Snow, ice and glaciers in our changing climate - Project Team

Prof. Mackintosh's research focuses on understanding how glaciers and ice sheets behave and interact with the global climate system, using a physics-based approach. He leads the Glacier Research Group at the Antarctic Research Centre.

Assoc. Prof. Cullen's primary research interests are the study of meteorology and climatology, with a focus on understanding the response of glaciers and ice sheets to climate forcing. A key contribution of his work has been to use high quality meteorological and glaciological observations to reduce uncertainties in modelling the atmospheric controls on glacier and ice sheet behaviour. Specific areas of interest include glacier and ice sheet mass balance and climate, polar and applied meteorology, tropical glaciology and climatology, mesoscale numerical modelling and remote sensing.

Research interests: Combining mathematical models of glacier systems with extensive and detailed field data sets has yielded unique insights into the relationship between climate and glaciers. His specific interests are: understanding the physical processes that control glacier flow, understanding the interaction of climate with complex topography, measurement and modelling of glacier mass balance, using dynamic glacier models to understand the relationship between climate and glacier behaviour and using low‐cost digital cameras in fixed and airborne platforms to construct time series of glacier dynamics and change.

Research interests: Regional hydro‐climatology of southern New Zealand with a focus on mountain climate of the Southern Alps. Other key research includes: stratospheric dynamics with a focus on the Southern Hemisphere polar vortex, analytical and field methods to measure and model energy and mass fluxes over glacier and seasonal snow surfaces, atmospheric boundary layer and meso‐scale meteorology observations and modelling in alpine regions, retrieval of cloud radiative properties from surface based observations and air pollution climatology.

Research interests: Understanding of small scale processes in snow and ice, snow‐ atmosphere interactions and their influence on energy and mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets. Combining measurements and modelling to understand the different physical processes that are relevant for the cryosphere. She has glaciological field work experience in the European Alps, Southern Alps, Andes, Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean, as well as extensive experience in the cold laboratory.

Research interests: Understanding the flow of glaciers and ice sheets, in particular the processes and properties of glaciers and ice sheets that are most likely to control their velocity. Specific areas of interest include studying the distribution of water and deformable sediment beneath glaciers and ice sheets, the role that crystal orientation fabric plays in the flow of ice, and processes at the ice‐sheet—ice‐shelf transition.

Research interests: Hydrological processes modelling, Environmental monitoring methods and water resource management tools development.

Research interests: Investigating the interrelationships between mass balance, dynamics and climate change. Recent research has focused on interactions and feedback associated with the current rapid glacier recession, including the interactions between water and ice at lake‐calving glaciers and the changing hazard scape associated with ice‐slope interactions.

Research interests: Remote sensing and photogrammetry, with a focus on snowpack properties and the behaviour of temperate glaciers. Specific areas of interest include assimilating remote sensing data into hydrological snowmelt models to understand the timing and supply of water in alpine catchments and developing new methods to map snow and retrieve its albedo from satellite data.

Research interests: Modelling and forecasting ground and surface water flow to assess water quality and quantity at different spatial and temporal scales. Other specific areas of interest include snow hydrology, climate change impact on hydrological processes and water resources, paleo‐hydrology and integrated water resource management.