Dr Frances Butcher

School of Geography and Planning

Research Fellow

f.butcher@sheffield.ac.uk

Room C13b, Geography and Planning Building

Full contact details

Dr Frances Butcher
School of Geography and Planning
Room C13b
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND

Profile: I am a UK Space Agency Exploration Science Research Fellow in the School of Geography and Planning at Sheffield. I am a planetary scientist and glacial geomorphologist researching the history of glaciation on Mars and Earth. I use data from satellites orbiting Mars to analyse the landscapes generated by past and present glaciers on the Red Planet. In doing so, I aim to better understand the history of ice, liquid water, and environmental change on Mars, and inform the scientific objectives of future robotic and human missions.

My current UK Space Agency-funded fellowship project is entitled 'Structural glaciology on Mars to underpin preparations for ice-access missions'.

I obtained a BA in Geography from the University of Cambridge in 2015 before moving to The Open University to undertake a PhD entitled 'Wet-Based Glaciation on Mars', which I completed in 2019. I then moved to the University of Sheffield as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant on the ERC-funded PALGLAC project (PI: Prof Chris Clark), using glacial landforms to reconstruct the flow dynamics of the former Scandinavian Ice Sheet on Earth. I then returned to Mars-focussed research by winning a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship at Sheffield (2019-2022), and I am currently a UK Space Agency Exploration Science Research Fellow.

I use my research to inform concepts and planning for future Mars missions. For example I was selected by NASA and the Canadian, Japanese and Italian space agencies to serve as a member of the 'Measurement Definition Team' for the International Mars Ice Mapper (‘I-MIM’) Mission. More recently (2024), I was selected to serve on the Measurement Definition Team for the European Space Agency LightShip-SpotLight Mars orbiter concept. In 2024/2025 I also served on the MEPAG Science Analysis Group for the ice-drilling 'Search for Life' (Mars Life Explorer) lander concept.

I founded and lead the 'CryoMars' network of UK researchers and international colleagues working on Mars and Earth cryosphere (and cryosphere-related) topics. I also serve on the UK Space Agency's Space Exploration Advisory Committee.

I am also an Associate Editor for the journal Earth Surface Dynamics (ESurf).

Research interests

My key research interests include:

Landforms produced by glaciation and glacial meltwater on Mars, and their implications for environmental conditions in Mars' recent and ancient past.
Current ice deposits on Mars, their implications for recent environmental change, and their potential for future sampling and in situ resource utilisation by human/robotic missions.
Landforms produced by past ice sheets on Earth, and their implications for ice sheet dynamics.
Using comparisons to Earth to better understand glaciation on Mars (and vice versa).

Publications

Books

(2024) Ices in the Solar System. Elsevier.

Journal articles

Brož P, Patočka V, Butcher F, Sylvest M & Patel M (2025) The complexity of water freezing under reduced atmospheric pressure. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 668, 119531-119531.
Butcher FEG, Fawdon P, Wright J, Woodley SZ & Cornford BT (2025) Amazonian syn-glacial tectonism in Bosporus Planum, Mars, evidenced by a tectonic fault cross-cutting a crater-filling glacier..
Munaretto G, Bertoli S, Tusberti F, Tullo A, Byrne S, Butcher FEG, Grau Galofre A, Cremonese G, Re C, Massironi M , Pajola M et al (2025) Identification of three candidate martian Eskers in Deuteronilus Mensae, Mars: Implications for possible local wet-based glaciation.
Biju Sindhu P, Broz P, Patočka V, Butcher F, Fox-Powell M, Sylvest M, Emerland Z & Patel M (2025) Experimental Insights into the Phase Transitions of Water in Low-Pressure Environments.
Arnold N & Butcher F (2025) Physically-based estimates of the age of ice in a martian debris-covered glacier.
Butcher FEG, Arnold NS, Conway SJ, Berman DC, Davis JM & Balme MR (2024) The internal structure of a debris-covered glacier on Mars revealed by gully incision. Icarus, 419. View this article in WRRO
Archer RE, Ely JC, Heaton TJ, Butcher FEG, Hughes ALC & Clark CD (2023) Assessing ice sheet models against the landform record: the Likelihood of Accordant Lineations Analysis (LALA) tool. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 48(14), 2754-2771. View this article in WRRO
Arnold N, Butcher F, Gallagher C, Balme M & Conway S (2023) Estimating subglacial water discharges needed to form Amazonian-aged mid-latitude eskers on Mars. EGU General Assembly 2023. View this article in WRRO
Ely JC, Stevens D, Clark CD & Butcher FEG (2023) Numerical modelling of subglacial ribs, drumlins, herringbones, and mega-scale glacial lineations reveals their developmental trajectories and transitions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 48(5), 956-978. View this article in WRRO
Morino C, Conway S, Philippe M, Peignaux C, Svennevig K, Lucas A, Noblet A, Roberti G, Butcher F & Collins-May J (2023) Permafrost molards as an analogue for ejecta-ice interactions at Hale Crater, Mars. Icarus, 391. View this article in WRRO
Stevens D, Ely JC, Livingstone SJ, Clark CD, Butcher FEG & Hewitt I (2023) Effects of basal topography and ice-sheet surface slope in a subglacial glaciofluvial deposition model. Journal of Glaciology, 69(274), 397-409. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Arnold NS, Balme MR, Conway SJ, Clark CD, Gallagher C, Hagermann A, Lewis SR, Rutledge AM, Storrar RD & Woodley SZ (2022) Eskers associated with buried glaciers in Mars' mid latitudes: recent advances and future directions. Annals of Glaciology, 63(87-89), 33-38. View this article in WRRO
Arnold NS, Butcher FEG, Conway SJ, Gallagher C & Balme MR (2022) Surface topographic impact of subglacial water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. Nature Astronomy, 6(11), 1256-1262. View this article in WRRO
Woodley SZ, Butcher FEG, Fawdon P, Clark CD, Ng FSL, Davis JM & Gallagher C (2022) Multiple sites of recent wet-based glaciation identified from eskers in western Tempe Terra, Mars. Icarus, 386. View this article in WRRO
Conway S, Butcher F, Grau Galofre A & Noblet A (2022) The morphology of glacier-associated layered deposits on Mars.
Soare RJ, Williams J-P, Hepburn AJ & Butcher FEG (2022) A billion or more years of possible periglacial/glacial cycling in Protonilus Mensae, Mars. Icarus, 385. View this article in WRRO
Smith I, Calvin WM, Smith DE, Hansen C, Diniega S, McEwen A, Thomas N, Banfield D, Titus TN, Becerra P , Kahre M et al (2021) Solar-system-wide significance of Mars polar science. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 53(4). View this article in WRRO
Galofre AG, Andres CN, Becerra P, Bhardwaj A, Bramson A, Butcher F, Christensen PR, Conway SJ, Coronato A, Hauber E , Hibbard S et al (2021) A comparative view of glacial and periglacial landforms on Earth and Mars. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 53(4). View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Balme MR, Conway SJ, Gallagher C, Arnold NS, Storrar RD, Lewis SR, Hagermann A & Davis JM (2021) Sinuous ridges in Chukhung crater, Tempe Terra, Mars: Implications for fluvial, glacial, and glaciofluvial activity. Icarus, 357. View this article in WRRO
Gallagher C, Butcher FEG, Balme M, Smith I & Arnold N (2021) Landforms indicative of regional warm based glaciation, Phlegra Montes, Mars. Icarus, 355. View this article in WRRO
Conway S, Peignaux C, Morino C, Philippe M, Collins-May J, Butcher F & Roberti G (2020) Evidence for ice in the ejecta flows of Hale Crater, Mars. Europlanet Science Congress 2020, 14. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Balme MR, Conway SJ, Gallagher C, Arnold NS, Storrar RD, Lewis SR & Hagermann A (2020) Morphometry of a glacier-linked esker in NW Tempe Terra, Mars, and implications for sediment-discharge dynamics of subglacial drainage. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 542. View this article in WRRO
Arnold NS, Conway SJ, Butcher FEG & Balme MR (2019) Modeled subglacial water flow routing supports localized intrusive heating as a possible cause of basal melting of Mars' south polar ice cap. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 124(8), 2101-2116. View this article in WRRO
Morino C, Conway SJ, Sæmundsson Þ, Helgason JK, Hillier J, Butcher FEG, Balme MR, Jordan C & Argles T (2019) Molards as an indicator of permafrost degradation and landslide processes. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 516, 136-147. View this article in WRRO
Balme MR, Curtis-Rouse MC, Banham S, Barnes D, Barnes R, Bauer A, Bedford CC, Bridges JC, Butcher FEG, Caballo-Perucha P , Caldwell A et al (2019) The 2016 UK Space Agency Mars Utah Rover Field Investigation (MURFI). Planetary and Space Science, 165, 31-56. View this article in WRRO
de Haas T, Conway SJ, Butcher FEG, Levy J, Grindrod PM, Goudge TA & Balme MR (2019) Time will tell: temporal evolution of Martian gullies and palaeoclimatic implications. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 467(1), 165-186. View this article in WRRO
Conway SJ, Butcher FEG, de Haas T, Deijns AAJ, Grindrod PM & Davis JM (2018) Glacial and gully erosion on Mars : a terrestrial perspective. Geomorphology, 318, 26-57. View this article in WRRO
Balme M, Robson E, Barnes R, Butcher F, Fawdon P, Huber B, Ortner T, Paar G, Traxler C, Bridges J , Gupta S et al (2018) Surface-based 3D measurements of small aeolian bedforms on Mars and implications for estimating ExoMars rover traversability hazards. Planetary and Space Science, 153, 39-53. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Balme MR, Gallagher C, Arnold NS, Conway SJ, Hagermann A & Lewis SR (2018) Recent basal melting of a mid-latitude glacier on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 122(12), 2445-2468. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Conway SJ & Arnold NS (2016) Are the Dorsa Argentea on Mars eskers?. Icarus, 275, 65-84. View this article in WRRO

Chapters

Koutnik M, Butcher FEG, Soare RJ, Hepburn AJ, Hubbard B, Brough S, Gallagher C, Mc Keown LE & Pathare A (2024) Glacial deposits, remnants, and landscapes on Amazonian Mars: Using setting, structure, and stratigraphy to understand ice evolution and climate history, Ices in the Solar System (pp. 101-142). Elsevier
Soare RJ, Costard F, Williams J-P, Gallagher C, Hepburn AJ, Stillman D, Koutnik M, Conway SJ, Philippe M, Butcher FEG , Mc Keown LE et al (2024) Evidence, arguments, and cold-climate geomorphology that favour periglacial cycling at the Martian mid-to-high latitudes in the Late Amazonian Epoch, Ices in the Solar System (pp. 143-192). Elsevier
Davis JM, Fawdon P, Butcher FEG & Banham SG (2022) Chapter 18 Determining morphostratigraphy of planetary surfaces with examples from Mars, Deciphering Earth's History: the Practice of Stratigraphy (pp. 327-342). The Geological Society of London
Lasue J, Clifford SM, Conway SJ, Mangold N & Butcher FEG (2019) The Hydrology of Mars Including a Potential Cryosphere, Volatiles in the Martian Crust (pp. 185-246). Elsevier
Lasue J, Clifford SM, Conway SJ, Mangold N & Butcher FEG (2018) The Hydrology of Mars Including a Potential Cryosphere, Volatiles in the Martian Crust (pp. 185-246).

Conference proceedings papers

Storrar R, Jones A, Butcher F, Dewald N, Clark C, Delaney C, Evans D, Lewington E, Livingstone S & Stokes C (2021) Ice sheet scale subglacial meltwater conduit dimensions and processes: insights from 3D morphometry of a large sample of eskers
Woodley SZ, Butcher FEG, Clark CD, Ng F, Davis JM & Gallagher C (2021) Multiple sites of Amazonian wet-based glaciation identified in West Tempe Terra, Mars. 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), Proceedings. Virtual conference, 15 March 2021 - 15 March 2021. View this article in WRRO
Conway SJ, Morino C, Peignaux C, Lucas A, Svennig K, Butcher FEG, Roberti G, Philippe M & Collins-May J (2021) Molards - a new landform revealing ice-ejecta interactions on Mars. 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), Proceedings. Virtual conference, 15 March 2021 - 15 March 2021. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Balme MR, Conway SJ, Gallagher C, Arnold NS, Storrar RD, Lewis SR, Hagermann A & Davis JM (2021) Sinuous ridges and the history of fluvial and glaciofluvial activity in Chukhung Crater, Tempe Terra, Mars. EGU General Assembly 2021 Abstracts. Virtual conference, 19 April 2021 - 19 April 2021. View this article in WRRO
Morino C, Conway S, Peignaux C, Lucas A, Svennevig K, Butcher FEG, Roberti G, Philippe M & Collins-May J (2021) Molards as an analogue for ejecta-ice interactions on Mars. EGU General Assembly 2021 Abstracts. Virtual conference, 19 April 2021 - 19 April 2021. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Arnold NS, Conway SJ, Berman DC, Davis JM & Balme MR (2021) Potential for sampling of subglacial and englacial environments in Mars' mid-latitudes, without deep drilling. 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), Proceedings. Virtual conference, 15 March 2021 - 15 March 2021. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Arnold NS, Berman DC, Conway SJ, Davis JM & Balme MR (2020) Possible transport of basal debris to the surface of a mid-latitude glacier on Mars. EGU General Assembly 2020: Sharing Geoscience Online. Online conference, 4 May 2020 - 4 May 2020. View this article in WRRO
Arnold NS, Butcher FEG, Gallagher C, Balme MR & Conway SJ (2020) Modelling esker formation on Mars. EGU General Assembly 2020: Sharing Geoscience Online. Online conference, 4 May 2020 - 4 May 2020. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Arnold NS, Berman DC, Conway SJ, Davis JM, Balme MR & Barnes R (2020) Internal structure of a glacier on Mars revealed by gully incision. 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Online conference, 16 March 2020 - 16 March 2020. View this article in WRRO

Theses / Dissertations

Butcher FEG (2019) Wet-Based Glaciation on Mars.

Dictionary/encyclopaedia entries

Butcher FEG (2022) Water ice at mid-latitudes on Mars. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science Oxford University Press. View this article in WRRO

Datasets

Butcher F, Balme M, Conway SJ, Gallagher C, Arnold NS, Storrar R, Lewis S, Hagermann A & Davis J Geomorphic map of Chukhung crater, central Tempe Terra, Mars (Shapefiles).

Other

Boyes B, Dulfer H, Clark C, Butcher F, Dewald N, Ely J & Hughes A (2025) Reconciling ice marginal, subglacial meltwater, and ice flow landform signatures into a coherent retreat pattern of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet across Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Dulfer HE, Boyes BM, Stoker BJ, Butcher FEG, Clark CD, Dewald N, Diemont CR, Ely JC, Hughes ALC, Margold M & Stokes CR (2025) Insights into the behaviour of Northern Hemisphere Pleistocene ice sheets gained from the glacial landform record.
Archer R, Ely J, Johnson J, Oakley J, Clark C, Butcher F, Dulfer H, Hughes A, Boyes B & Reese R (2025) Statistically optimising the input parameter space of a numerical ice sheet model to improve the model fit to observations of palaeo-ice flow direction .
Clark C, Ely J, Hughes A, Archer R, Boyes B, Butcher F, Dewald N, Diemont C, Dulfer H & Bradley S (2025) A landform-driven simulation of deglaciation of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and the PalGlac project’s progress on data-modelling integration.
Archer R, Ely J, Heaton T, Butcher F, Hughes A & Clark C (2025) Application of a new statistically rigorous comparison tool of observed and modelled flow directions of the last British-Irish ice sheet over time.
Dulfer H, Boyes B, Dewald N, Butcher F, Clark C, Ely J & Hughes A (2025) Contrasting regional ice margin dynamics of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet revealed by the landform record.
Boyes B, Dulfer H, Dewald N, Butcher F, Clark C, Ely J & Hughes A (2025) Deglaciation pattern of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet across Fennoscandia.
Stevens D, Ely J, Livingstone S, Clark C, Butcher F & Hewitt I (2022) The effects of basal topography and ice-sheet surface slope in a subglacial glaciofluvial deposition model.
Butcher FEG, Hughes ALC, Ely JC, Clark CD, Lewington ELM, Boyes BM, Scoffield AC, Howcutt S & Dowling TPF (2022) A new, multi-scale mapping approach for reconstructing the flow evolution of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet using high-resolution digital elevation models..

Preprints

Soare RJ, Williams J-P, Hepburn AJ & Butcher FEG (2022) A billion or more years of possible periglacial/glacial cycling in Protonilus Mensae, Mars, arXiv.

Grants

2025: Principal Investigator, UK Space Agency Exploration Science Fellowship 'Structural glaciology on Mars to underpin preparations for ice-access missions'
2022: Principal Investigator, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship. 'Deciphering Mars’ glacial landscapes to underpin science goals of human missions'.
2020: British Society of Geomorphology Conference Support Grant (£500): CryoMars meeting, University of Sheffield.
2019: International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Conference Grant (€1320).
2019: Lunar and Planetary Institute Career Development Award ($1500).
2019: GeoPlanet Research Mobility Grant (€1200): Awarded by Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, University of Nantes.
2018: Royal Astronomical Society Travel Grant (£900).
2018: British Society for Geomorphology Postgraduate Conference Attendance Grant (£300).
2017: Pierazzo International Student Travel Award ($2000): Awarded to one non-US graduate student globally per year by the Planetary Science Institute.
2016: Europlanet Grant: Full funding to attend Europlanet RPIF 3D training workshop, Mullard Space Science Laboratory.
2016: 6th International Mars Polar Conference European Student Travel Grant (€666): Awarded by the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences.
2015: Ogden Trust Trustees' Award (£900).
2015: British Society for Geomorphology Postgraduate Conference Attendance Grant (£850).
2015: ProViDE Summer School EU Student Travel Grant (£500).

Teaching interests

I teach on the following modules in Sheffield:

Polar and Alpine Change MSc(Res) Research Project
The Planets
Our Melting Planet
MSc GIS Geospatial Dissertation,
Lake District Fieldclass,
Why Geography Matters

Past teaching activities include:

Teaching cover (Lectures), 3rd year Glaciology, University of Cambridge BA Geography (2024)
Guest lectures for 'Digital Terrain Analysis' module, University of Manchester MSc Geographical Information Science (2019 and 2020)
Invited Workshop Coordinator: 'Planetary Geomorphology in Mars Landing Site Selection', South East Physics Network GRADnet Planetary Science Workshop, National Physical Laboratory, London, (2016).
Demonstrator: Natural Environment Research Council CENTA Doctoral Training Program ArcGIS Training Course, The Open University (2016)