Most professors would not consider living beneath a glacier ideal working conditions, but Neal Iverson conducted research from under a 700-foot thick river of ice in Norway for three weeks last April.

Iverson, associate professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, recently published a research paper about glacier flow in the July 4 issue of “Science” magazine, based on his research that examines how glaciers move across rock and sediment, and how they shape the landscape.

While Iverson lived beneath the 80-mile glacier last spring, he wore a rubber suit and hard hat to combat the drips of water melting from the massive piece of ice.

“We lived in a bunk house—like building that had a network of excavated tunnels connected to the glacier,” Iverson said.

Sometimes, the tunnels filled with water from the melting ice, Iverson said, causing the floors to be slippery.

“The temperature there wasn’t bad,” Iverson said. “It was 34 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity was 100 percent.”

Iverson’s research paper was co-authored by Denis Cohen-Corticchiato, affiliate associate professor of geological and atmospheric sciences; Peter Moore, graduate of geological and atmospheric sciences; and Thomas Hooyer, a former student of Iverson’s, now with Wisconsin Geological Survey.

The research was done mainly to try to figure out why melting glaciers slide out of their valley, Iverson said.

“The rock bed affects how the glacier slides, and in my field, we want to be able to predict this,” Iverson said. “Fresh water is in glaciers, and it goes to the oceans, which raises sea level and affects the atmosphere by influencing ocean circulation.”

The research was conducted in Norway because it was the best place to get under a glacier, Iverson said.

“The glacier where we worked moves eight inches a day, and Norway is the best place to make measurements,” he said.

Cohen-Corticchiato wanted to get involved because it was interesting from a scientific view, he said in an email to the Daily.

“The problem of glacier sliding on its bed is still poorly understood, and we lack measurements,” Cohen-Corticchiato said. “Our experiments are bringing new data into the field, particularly what causes a glacier to slide at a particular speed and how water sediment and bedrock are coupled to one another to cause the glacier to slide.”

Cohen-Corticchiato said his experience in Norway was exciting, as well as a lot of hard work. The only downfall was being without sunlight, he said.

“It’s hard to get up in the morning and be motivated,” he said.

This is the third research project funded at the Norway glacier sight from the National Science Foundation, Cohen-Corticchiato said.

“There are more opportunities to do work more work there,” Cohen-Cortichhiato said.

Iverson said he will be going back to do more research.

“We want to know how fast the rock bed erodes,” he said.

Iverson and Cohen-Cortichhiato agree they would like the science community to take their research to heart.

“We want the people to learn that the debris in the glacier controls how fast the glacier moves,” Iverson said. “We would also like the modeling community, mostly mathematical, to pay attention to our results and change their models accordingly.”