Do glacier surfaces exhibit features that could indicate a future collapse event?

Project Description:

Glacier collapse events, where a large section of ice dramatically breaks away from a glacier, have the potential to be catastrophic hazards in the mountain cryosphere. Most notably in recent years, a large ice avalanche in Uttarakhand, India in February 2021 killed more than 200 people (Shugar et al., 2021) and a detachment from the Marmolada glacier in Italy in July 2022 killed 11 people. Given the extreme rarity of such events, the exact causes of detachments are unknown. In some cases, the combination of extreme heat and a soft bed can cause this instability (Kääb et al., 2018), while in others the role of meltwater at the bed may be more important (Jacquemart et al., 2020). Limited meta-analysis has yielded a set of qualitative criteria which appear to be common among glacier detachment events, such as glacier slope, prevalence of nearby surging glaciers, and weak beds (Kääb et al., 2021). This project will seek to explore a new set of criteria towards understanding the likelihood of a glacier being susceptible to collapse by studying the morphology and change of ice surface features, such as concentric crevasses. These features are prevalent across glaciers of the Alps and are indicative of terminus collapse and general glacier instability (Ruols et al., 2024), but there has thus far been no in-depth investigation into the location of concentric crevasses, how they form, and their role in driving glacier instability. This project will seek to use a broad range of remote sensing analysis to understand the role that these features may play in warning of developing glacial hazards across the Alps.

Pre-requisites:

Supervisory Team:

Liam Taylor

Contact:

Liam Taylor: L.Taylor2@leeds.ac.uk

How to apply:

1. Complete the online REP application form  one for each project of interest.
2. Email a copy of your CV to yes-dtn@leeds.ac.uk (only once is needed).
3. Complete the EDI Form  (only one is needed).  Although this is optional, if places are over-subscribed, preference will be given to under-represented groups, as defined above.