Lockne summer 2026
Text and photos by Erik Sturkell
Between the 8th – 18th of July fieldwork was performed in the Lockne area in Jämtland. It was planned that Gabrielle, Erik and the dogs should join colleague Jens Ormö in Jämtland, but the puppy Becky had stomach problem and therefore couldn’t travel 800 km. Thus, Gabrielle and the collies stayed in Gothenburg while Erik drove the car all the way up to Lockne. In the evening of the 9th of July, I arrived at B&B Sörbygården just north of Brunflo. Jens and I managed to measure 122 gravity sites, one profile on the east side of the Lockne Lake and around the proposed third crater west of Tandsbyn.
On the east side:
To outline the continuation of a sheer zone in the southern end of Lockne Lake, we made gravity measurements in a homogenous granite area perpendicular to the suspected sheer zone.
West of Tandsbyn:
The area to the west of Tandsbyn has been an enigma. The surface geology displayed could not be completely explained with the previous models. This structure has been called “the Grubban” structure. A couple of years ago it was proposed that it could be an additional crater of the size of the Målingen doublet (16 km away) which is 700 m in diameter. The crater was confirmed by the 2014 drilling. Also, an extensive gravity survey was performed giving a 0.5 mgal negative anomaly in the crater. The research team started to do gravity over and around the “Grubban” structure in 2023. We have followed roads and forest trails to cover the structure. In summer 2026 Jens and I measured the structures on the east and south side and boxed in the area of interest. The structure shows a negative anomaly in the same scale as the Målingen crater. The structure will be drilled next year.
Jens and I gave a talk (mostly Jens) at the crater museum in Ångsta and met a group of very crater interested visitors. We were interviewed by the newspapers Länstidning (https://www.ltz.se/ostersund/spar-av-en-tredje-krater-i-tandsbyn/) and Jämtlands Tidning (https://www.jamtlandstidning.se/jt26v30-laenet-tandsbyn/locknekratern-kan-bli-vaerldsunik/318974) plus we made a radio interview with P4 Jämtland.
The drive back home was split in two. I visited old friends, Monica and Tobbe Wikström in Stjärnsund in Dalecarlian (check Polhem) before returning to Gothenburg after 10 days of very successful fieldwork!
