Title of Thesis: Novel Approaches to Model the Glacier-Ocean Interface

Abstract of Work: 

Estimating future contributions of the polar ice sheets to global changes in sea level remains one of the most critical challenges of contemporary climate science. Ocean-induced melt of marine-terminating outlet glaciers from ice sheets is a major source of mass loss and has been linked to dynamical instabilities capable of producing runaway loss. Uncertainties in the physics and variability of ocean forcings on marine outlet glaciers drive uncertainty in models used to project future ice sheet change. This is in part due to the lack of widespread direct observations of the ice-ocean interface and scaling challenges when considering the resolution required by coupled numerical ice sheet models to resolve processes at this interface. In this dissertation, I explore two novel modes of ocean-forced ice loss, in addition to revising a 50-year-old parameterization of iceberg decay. Specifically, the work here focuses on: (1) turbulent mixing within the estuarine flow within ice sheet grounding zones, (2) multiphase physics of a bubbly meltwater plume, and (3) erosion of vertical ice faces by ocean surface waves. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to improve the mathematical and computational representations of ocean influence on ice sheets in ways that are grounded in fundamental physics and are consistent with observations.

Defense Date: March 31st, 2026

Defense Time: 2pm EST

Defense Location: The Ocean Room* zoom link available upon request.

Name of Advisor: Alex Robel

Committee members: Chris Lai, Winnie Chu, Earle Wilson (Stanford), Annalisa Bracco