Dr Frances Butcher

Department of Geography

Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Dr Frances Butcher standing in front of a glacier

f.butcher@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 7972

Room C5, Geography and Planning Building

Full contact details

Dr Frances Butcher
Department of Geography
Room C5
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND

Profile: I am a Planetary Scientist researching glaciation on Earth and Mars.

I am currently 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.

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.

My Mars research encompasses processes related to past and present ice (including glaciers) on Mars, and 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 Mission. I also contributed to landing site selection for the ESA ExoMars ('Rosalind Franklin') rover mission to Mars.

I am an Associate Editor for the journal Earth Surface Dynamics (ESurf) and I am currently the Chair of the International Association of Geomorphologists Planetary Geomorphology Working Group, and curator of its 'Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month' blog: https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/.

I also lead 'CryoMars', an informal network of UK researchers working on Mars' Cryosphere and Earth Analogues.

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

Journal articles

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.
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, 115115.
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
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).
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 (2020) Landforms indicative of regional warm based glaciation, Phlegra Montes, Mars. Icarus. 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. 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.
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

Butcher FEG (2021) Water Ice at Mid-Latitudes on Mars, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science
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

Conference proceedings papers

Storrar R, Jones A, Butcher FEG, 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. EGU General Assembly. online, 19 April 2021 - 30 April 2021.
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. online, 19 April 2021 - 30 April 2021.
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. online, 19 April 2021 - 30 April 2021.
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.. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. online, 15 March 2021 - 19 March 2021.
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. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. online, 15 March 2021 - 19 March 2021.
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. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. online, 15 March 2021 - 19 March 2021.
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. Physical Meeting Cancelled due to Covid-19. Abstract Available Online. View this article in WRRO
Butcher FEG, Arnold NS, Berman DC, Conway SJ, Davis JM & Balme MR () Possible Transport of Basal Debris to the Surface of a Mid-Latitude Glacier on Mars. View this article in WRRO
Arnold N, Butcher F, Gallagher C, Balme M & Conway S () Modelling Esker Formation on Mars View this article in WRRO

Theses / Dissertations

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

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

Stevens D, Ely J, Livingstone S, Clark C, Butcher F & Hewitt I () 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 () A new, multi-scale mapping approach for reconstructing the flow evolution of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet using high-resolution digital elevation models..

Grants

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 Frozen Planet
Critical Digital Geographies in Practice (MSc Applied GIS )

Past teaching activities include:

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)

Professional activities

2nd prize for '3 minute thesis' competition (2018), Open University STEM faculty.
Nature Astronomy Prize for Best Student Presentation (2017) at the 1st British Planetary Science Congress, Glasgow, UK, 4-5 Dec. 2017 (Poster).
Paper subsequently reported in a Nature Astronomy Research Highlight
John Glen Prize (2017) for the best student talk at the International Glaciological Society's British Branch Meeting, Lancaster University, UK, 5-7 Sept. 2017.
Prize for best student talk (2017) at the Astrobiology Society of Britain: Habitability Beyond Earth conference. Open University, UK, 13-14 Sept. 2017.
William Vaughan Lewis Prize (2015), University of Cambridge prize for undergraduate geography dissertation.
Corpus Christi College Prize (2015), Corpus Christi College (University of Cambridge) prize for undergraduate dissertation.
Hewitt Exhibition (2015), Corpus Christi College (University of Cambridge) prize for contributions to outreach and admissions initiatives between 2012 and 2015.