Supervisors

Professor Tavi Murray, Swansea University

Dr Tim James, Swansea University

in collaboration with Dr Bea Csatho, Buffalo State University, USA

The Greenland Ice Sheet is changing rapidly, and is contributing to global sea-level rise. Greenland’s outlet glaciers have thinned dramatically (Abdalati et al. 2001), through ice dynamic and surface processes which are, at present, only poorly understood (Howat et al. 2005; Luckman et al. 2006; Howat et al. 2007). These processes are very likely to have an impact on the ice sheet mass balance, but the ice sheet models used to predict future sea-level do not include them. Consequently such models are likely to underestimate Greenland’s future contribution to sea-level rise. Understanding the causes of the changes and including them within models is a critical challenge, and is the aim of Swansea University’s GLIMPSE research group.

Project and aims

Using remotely sensed data to constrain late 20th century glacier volume changes in Greenland and Svalbard  Surface meltwater runoff and iceberg calving makes a significant contribution to arctic waters and provides an important control on ocean circulation (e.g., Dyurgerov & Carter, 2004). This project will utilise satellite laser altimetry (ICEsat) and lidar data in combination with digital photogrammetry (Schenk et al., 2005) to measure changes in glacier volume and extent. Large untapped archives of aerial photographs and declassified satellite images of glaciers from various regions have the potential to be used to derive DEMs and to calculate glacier contribution to global sea level. The problem is that in almost all cases there is no suitable data to use as ground-control, and collecting it is very expensive. This PhD aims to explore and develop the use of ground elevations derived from ICEsat satellite data as well as airborne lidar data to control DEMs from automated digital photogrammetry between aerial photographs, declassified satellite data and ASTER images. Initially the technique will be used in areas of Greenland and Svalbard where airborne lidar data have already been collected, in order to allow quality control, and verify the technique’s applicability. You will then use the technique to derive a time series of digital elevation models (DEMs) for a wide range of glaciers in Greenland, Svalbard, and possibly Antarctica: all are regions where glaciers are currently changing dramatically. The project is in collaboration with Dr Bea Csatho (Buffalo State Univ, USA), and would be supervised jointly by Professor Tavi Murray and Dr Tim James. 

The student will join the GLIMPSE group within the Glaciology Group at Swansea, and will work co-operatively within a large and dynamic group of researchers. The GLIMPSE Group is funded by the Leverhulme Trust for 5-years and is led by Professor Tavi Murray. The group currently consists of 5 postdoctoral staff and 4 PhD students addressing the stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet. It forms part of an International Polar Year Cluster Project (MARGINS – Measurement and Attribution of Greenland Ice Sheet Changes). You can find further information about the GLIMPSE group at http://www.greenlandice.org/ The Swansea Glaciology Group consists of 5 permanent academic staff and around 18 others (postdocs and PhD students) working on a wide variety of glaciological topics. We pride ourselves on being a friendly and scientifically ambitious group.

Applicant requirements

The ideal candidate for either PhD would have an undergraduate degree in a geoscience or physical science subject, and a strong interest in glaciers and Arctic regions. An MSc in a related subject (such as GIS or remote sensing) would be a distinct advantage, although the student will be trained using appropriate MSc level courses. Funding is available to UK or EU students. There may be opportunity for fieldwork in Greenland.

Funding

This project is eligible for competitive funding through NERC studentships awarded to the Department.  Other funding opportunities are available and self-funded students are always welcome. Contact your potential supervisor for advice and details of how to apply. The closing date for applications to NERC studentships is 19 March 2010.   

Further information

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact  Professor Tavi Murray: t.murray@swansea.ac.uk