Surging glacier dynamics
Lowell Glacier, Yukon Territory is known to surge on sub-decadal timescales and another surge is due within the next five years. This project examines the controls on glacier surging behaviour by comparing Lowell Glacier with the nearby Kaskawulsh Glacier in collaboration with Dr. Luke Copland and his research team at the University of Ottawa. We have installed multiple GPS stations on each glacier to monitor the motion of the ice. Future fieldwork will involve geophysical surveys along with borehole drilling to assess the temperature of the ice along with the characteristics of the bed at each of these glaciers.
Nansen Ice Shelf, Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica
The Nansen Ice Shelf recently (April 2016) calved two large ice berg with a total area of 214 km2. My team is investigating causal factors behind this calving event in collaboartion with the Korean Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) and the University of Texas Intitute of Geophysics (UTIG). We are using both ground based and aerial radar data to examine the underside of the ice shelf along with remote sensing techniques to track fractures on the ice surface. I also worked on this ice shelf as part of a NASA project examining tidal impacts on the flexure of the ice. See here for a video about this project.
Antarctic subglacial lakes
I use GlaDS, a 2D finite element model to examine subglacial environments in various regions of the Antarctic. For example, at Recovery Ice Stream, I have modeled the filling and draining of multiple lakes that lie under the fast flowing ice. I compare the model results with satellite altimery data that shows the rise and fall of the ice surface in response to the filling and draining of the subglacial lakes. The flow of water from these lakes can grow large channels under the ice and also cause the ice to speed up into the ocean.
