Climate and Cryosphere
Members of staff conduct research within the theme of climate and cryosphere, covering periods from the Pleistocene, or earlier, through current glaciological and climate processes to the future. A key strength of this theme is a strong track record in the use of a range of approaches from field and laboratory investigations, through Earth Observation, GIS analysis and numerical modelling at regional scales to global coupled climate modelling.
Fundamental research foci that drive this theme are:
- the interactions between ice masses and periglacial environments of all sizes, the Earth’s surface and climate, both in the Pleistocene and the Holocene;
- freshwater from ice sheets, as runoff or icebergs, and its impact on the ocean, its thermohaline circulation, and hence climate
- the climatic links of exchanges – particulate, nutrient, gaseous, or thermal - within the Earth System.
Particular geographic settings for this research include northern Canada, Greenland, the North Atlantic and Arctic, southern Africa and the Sahara, and the Antarctic.
There are strong links with Earth-Surface Dynamics research, through the deforming effect of ice on the Earth's surface and the processes leading to exchanges within the Earth's boundary layers. Several members of the Climate and Cryosphere group therefore also belong to the Earth-Surface Dynamics theme. NERC is the major funder of research for the Climate and Cryosphere theme.
Climate and Cryospheric researchers collaborate with colleagues scattered across the globe and the UK. The University is part of the World University Network, which has an Earth Systems group that strengthens the international interactions of the theme.
Details of individual's research activity can found by following the links below:
Professor Grant Bigg (Group leader)