Interview: "Glaciers are full of life metabolizing carbon and catalyzing chemical reactions that can produce gases and nutrients"

In this interview, iC3 director Jemma Wadham explains her research on glaciers and their impact on Earth´s biogeochemical cycles, while also sharing her passion for creative storytelling and the importance of collaboration.

Could you briefly describe yourself and the focus of your research at iC3?

My name is Jemma Wadham, I am the director of the iC3 Polar Research Hub at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, based in Tromsø. I started off as a glaciologist by trade, and my heart is in glaciology. But I’m also a biogeochemist, which means I study how rock, chemical reactions, and life interact to cycle essential elements through different parts of the Earth's system. 

I focus on glacier environments, which in my early career, we thought were sterile and chemically unreactive. We assumed they didn’t connect to Earth’s carbon cycle or influence ocean life.

What has changed since then?

Over the last 20–30 years, we’ve discovered that’s completely untrue. Glaciers are alive, full of microbes metabolizing carbon and catalyzing chemical reactions that dissolve rock, producing gases and nutrients that flow into the atmosphere and oceans.

This means glaciers are connected to their surrounding environments. iC3 is an opportunity to build a large research group in northern Norway to study how glaciers and ice sheets influence life beyond their borders and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It’s exciting because we can now study these processes at scale, reducing uncertainties about the effects of glaciers on ecosystems, fisheries, and even global carbon cycles.

Could you give an example of a concrete application of your research?

I’m fascinated by places we can’t physically go, like the deep, dark subglacial environment. Beneath glaciers, rock is ground into fine particles called glacial flour. My research team have studied this “dust” for decades, investigating its composition, the microbes living in it, and its potential uses. For example, glacial flour releases nutrients like silicon, which might sustain diatoms (a type of phytoplankton).

Another potential application is using glacial flour as a sustainable agricultural fertilizer. When mixed with soil, it dissolves slowly, releasing nutrients over time, unlike chemical fertilizers that can wash away and cause pollution. This dual perspective—understanding how glaciers create these materials and exploring their practical uses—has been a long-term interest of mine.

How did you come to work in Tromsø?

I spent decades researching in the UK, primarily at the University of Bristol. But I wanted to be closer to glaciers to study them sustainably without relying on long-haul flights. Northern Norway offered the chance to conduct year-round research, beyond the traditional summer melt season.

The opportunity to apply for the Norwegian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence funding was also a major factor. It allowed me to ask big questions and assemble a team to tackle them. iC3 is about building a collaborative, long-term research effort to understand glaciers’ impacts on ecosystems and the carbon cycle.

How has your research evolved since the beginning of your career?

During my PhD, I studied the chemistry of meltwater from a glacier in Svalbard, assuming the environment was sterile. But shortly after, I found chemical and isotopic evidence of microbial life beneath glaciers. Around about the same time, other researchers discovered large microbial populations in subglacial sediments elsewhere.

This shifted my focus entirely. I had to learn microbiology and biogeochemistry to understand how microbes catalyze chemical reactions, obtain energy, and interact with their environment. Over the last 30 years, my work has focused on why these biological and chemical processes matter, how they connect glaciers to surrounding ecosystems, and the broader implications of these interactions.

Could you describe some of the projects you’re involved in, like Glacier GEOHEALTH or METALLICA?

All my projects align with iC3’s overarching goal of understanding how glaciers and ice sheets influence ecosystems and the carbon cycle.

For example, METALLICA investigates whether glaciers release toxic metals into rivers and marine ecosystems, and how these metals move through food webs. 

GEOHEALTH looks at how glacial flour might have co-benefits for crop growth and human health if applied as a sustainable soil amendment. These projects are funded separately but contribute to iC3’s mission, creating a “mothership” of interconnected research.

What methodologies or technologies excite you most in your field?

I’m particularly excited about novel in-situ sensing and sampling technologies. These allow us to study inaccessible environments, like beneath glaciers, or monitor processes year-round, even in winter. Miniaturized sensors could reveal processes we’ve never observed before.

I’m also fascinated by numerical modeling, which helps us understand the impacts of ice sheets at regional to global scales and predict future changes. Collaborating with modelers to combine field observations with large-scale simulations is incredibly rewarding, with the potential for AI to play a role in building more sophisticated models.

What big question would you like to answer in the future?

I’m drawn to the deep, dark underbelly of ice sheets, particularly Antarctica. We have very few data points from beneath the ice sheet, yet it’s larger than Canada. I´d like to understand the microbial life there—who’s living there, what they’re doing—and connect that understanding to numerical models to assess global impacts.

I’m also interested in exploring creative, sustainable ways to harness the properties of materials produced by glaciers, like glacial flour.

What’s one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your research, and how did you overcome it?

Science is full of challenges, from securing funding to managing complex field logistics. I think of it like traversing a mountain range: sometimes you’re on the peaks, and everything is amazing; other times, you’re stuck in a bog. The key is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Determination and persistence are essential, as is looking sideways for unexpected solutions.

If you had unlimited funding, how would you allocate it?

I’d focus on answering big questions by assembling teams with secure, long-term funding. One of the biggest challenges in science is the lack of job security for early-career researchers. With unlimited funding, I’d ensure talented people have the stability to focus on their work without constantly worrying about their next contract.

What’s a memorable moment or breakthrough in your career?

Writing my book for a general audience was transformative. It allowed me to communicate my research in a way that reached beyond the scientific community. I realized the power of storytelling in making science accessible and impactful. It’s one thing to make discoveries but sharing them effectively is just as important.

What does an ideal day off look like for you?

I’d love to be in a cozy cabin with no internet or phone, a good book, and my skis. I’d spend the day skiing, reading, and doing some creative writing—maybe poetry or prose—something that takes me somewhere else.

Could you share a book or movie that has influenced you?

There’s a book called Under the Glacier by Halldór Laxness, an Icelandic author. It’s a brilliant, absurd tale, but the glacier is always present in the narrative. Sometimes it feels close, sometimes distant, but it’s always there. For me, that symbolizes what glaciers are: intrinsic to the landscape, a constant presence. It’s a beautiful metaphor for how glaciers shape our world.

What are you looking forward to in the next year?

Professionally, I’m excited about iC3’s upcoming missions, like sampling subglacial regions in Antarctica or northeast Greenland. I also love working with my research team—seeing my PhD students and postdocs make discoveries is incredibly inspiring. Personally, I’m looking forward to more time in cabins, skiing, and creative writing.

Do you have a personal motto you’d like to share?

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Jemma Wadham is a professor of glaciology at the Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the University of Bristol (UK). Her research focuses on how ice sheets and glaciers influence global biogeochemical cycles. She is particularly interested in glacier-hosted life and its role in the global carbon cycle.