Hydrological monitoring data from the Virkisá river, South East Iceland

This dataset is the product of operating a river gauging station on the Virkisá River in order to quantify the continuous flows of water discharging from the deglaciating Virkisjökull-Falljökull catchment in southeast Iceland. The records were generated alongside the continuous operation of three weather stations, a network of groundwater level gauges and numerous other forms of monitoring, together providing the foundation for the British Geological Survey’s Glacier Observatory project, which ran from 2009 to 2020.

Inputs of water to the catchment are poorly understood owing to the practical difficulties of measuring precipitation on and around an ice-cap. Outflow from the catchment occurs both in the form of the river flows presented in these data and also in the form of groundwater flow beneath the river bed.

The records presented here begin in September 2011 with the installation of the river gauging station, and continue to January 2018 after which time responsibility for the gauge passed to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. The gauge is understood to remain operational as at August 2024.

The data is in text (comma-separated variables - csv) format, and presents all physical measurements obtained at the gauge site: water levels at two positions in the river, plus water temperature and water surface velocity data. Users should bear in mind that the river channel, formed of boulders, is mobile, and is also prone to periodic ice formation in most months of the year. During the period of monitoring, the flow was through a main channel plus a small additional quantity through an additional minor channel to the west. Records comprise water levels from a sensor in the centre of the river (“EML sensor”) and another on the east bank (“SDI sensor”).

The data will be of use to researchers and students interested in the hydrology of a rapidly deglaciating landscape, including anyone interested to follow up on the various research studies published from this site in the international literature. The data have been used in several publications by the project team and provide a useful background to the dataset and observatory:

https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.22
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4527-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2175-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1833-2019
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13961

The BGS project was led and coordinated by Dr Jez Everest, with hydrological aspects, for the river gauge in particular, led by Dr Andrew Black (University of Dundee) and supported by Professor Alan MacDonald (BGS) and Dr Brighid O’Dochartaigh (BGS). Technical support and implementation were provided by Heiko Buxel and Tom Shanahan. ‘NAN’ values in the data sets indicate time steps in which measurements were not obtained or not valid. Enquiries are welcome and should be directed to Dr Everest.