Ice sheets play a central role in the Earth's climate system. On the one hand,
they steer
important processes in the atmosphere, the oceans and the lithosphere
(by means of changes in albedo, global circulation, meltwater production, ice
loading, etc.....).
On the other hand, changes in continental ice volume have a direct influence
on the world-wide level of the oceans. Additionally, the present-day ice sheets
contain a
unique archive about global changes in the past. In this respect, numerical
modeling of
ice sheets and glaciers
provides a powerful tool to simulate and
predict their behaviour under different climatic conditions and to better
understand the
mechanisms and causes responsible for these changes.
The emphasis of the research is on the enhancement, refinement, and further
application of
large-scale three-dimensional time-dependent thermomechanical continental
ice-sheet models,
including ice shelves, bedrock adjustment and climatic components.
An important part of this research is carried out together with
the Glaciology
group at the
Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Bremerhaven, Germany).
Below you will find some pictures illustrating my work.
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