Abstract

The loss of ice from ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland is a major source of current sea-level rise, and one that is accelerating rapidly. A recent report highlighted that the greatest uncertainty in projections of future sea-level rise is due to a lack of knowledge about ice sheets. Improved understanding of key ice-sheet processes is urgently required to allow reliable predictions of future sea-level change. The team at BAS produce tools to predict how ice sheets will change over time, allowing more accurate projections for increases in global sea level. This talk will outline this technology and how it is implemented to monitor ice sheet loss.

Professor David Vaughan is a glaciologist and is currently the Deputy Director of the Britich Antarctic Survey unit in Cambridge. His research focus is the role of ice sheets in the Earth system and the societal threat of climate change and rising sea levels. He is a co-ordinating Lead Author of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. His research work includes the mapping of the bed under Pine Island Glacier and the discovery of a subglacial volcano.