Melting Ice & Rising Seas: How Cambridge Research Is Deepening Our Understanding of Climate Challenges
Melting Ice & Rising Seas: How Cambridge Research Is Deepening Our Understanding of Climate Challenges
Glaciers and ice sheets from Greenland to Antarctica are losing ice faster than ever, adding vast amounts of water to the ocean and accelerating global sea‑level rise. What drives this rapid melt? How accurately can we forecast future sea levels, and what do those projections mean for the UK’s low‑lying coasts and communities worldwide?
Chaired by Professor Jerome Neufeld, Professor of Earth and Planetary Fluid Dynamics, this webinar brings together three Cambridge researchers on the front line of cryosphere science:
- Dr Rebecca Dell (Scott Polar Research Institute) – using satellites and drone radar to measure glacier mass loss in real time.
- Dr Rachael Rhodes (Department of Earth Sciences) – drilling polar ice cores to decode past climate shifts and improve future projections.
- Professor John Taylor (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics) – building next‑generation models that couple ice‑sheet dynamics with ocean circulation to sharpen sea‑level forecasts.
In this webinar, you’ll gain a clear understanding of how Cambridge researchers are approaching the challenge of ice‑sheet melt and sea‑level rise - from real‑time satellite monitoring and advanced climate modelling to ice‑core fieldwork that sharpens our projections for the decades ahead.
Speakers
Dr Rebecca Dell (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)

Rebecca Dell (Christ's College) is a remote sensing and fieldwork-based glaciologist at the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Her research currently employs a 'Big Data' approach to investigate Antarctic Ice Shelf stability in relation to surface meltwater through remote sensing and machine learning methodologies. She investigates the climatic drivers of trends in surface meltwater using the European Space Agency Essential Climate Variables.
Rebecca has also conducted two Antarctic fieldwork seasons for a NSFGEO-NERC funded project entitled "Ice-Shelf Instability Caused by Active Surface Meltwater Production, Movement, Ponding and Hydrofracture" (PI: Dr Alison Banwell)
Dr Rachael Rhodes (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge)

Dr. Rachael Rhodes is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, specializing in paleoclimate research through the analysis of polar ice cores. Her work focuses on reconstructing past climate and biogeochemical cycles by examining the gas and chemical compositions trapped in Arctic and Antarctic ice. She employs advanced geochemical techniques and numerical modeling to interpret these records, aiming to enhance our understanding of historical climate variability and its implications for future climate change.
Professor John Taylor (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge)

Professor John R. Taylor is Professor of Oceanography in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John's College. His research focuses on the fluid dynamics of the ocean, particularly processes at the interface between oceanography and fluid dynamics. He leads a research group that uses numerical simulations and mathematical methods to study topics such as ocean turbulence, submesoscales, frontal dynamics, ocean-cryosphere interactions, and the influence of physical processes on biogeochemistry.
Professor Jerome Neufeld (Department of Earth Sciences and DAMTP, University of Cambridge)

Jerome A. Neufeld is the Professor of Earth and Planetary Fluid Dynamics based at the Department of Earth Sciences and Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge.
The Earth and Planetary Fluid Dynamics group focuses on using mathematical models and laboratory experiments to understand the fluid behaviour of the Earth and other planetary bodies. Current research interests include the consequences of subglacial hydrology on supraglacial lake drainage and the tidal modulation of ice streams, the solidification of magma oceans and the early generation of magnetic fields on planetary bodies, the erosive dynamics of idealised river systems, the emplacement and solidification of magmatic flows, viscous tectonic mountain building, and the general fluid dynamics of geological carbon storage.
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