Sea Level, Ice and Climate

An over-arching theme of the Ice Sheets and Sea Level cluster is to explain and quantify the dynamic response of ice sheets to external and internal forcing and their contribution to sea-level rise. A particular focus is on integrating our strengths in field and remote sensing with new expertise in numerical modelling to:

understand the decadal to millennial trajectory of the polar ice sheets to constrain how they respond to climatic and oceanic forcing;
advance understanding of how subglacial processes affect ice sheet dynamics, exploiting expertise in process-form relationships at the ice-bed interface;
develop understanding of sea-level change, especially during past transitions and interglacials, as an analogue for how sea level and ice sheets may interact and affect society in the future;
apply expertise in sea-level indicators of seismic activity to reconstruct earthquake recurrence and impacts in a range of settings; and
explain how oceans interact with ice sheets and other environments over major climate transitions (palaeoceanography), including the teleconnections between low and high latitudes, to understand better the fundamental processes that govern the role of the oceans in climate change.

For more details, please contact: Dr Luke Jackson

The RSS Sir David Attenborough, a ship with a red hull and white bridge, surrounded by white sea ice.

Cluster Members

Staff name	Research Interests
Mike Bentley	Antarctic environmental history, sea-level change, glacial geomorphology
Matt Brain	Engineering geomorphology, sediment compaction, coastal geomorphology, landslide mechanics
Dave Bridgland	Fluvial history, Quaternary, Palaeontology/Archaeology
Caroline Clason	Glaciers, ice sheets, glacial hydrology, environmental risk, mountain catchments
Colm O'Cofaigh	Glacial sedimentary processes, ice sheet reconstruction, marine geology
Nick Cox	Statistical applications in Geography (e.g. geomorphology, hydrology, climatology)
Simon Engelhart	Sea-level change, Coastal hazards, Climate Change, Subduction zones
Dave Evans	Glacial geomorphology, Landscape evolution, Mountains
Luke Jackson	Sea-level change, Coastal Impacts, Climate Change
Stewart Jameison	Glacial geomorphology, Ice stream dynamics, Landscape evolution
Jerry Lloyd	Palaeo-oceanography, Sea-level change, Palaeo-climatology
Antony Long	Sea-level change, Quaternary, Microfossils (Saltmarshes)
Helen Mackay	Human-Environment Interactions, Organic Geochemistry, Lake Ecosystems
Erin McClymont	Past Environmental and Climate Change, Organic Geochemistry, Proxy reconstructions
Paola Moffa-Sanchez	Past Ocean variability, Interglacial climates, Proxy reconstructions
Dave Roberts	Glacial sedimentary processes, Ice stream dynamics
Dr Charlotte Spencer-Jones	Carbon Cycling, Environmental Change, Lipidomics, Mass Spectrometry
Chris Stokes	Glaciers, Climate Change, Ice stream dynamics, Antarctica
John Wainwright	Human-Environment Interactions, Hydrology, Geomorphology
Pippa Whitehouse	Glacial Isostatic Adjustment, Solid Earth Deformation, Sea-level Change, Antarctica
Sarah Woodroffe	Sea-level change, Holocene, Microfossils (Mangroves/Saltmarshes), Greenland

Group of students and staff standing in a cylindrical artwork

Research Clusters

Our research clusters are focused on ideas. They act as centres of gravity for collective research activity and provide the foundational means through which we generate the diversity, vibrancy and innovation that underpins our research.

Back to Research Clusters

Impacting the World

Our research culture is set up to generate research that is both intellectually innovative and impactful, addressing the key global challenges of our time and providing wider public and societal benefit.

See how our research is making a difference

Our Research Community

Our academic researchers and research staff are completing a wide range of research that is Impacting the World, including work that is relevant to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, and publishing literature that is changing our understanding of the world.

Our Research Community