Nicole Shibley

Fluid physics of climate, environmental, and planetary systems, especially ice-covered and polar regions.

 

Research Area

My research investigates the fundamental physics governing climate and environmental systems. Largely, I investigate ice-ocean interactions in the Earth’s polar regions and on the Solar System’s ice-covered moons, exploring ocean heat-transport processes and their impacts on overlying ice cover. In Earth’s high latitudes, these fluid, and sometimes solid, processes can impact both the polar climate and global climate change. In the frozen worlds beyond our planet, ice-ocean physics give insight into the evolution and dynamics of planetary systems, as well as whether a world is potentially habitable. I am also interested in fluid-dynamics problems involving sustainability and the built environment, such as how to best ventilate buildings.
My research exploits multiple methodologies, including mathematical models, numerical simulations, observational analyses, and laboratory experiments. I write and solve systems of differential equations, using analytic and numerical methods. I also analyze observational data, such as from Arctic ocean measurements, and utilize this data to validate mathematical models. Sometimes, observational or experimental data can be collected by performing fieldwork or by developing new laboratory experiments, such as saltwater tank experiments. I often collaborate with researchers across a diversity of fields (for example, Earth Sciences, Astrophysics, and Engineering) and enjoy curiosity-driven approaches to science.

 

Project Interests

I explore the fundamental physics of a broad range of geophysical processes. We can utilize a combination of theory/simulations and observational analyses to explore how oceanographic
properties (i.e., temperature/salinity) of Earth’s polar oceans influence the overlying ice cover, with potential impacts to climate change. We can also develop laboratory experiments to investigate the evolution and deformation of sea ice. These topics may involve links to the British Antarctic Survey or the Scott Polar Research Institute. I am also interested in understanding how space-based observations of ice-covered moons in the Solar System may allow for inferences about these satellites’ subsurface oceans.