monitoring as part of TerraSeep. The centre of the pool releases about 1 ton of methane each year.
The SIOS-funded TerraSeep installation during winter. Note that the lake ice is starting to arch upwards under pressure, lifting te buoy. Sometimes the lake surface is elevated by as much as 3m under the ice blister because the groundwater keeps flowing under artesian pressure.
The SIOS-funded TerraSeep installation during winter. Note that the lake ice is starting to arch upwards under pressure, lifting te buoy. Sometimes the lake surface is elevated by as much as 3m under the ice blister because the groundwater keeps flowing under artesian pressure.

TerraSeep

01/22 – 12/23, Project Leader

A Terrestrial methane seepage observatory.
SIOS Innovation Award

We develop new techniques for monitoring methane dynamics at seeps in Svalbard through the instrumentation of the Lagoon Pingo seep.

CLIMAGAS

03/19 – 12/22, Project Leader

Climatic forcing of terrestrial methane gas escape through permafrost in Svalbard.  Research Council of Norway (NFR POLARPROG, Project Number: 294764). 

We examine methane release associated with groundwaters that exploit glacier forefields, faults and unfrozen sediments in the permafrost landscape. The sources of both the groundwaters and the gases are also being established across the whole of Central Svalbard. 

Heading towards the 800m high cliffs across a blue ice field at Troll Station, Antarctica during the BIOICE Project. The translucent blue ice enables sub-surface melting near dark debris particles to sustain microbial ecosystems.
Heading towards the 800m high cliffs across a blue ice field at Troll Station, Antarctica during the BIOICE Project. The translucent blue ice enables sub-surface melting near dark debris particles to sustain microbial ecosystems.

BIOICE

02/19 – 12/22, Project Leader

Blue Ice Oases of Life on the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Research Council of Norway (NFR FRINATEK, Project Number: No 288402). 

We examine blue ice ecosystems in the vicinity of Troll Station, Antarctica, revealing far greater nutrient, water and microbe resources associated with preferential melt pools that form around near-surface debris within the ice. 

Recent Key Publications

Commissioned Report:

Hodson, A., Kleber, G., Platt, S., Kalenitchenko, D., Hengsens, G., Irvine-Fynn, T., Senger, K., Tveit, A., Øvreås, L., ten Hietbrink, S., Hollander, J., Ammerlaan, F., Damm, E., Römer, M., Fransson, A., Chierici, M., Delpech, L.-M., Pirk, N., Sen, A., & Redecker, K. (2025). Methane in Svalbard (SvalGaSess). In SESS report 2024 – The State of Environmental Science in Svalbard – an annual report (pp. 106–137). Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14425572

Journal articles:

Nowak, A., Isaksson, E., Sunde, Ø., Elvevold, S., Sandven, H., Moholdt, G., Hudson, S.R., Urset, A., Edwards, A., Rassner, S.M. and Pearce, D., Hamre, B. and Hodson, A. 2024. Antarctic Blue Ice Areas are hydrologically active, nutrient rich and contain microbially diverse cryoconite holes. Communications Earth & Environment 5(1), 345.

Dayal, A., Hodson, A.J., Šabacká, M. and Smalley, A.L., 2023. Seasonal snowpack microbial ecology and biogeochemistry on a High Arctic ice cap reveals negligible autotrophic activity during spring and summer melt. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 128(10), e2022JG007176.

Hodson, A., Kleber, G., Johnson, J., Lonardi, M., Petroselli, C., Dixon, T. and Bottrell, S., 2023. Effects of glacier retreat upon glacier-groundwater coupling and biogeochemistry in Central Svalbard. Journal of Hydrology 624, 129894.

Jones, E.L., Hodson, A.J., Redeker, K.R., Christiansen, H.H., Thornton, S.F. and Rogers, J., 2023. Biogeochemistry of low‐and high‐centered ice‐wedge polygons in wetlands in Svalbard. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 34(3), 359-369.

Kleber, G.E., Hodson, A.J., Magerl, L., Mannerfelt, E.S., Bradbury, H.J., Zhu, Y., Trimmer, M. and Turchyn, A.V., 2023. Groundwater springs formed during glacial retreat are a large source of methane in the high Arctic. Nature Geoscience 16(7), 597-604.