Investigating the potential for catastrophic collapse of Greenland's 'land'-terminating glacier margins

This project will investigate the influence of proglacial lake formation on the long-term dynamic stability of outlet glaciers draining the Greenland Ice Sheet.

This project will use a range of earth observation data to investigate the influence of proglacial lake formation on the long-term dynamic stability of outlet glaciers draining the GrIS. More specifically, the project will quantify how ice-motion around the GrIS has responded spatially and temporally to glacier termination in proglacial lakes, determine the extent to which new ice-marginal lakes will develop due to glacier retreat and predict how these ice-margins will respond in a future warming world.

The project will use a range of earth observation data plus high-resolution bed topography, in conjunction with surface mass balance and ice-sheet modelling, in order to achieve the following objectives:

O1) Determine how glacier motion and surface elevation have changed, both at the ice-margin and inland, in recent decades in response to ice termination in proglacial lakes. O2) Determine what processes are driving the observed changes in ice motion and elevation. O3) Determine the upglacier geometry of the subglacial bed-topography around the GrIS margin.

O4) Determine how ice-margins, susceptible to proglacial lake development, will respond dynamically to projected climate warming and with what implications for sea level rise?