Dr Jeremy Ely
Department of Geography
NERC Independent Research Fellow


+44 114 222 7994
Full contact details
Department of Geography
222 7994
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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Jeremy Ely obtained his BSc in Geography from the University of Sheffield in 2011, where he stayed to undertake his PhD titled “Flow Signatures on the Bed and the Surface of Ice sheets.” He was employed on the BRITICE-CHRONO project as a research associate in ice sheet modelling and data interaction. Jeremy is now a NERC Independent Research Fellow.
- Research interests
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Glacial Geomorphology
I am interested in the formation of subglacial bedforms, the landforms which are produced at the sole of a glacier or ice sheet. My research led to the confirmation of a long held (40 year!) hypothesis that subglacial bedforms belong to a morphological continuum. I have also dug holes into subglacial bedforms, and flown UAVs over them in order to work out how they form. I am also interested in the formation of meltwater related landforms.
Palaeo-ice sheets
The action of the ice sheets which existed during the last ice age can be deciphered from the landforms and sediments they left behind. I am currently employed on BRITICE-CHRONO, where my job is to make numerical ice sheet models interact with data pertaining to the last ice sheet to cover Britain and Ireland. I am also interested in the glaciation of Alaska.
Ice Sheet Surfaces
The surfaces of ice sheets display many features which can tell us about the nature and history of ice flow. My research uses extensive mapping of the surface of Antarctica, combined with geophysical data of ice sheet conditions, in order to understand how these beautiful ice-scapes form.
Supra-glacial hydrology of Antarctica
I was part of the team which discovered the widespread occurrence of meltwater streams on the surface of Antarctica. This surprising discovery has large implications for the future of the ice sheets in Antarctica. Future work will help understand how these systems evolve, and the impact they have on ice sheet dynamics.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Numerical modelling of subglacial ribs, drumlins, herringbones, and mega-scale glacial lineations reveals their developmental trajectories and transitions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.
- Tunnel valley formation beneath deglaciating mid-latitude ice sheets: observations and modelling. Quaternary Science Reviews.
- 60 million years of glaciation in the Transantarctic Mountains. Nature Communications, 13(1).
- Effects of basal topography and ice-sheet surface slope in a subglacial glaciofluvial deposition model. Journal of Glaciology.
- Topographic controls on ice flow and recession for Juneau Icefield (Alaska/British Columbia). Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.
- Collapse of the last Eurasian Ice Sheet in the North Sea modulated by combined processes of ice flow, surface melt, and marine ice sheet instabilities. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126(4). View this article in WRRO
- Retreat dynamics of the eastern sector of the British–Irish Ice Sheet during the last glaciation. Journal of Quaternary Science.
- Exploring the extent to which fluctuations in ice‐rafted debris reflect mass changes in the source ice sheet : a model–observation comparison using the last British–Irish Ice Sheet. Journal of Quaternary Science. View this article in WRRO
- Reply to: “Impact of marine processes on flow dynamics of northern Antarctic Peninsula outlet glaciers” by Rott et al.. Nature Communications, 11(1). View this article in WRRO
- The deglaciation of the western sector of the Irish Ice Sheet from the inner continental shelf to its terrestrial margin. Boreas. View this article in WRRO
- Exploring the ingredients required to successfully model the placement, generation, and evolution of ice streams in the British-Irish Ice Sheet. Quaternary Science Reviews, 223. View this article in WRRO
- Rapid accelerations of Antarctic Peninsula outlet glaciers driven by surface melt. Nature Communications, 10. View this article in WRRO
- The dynamics of mountain erosion: cirque growth slows as landscapes age. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. View this article in WRRO
- Recent progress on combining geomorphological and geochronological data with ice sheet modelling, demonstrated using the last British-Irish Ice Sheet. Journal of Quaternary Science. View this article in WRRO
- Book Review. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 130(5), 656-656.
- ATAT 1.1, an Automated Timing Accordance Tool for comparing ice-sheet model output with geochronological data. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, 12(3), 933-953. View this article in WRRO
- A chronology for North Sea Lobe advance and recession on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coasts during MIS 2 and 6. Proceedings of the Geologists Association. View this article in WRRO
- Marine ice sheet instability and ice shelf buttressing of the Minch ice stream, Northwest Scotland. The Cryosphere, 12, 3635-3651. View this article in WRRO
- Sedimentation during Marine Isotope Stage 3 at the eastern margins of the Glacial Lake Humber basin, England. Journal of Quaternary Science. View this article in WRRO
- Progressive ductile shearing during till accretion within the deforming bed of a palaeo-ice stream. Quaternary Science Reviews, 193, 1-23. View this article in WRRO
- Using the size and position of drumlins to understand how they grow, interact and evolve. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 43(5), 1073-1087. View this article in WRRO
- Spatial organization of drumlins. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 43(2), 499-513. View this article in WRRO
- Correction: Corrigendum: Widespread movement of meltwater onto and across Antarctic ice shelves. Nature, 551(7682), 658-658.
- Climate patterns during former periods of mountain glaciation in Britain and Ireland: Inferences from the cirque record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 485, 466-475. View this article in WRRO
- BRITICE Glacial Map, version 2: a map and GIS database of glacial landforms of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet. Boreas. View this article in WRRO
- The periodic topography of ice stream beds: Insights from the Fourier spectra of mega-scale glacial lineations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. View this article in WRRO
- The timing and consequences of the blockage of the Humber Gap by the last British−Irish Ice Sheet. Boreas. View this article in WRRO
- Widespread movement of meltwater onto and across Antarctic ice shelves. Nature, 544, 349-352. View this article in WRRO
- Insights on the formation of longitudinal surface structures on ice sheets from analysis of their spacing, spatial distribution, and relationship to ice thickness and flow. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. View this article in WRRO
- Paleofluvial and subglacial channel networks beneath Humboldt Glacier, Greenland. Geology. View this article in WRRO
- Devising quality assurance procedures for assessment of legacy geochronological data relating to deglaciation of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet. Earth-Science Reviews, 164, 232-250. View this article in WRRO
- ACME, a GIS tool for Automated Cirque Metric Extraction. Geomorphology. View this article in WRRO
- The glacial geomorphology of the western cordilleran ice sheet and Ahklun ice cap, Southern Alaska. Journal of Maps. View this article in WRRO
- Using UAV acquired photography and structure from motion techniques for studying glacier landforms: application to the glacial flutes at Isfallsglaciären. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. View this article in WRRO
- Do subglacial bedforms comprise a size and shape continuum?. Geomorphology, 257, 108-119. View this article in WRRO
- Ice stream motion facilitated by a shallow-deforming and accreting bed. Nature Communications, 7. View this article in WRRO
- Flow-stripes and foliations of the Antarctic ice sheet. Journal of Maps, 12(2), 249-259. View this article in WRRO
- Discriminating between subglacial and proglacial lake sediments: an example from the Dänischer Wohld Peninsula, northern Germany. Quaternary Science Reviews, 112, 86-108. View this article in WRRO
- Manual mapping of drumlins in synthetic landscapes to assess operator effectiveness. Journal of Maps, 11(5), 719-729. View this article in WRRO
- Size, shape and spatial arrangement of mega-scale glacial lineations from a large and diverse dataset. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 39(11), 1432-1448. View this article in WRRO
- Looking through drumlins: testing the application of ground-penetrating radar. Journal of Glaciology, 60(224), 1126-1134.
- Quantifying the uncertainty in the Eurasian ice-sheet geometry at the Penultimate Glacial Maximum (Marine Isotope Stage 6). The Cryosphere, 17(11), 4751-4777.
- Assessing ice sheet models against the landform record: The Likelihood of Accordant Lineations Analysis (LALA) tool. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.
- Reconstruction of the palaeo‐sea level of Britain and Ireland arising from empirical constraints of ice extent: implications for regional sea level forecasts and North American ice sheet volume. Journal of Quaternary Science.
- Growth and retreat of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet, 31 000 to 15 000 years ago: the BRITICE‐CHRONO reconstruction. Boreas.
- Review of Gowan et al. eology datasets of North America for use with ice sheet models.
- Estimating the style and duration of former glaciation in the mountains of Britain and Ireland.
- Author response to reviewers.
- Marine ice sheet instability and ice shelf buttressing of the Minch Ice Stream, northwest Scotland. The Cryosphere, 12(11), 3635-3651.
- Supplementary material to "Marine Ice Sheet Instability and Ice Shelf Buttressing Influenced Deglaciation of the Minch Ice Stream, Northwest Scotland".
- Supplementary material to "ATAT 1.0, an Automated Timing Accordance Tool for comparing ice-sheet model output with geochronological data".
- Continent-wide bimonthly mapping of Antarctic surface meltwater using Google Earth Engine.
- Exploring mechanisms and rates of tunnel valley formation beneath deglaciating mid-latitude ice sheets using high-resolution 3D seismic data and numerical modelling.
- Exploring controls of the early and stepped deglaciation on the western margin of the British Irish Ice Sheet. Journal of Quaternary Science.
- Supplementary material to "Automated mapping of the seasonal evolution of surface meltwater and its links to climate on the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica".
- Automated mapping of the seasonal evolution of surface meltwater and its links to climate on the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The Cryosphere, 15(12), 5785-5804.
Book reviews
- Book Review. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 127(4), 532-532.
Software / Code
Datasets
Other
- Supplementary material to "Surface mass balance modelling of the Juneau Icefield highlights the potential for rapid ice loss by the mid-21st century".
- Modelling the future of Nevado Coropuna (Peru), the world’s largest tropical ice cap..
- Sensitivity of the Eurasian Ice Sheet: Improved model-data comparison routines.
- Monthly Antarctic-wide surface meltwater evolution between 2006 and 2021, and its links to climate.
- Topographic controls on ice flow and recession for Juneau Icefield (Alaska/British Columbia).
- Further numerical simulations of subglacial bedform formation: Implications for interpreting palaeo-landscapes.
- The effects of basal topography and ice-sheet surface slope in a subglacial glaciofluvial deposition model.
- A new, multi-scale mapping approach for reconstructing the flow evolution of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet using high-resolution digital elevation models..
- Investigating the Sensitivity of North Sea Glacial Isostatic Adjustment during the Last Interglacial to the Penultimate Deglaciation of Global Ice Sheets.
- Geomorphological constraints for tropical glacier retreat description and modelling: the MOTICE project in Nevado Coropuna and Quelcaya icecaps (Perú)..
Preprints
- A Greenland-wide empirical reconstruction of paleo ice-sheet retreat informed by ice extent markers: PaleoGrIS version 1.0, Copernicus GmbH.
- Surface mass balance modelling of the Juneau Icefield highlights the potential for rapid ice loss by the mid-21st century, Copernicus GmbH.
- Quantifying the Uncertainty in the Eurasian Ice-Sheet Geometry at the Penultimate Glacial Maximum (Marine Isotope Stage 6), Copernicus GmbH.
- Continent-scale mapping reveals a rise in East Antarctic surface meltwater, Research Square Platform LLC.
- Automated mapping of the seasonal evolution of surface meltwater and its links to climate on the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
- Numerical modelling of subglacial ribs, drumlins, herringbones, and mega-scale glacial lineations reveals their developmental trajectories and transitions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.
- Grants
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- Principal Investigator: NERC Independent Research Fellowship. "A novel approach to constraining ice sheet models with glacial geomorphology." £589,660.
- Principal Investigator: European Space Agency Category-1 proposal, “The drainage of meltwater across Shackleton Glacier, Antarctica”. 2017.
- Principal investigator: TanDEM-X Scientific Access to data grant. 2017.
- Principal Investigator: SURE Scheme award, 2015: “The Pattern of Ice Sheet Dynamics and Retreat in Alaska.” Awarded Value: £1080.
- Principal Investigator: INTERACT Transnational Access Award, 2014: “Flute Morphometry from Photogrammetry (FluMP).” Awarded Value: €8,700, plus 36 field person days.
- Co-Investigator: NERC-GEF Loan, 2014: “Insights on the formation of glacial bedforms and ice-bed interaction using fluting field morphometrics, sedimentology and sediment thicknesses.” Estimated value: £2,800.
- CliC travel support, 2014: £500.
- Teaching interests
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I have a diverse range of teaching experience, spanning over 5 years and have taught inside the lecture theaters, classrooms, labs and on field classes.
- Teaching activities
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I currently teach on the following modules:
- GEO6669: Polar and Alpine Change Research Project
- GEO388: Glacial Environments
- GEO117: New Horizons
- Professional activities and memberships
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Dick Chorley Medal and Prize for Postgraduate Research, British Society for Geomorphology, 2016.
John Glen award for best student poster, International Glaciological Society British Branch meeting, 2012.