Current Research in EEPS: Dr. Anna Ruth Halberstadt, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Antarctic ice sheet stability during warm periods: integrating numerical modeling with geologic data
Abstract:
Sea level rise is one of the major social and environmental challenges that threatens modern civilization, yet the response of polar ice sheets to future warming is deeply uncertain. Future and even modern climatic conditions are unprecedented within the last few million years; therefore, we must look to the geologic record for a glimpse of prospective Earth landscapes and climates. Past ‘warm periods’ (characterized by elevated atmospheric CO2 and surface temperatures) can provide a window into the feedbacks and instabilities that govern ice sheet dynamics under a fundamentally different climatic state. My research explores the stability and behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during warm periods using ice sheet and climate modeling alongside remote sensing observations and geologic data.
I investigate mid-Miocene ice sheet and climate evolution, reconcile a long-standing discrepancy between marine and terrestrial datasets spanning millions of years, and map surface meltwater during the modern ‘warm period’ using the satellite observational record. Ongoing and future work continues to explore the interactions between ice sheets and global climate, with the ultimate aim of improving future sea level projections using the lens of past warm periods.
Zoom information:
https://riceuniversity.zoom.us/j/96889717366?pwd=NG9BcXpkejlQTldzWnBVQ3pVNTZNZz09
Passcode: 619331
Webinar ID: 968 8971 7366
