HIDDEN TREASURES / THE MICROBIAL ECOLOGIES OF THE GRÍMSVÖTN SUBGLACIAL LAGOON

For the complete archival collection of Cryolake Microecologies, see Appendix, 152.

Existing conditions of the Grímsvötn subglacial geothermal caldera

The Grímsvötn subglacial geothermal caldera is one of three calderas above the central subglacial volcano in the Vatnajökull, and represents one of the rarest, most valuable habitats on earth. Characterised by darkness, scarce oxygen, abundant methane and hydrodgen, with plenty of organic material, they posses a unique and self-sufficient biome; ‘a bit like a terranium, only substituting the glass with ice and the plants with algae’ 16. Once believed to be sterile wastelands, it has only recently been discovered that these geothermal subglacial lakes are in fact furnished with tiny life forms: vibrant ecosystems of microorganisms that function as a nutrient factory for all life downstream of the glacier, released through glacial flour in the meltwater. It has also been noted that these environments might serve as analogies for the earliest habitats on earth, as well as offering opportunities to study life in extreme environments on modern earth, and life as it may exist elsewhere in our solar system.

As rare and uniquely ecologically valuable as it is, the Grímsvötn subglacial lake is equally under particular and direct from impending glacial melt. Currently encased by as much as 300m of ice, the exponential retreat of the glacier is threatening to irrevocably alter this habitat, endangering the microbial ecologies - and by consequence - the ecologies of all life that they support downstream.

‘Our conception of glaciers was gradually being transformed from cold, sterile deserts to nutrient factories for a whole range of neighbouring ecosystems’17

Proposal for a cryolake landscape installation at Grímsvötn

The conceptual proposal for the site at Grímsvötn is a cryolake installation to draw attention to the need to preserve and value the unseen microbial ecologies that live beneath the ice of the glacier. ‘Cryolakes’ are cryconite holes covered with thin ice sheets, often interconnected by tiny watery channels also covered with ice roofs, and represent a micro-scale model of the larger Grímsvötn lagoon. The proposal is to install artificial domes of black glass on top of cryconite holes as they emerge surrounding the site, as a means of preserving subglacial conditions even as the ice melts, blocking out the majority of light and oxygen. The first cryolakes to have the glass installed might develop richer microbiomes with time, resulting in a network of tiny, hidden ecosystems working to preserve subglacial life for a post-glacial future.

Whilst the proposal for this site is largely conceptual, and oriented around the more-than-human experience on the microbial scale, the installation might spark a conversation amongst those visiting the park, drawing vital attention to the emerging conversation around the importance of subglacial ecologies.

The conceptual proposals behind the installation of glass domes over emergent cryolakes surrounding the former subglacial lagoon at Grímsvötn represent part of a wider thesis for the future Vatnajokull Botanical Park - that of numerous, potentially hundreds of, ‘archive gardens’ that each responds uniquely to notions of archiving.

Where the proposals for the Grímsvötn site relate to a universal maifesto of ecological preservation for disappearing landscapes, other prospective sites might disrupt the existing landscape in order to create novel atmospheric conditions, or more stability to facilitate future ecological development. Some sites might seek to create unique atmospheric experiences for human visitors, acting as a legacy for glacial atmospheres lost. Some might physically ‘archive’ the processes of the landscape as living museums of sorts, or serve as memorials for the glacier for future generations