My research interests center on combining geophysical methods and numerical modeling techniques to study subsurface processes of glacial ice. With these techniques, I aim to help answer questions about the physics of ice flow and develop improved chronologies for ice core sites. Ultimately, my work aims to improve our collective ability to unpack climate records that are preserved in the deepest, and typically oldest, ice. My current focus is on alpine glaciers in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, though my research occasionally takes me to far polar regions as well.
Primary study sites
Begguya Summit Plateau
Denali National Park, Alaska In 2013, twin surface to bedrock ice cores (known as the Denali Ice Cores) were recovered from the Begguya (Mt. Hunter) summit plateau. Geochemical analyses of these cores have provided valuable hydroclimate records of Alaska over the last 1200 years. To fully unpack the paleoclimate records preserved in the >10,000 year-old ice held at the base of the core, understanding the ice flow dynamics at the site is key. My research here is focused upon on using a combined approach of geophysics and numerical modeling to characterize the ice flow dynamics.
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Eclipse Icefield
Kluane National Park, Canada The Eclipse icefiled is located at ~3000m above sea level in the St. Elias Mountains of the Yukon Territory, Canada. Glaciers in this mountain range have provided valuable climate records of the North Pacific region over the last several decades. In the early 2000s, a suite of ice cores were recovered from Eclipse and the nearby Mt. Logan massif, demonstrating the high-resolution availability of climate records in this region where accumulation rates are much higher than polar regions. A ~1000 year climate record has been produced from a ~345m core extracted from Eclipse in 2002. Now, new geophysics data suggests the site could offer a high-resolution record of a much longer temporal record. My research here is focused on using geophysical methods to analyze ice flow dynamics across the Eclipse icefield to evaluate the stability and chronology of ice at a potential future coring location.
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