Rebecca Dell

Antarctic Glaciologist who uses remote sensing and machine learning to better understand ice-shelf vulnerability.

 

Research Area

 

I am a glaciologist, and most of my work focuses on the stability of Antarctic ice shelves. I am interested in the factors that determine the stability of these ice shelves (surface melting, damage propagation, pinning point detachment etc).

To better understand these factors, I use a combination of satellite and field data. Recent work has used optical satellite imagery to map ponded water and slush across Antarctica’s ice shelves. Looking forward, I am starting to consider the use of C- and L- band synthetic aperture radar to enhance our current understanding of hydrological processes. I am well versed in ‘Big Data’ and machine learning applications in glaciology and enjoy working with large datasets to gain a full understanding of processes occurring on a continent-wide scale.

I have also participated in two Antarctic Fieldwork seasons, where I helped to maintain an array of instruments to improve our understanding of flexure and fracture in response to meltwater loading on George VI Ice Shelf.

 

Project Interests

 

I would welcome the opportunity to develop projects in line with my current research area; Antarctic ice-shelf (in)stability. Research could focus on damage propagation, calving front geometries, lateral and vertical meltwater drainage, and much more. I would also welcome projects that look to better understand the relationship between ice-shelf stability and key climate variables, both in present day and under future climate scenarios.