The Glaciology unit focuses on the study of glaciers and ice caps and their relationship with the climate system. The laboratory has expertise in the development of numerical ice cap models. Validation of these models is performed using land and airborne geophysics, including radio-echo sounding. The field work concentrates on polythermal glaciers and Antarctica. The group also focuses on properties of ice, such as the physicochemical properties of 'interface ice' (ice - bedrock; ice - ocean; ice - atmosphere). This expertise is based on polar expeditions and on the development of analytical techniques for the multiparametric study of ice rich in solid or liquid impurities.
The marine component of the research is related to the study of the dynamics of calving ice caps and the contribution of their melting to the sea level rise. Furthermore, the unit also investigates biogeochemical cycles in sea ice and polar oceans (interaction with atmosphere).
The research group has several publications in the renowned journal 'Nature' and was involved in several national and international marine projects such as the Ice2sea project (to assess the contribution of continental ice to the rising sea level) and the SIBClim project, which focuses on how ice in polar seas influences the Earth's climate. |
