Dr. Felipe Napoleoni is a glaciologist specialising in radar applications, currently affiliated with the University of Edinburgh. His expertise lies in utilising radar technology to characterise the ice/bed interface, study glacial dynamics, and understand ice sheet structures. Dr. Napoleoni will collaborate with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh, as well as a team at the British Antarctic Survey and University of Tübingen, to implement advanced radar techniques for analysing the internal composition and behaviour of glaciers. This collaboration aims to improve our knowledge of subglacial bedforms and enhance our understanding of glacial processes to improve predictive models for ice flow and mass balance.
Amanda Willet is a Ph.D candidate at the Pennsylvania State University assisting with the passive and active seismic deployments on Thwaites Glacier. She uses this geophysical data in conjunction with remotely sensed data to study damage at the surface, and basal mechanics
Thwaites Glacier geological map and associated geophysical information
The geology underlying Thwaites Glacier plays a critical role in mediating ice flow in this region yet is extremely poorly known. Using new compilations of airborne radar, magnetic and gravity data, supported by published geological evidence, we have interpreted the subglacial geology of the Thwaites Glacier region. Here we provide the new data compilations, results of 3D inversions and vector components defining the lithological units on our new geological sketch map.
Jordan et al ITGC:109 2023
Jordan, T.A., S. Thompson, B. Kulessa, and F. Ferraccioli. 2023. Geological sketch map and implications for ice flow of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, from integrated aerogeophysical observations. Science Advances Vol 9, Issue 22.
Dotto ITGC:062
Dotto, T.S., K.J. Heywood, R.A. Hall, et al. 2022. Ocean variability beneath Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf driven by the Pine Island Bay Gyre strength. Nat Commun 13, 7840.
Scientists are interested in learning about how the ocean affects the ice shelves around Antarctica! The Southern Ocean, that circles around all of Antarctica, has different layers of water at different ocean depths that have different temperatures, salinity and more! Unfortunately, Antarctica is a very difficult environment to work in! The frigid temperatures, icebergs, and extreme weather make it very hard for scientists to collect data.
High School students interested in exploring the poles and polar science, join a group of like minded peers! Our High School Polar Ambassadors Program is engaging students from a diversity of communities and backgrounds to learn about polar science, share their own stories about climate and community and build resources to share more broadly with others. Understanding the polar regions and how they connect to us, influence our lives and are influenced by us, is just the beginning!
Julia Villafranca is a Masters student at the University of Houston working with Dr. Julia Wellner. Her thesis uses sub-bottom sediment profiles collected from the Amundsen Sea Sector on two National Science Foundation-supported research cruises in 2019 and 2020 to map sediment deposits and calculate their thickness.
Congratulations to Yixi Zheng, recipient of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) Early Career Scientist Prize! Yixi, from the University of East Anglia, UK, and a researcher with ITGC's TARSAN project, received the award for her paper:
