The cryosphere event organized by the British Embassy Berne
On 25 March 2022, British and Swiss scientists met at Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfraujoch International Research Station to initiate, promote and strengthen collaboration.
Participants of the Cryosphere event at the Sphinx Observatory Jungfraujoch
The programme consisted of two panel discussions and three roundtables on topics relevant to the cryosphere under changing climate conditions.
Link to a video of the event: Postcards from the Anthropocene – YouTube
At Kleine Scheidegg
Welcome and introduction by Ambassador Jane Owen
Panel 1: Global Heating, Tipping Points & Risks
Panelists representing the following organizations (from left to right):
- Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich
- Climate and Environmental Physics, University of Berne
- Scott Polar Research Institute, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
Thomas Stocker moderated the statements of the four panelists. There was agreement that the effects of climate change are rapid and unprecedented. To preserve the Alpine ice for the next generation of scientists and technologies, an international foundation called Ice Memory was recently established.
Roundtables 1-3
Roundtable 1: Understanding the cryosphere, understanding our planet
Topic: climate risk assessment: water and ice and the glacial hydrological system
Participating organisations:
- British Embassy representation: Katie Scheding, Head of Climate and Energy
- Climate and Environmental Physics, University of Berne
- Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, Salford University
- Scott Polar Research Institute, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
- UK Arctic & Antarctic Partnerships (UKAAP) Steering Committee
- School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews
Roundtable 2: Vanishing Archives: ice memory and field observations
Topic: field observations, weather changes, remote sensing
Participating organisations:
- British Embassy representation: Henry Evans, First Secretary
- Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute
- Department of Geography, University of Zurich
- Swiss Polar Institute
- Global Change Research Institute, University of Edinburgh
- Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
Roundtable 3: Atmospheric Modelling & Climate Projections
Topic: atmospheric modelling, climate projections
Participating organisations:
- British Embassy representation: Jane Owen, Her Majesty’s Ambassador
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute
- Climate and Environmental Physics, University of Bern
- Environmental Remote Sensing Laboratory, EPFL
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
- Climate, Cryosphere and Oceans group, Met Office
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
At Jungfraujoch
Panel 2: Cryosphere connections: Swiss and British collaboration
Panelists representing the following organizations:
- Swiss Polar Institute
- Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
- UK Arctic & Antarctic Partnerships (UKAAP) Steering Committee
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
Henry Evans led through the statements of the four panelists. All agreed that international cooperation is a key element for scientific progress on interdisciplinary topics such as impacts on the cryosphere under changing climate conditions. The scientific challenges are many, but cooperative research requires funding. This is where politics meets science.
Martin Siegert, UK Arctic & Antarctic Partnerships (UKAAP) Steering Committee/ Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, during his statement on Panel 2 on UK-Swiss cooperation on cryosphere issues in the vinegar cellar on the Jungfraujoch.
Visit and guided tour of the Sphinx Observatory and the Research Station Jungfraujoch run by the International Foundation High Altitude Research Stations Jungfraujoch and Gornergrat.
The delegation on the Meteo-Terrace of the Sphinx Observatory
Matthias Huss, ETH Zurich, informed about the Aletsch glacier
Markus Leuenberger, Director HFSJG, gave an overview of the projects running in the Sphinx laboratories
The Ambassador Jane Owen in the library of the research station
Walking through the ice palace and finalizing the event in the ice bar
Anna Jones, Director of Science at British Antarctic Survey (left), Sarah Miller, Science & Innovation and Climate & Energy at British Embassy Berne (middle), and Henry Evans, First Secretary at British Embassy Berne (right)
Ambassador Jane Owen in a lively discussion with participants at the farewell aperitif in the ice bar on the Jungfraujoch
The Ambassador Jane Owen announcing the winners of the ‘Postcards of the Anthropocene’
Swiss winner: Matthias Huss, ETH Zurich
UK winner: Poul Christoffersen, Cambridge University