As vividly illustrated by recent eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull 2010 and Grímsvötn 2011, eruptions at ice-covered volcanoes can have severe societal impacts. Such eruptions involve complex interactions between magma, ice and meltwater, in which abrupt drainage of accumulated meltwater or removal of ice can create rapidly-changing vent conditions, as well as triggering destructive jökulhlaups.

In this session we encourage contributions that address poorly-understood aspects of volcano-ice interactions, using any combination of geological, geochemical, geophysical, hydrological, mathematical and glaciological approaches. Key topics include but are not restricted to the following:

1. Magma fragmentation. How much fragmentation is driven by magmatic processes such as degassing and crystallisation, and how much by interactions with meltwater and ice?
2. Heat transfer. What processes govern heat transfer from magma to meltwater and ice?
3. Floods. What are the key processes involved in jökulhlaup generation at ice-covered volcanoes?
4. Ancient eruptions. Can studies of old eruptions be used to track shifting patterns of eruptive activity through periods of climatic change, or to reconstruct palaeo-ice thicknesses?
5. Fractures in lavas. Can structures within lavas and intrusions (e.g. columns, glassy margins) advance our understanding of cooling mechanisms and hence the extent of magma/water interactions?
6. Timescales. To what extent can changes in ice thickness or meltwater pressure influence magma production, storage and eruption over periods of minutes to millennia?
7. Hazards. How variable are the hazards from ice-covered volcanoes, and what is being done to mitigate hazards from future eruptions?