This continent contains active volcanos, yet it is shaped by Earth’s largest ice sheet and a myriad of fast-moving glaciers, which collectively holds two-thirds of our planet’s freshwater.
We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers specializing in Antarctica’s tectonic formation, reconstructions of Antarctica’s glacial history and understanding the dynamic interaction between the ice sheet, oceans and the solid earth that lies beneath it.
Our work combines field observations, laboratory studies and numerical modelling in a positive environment where innovation and discovery bring scientific advances. We use geological reconstructions to understand how the Antarctic solid earth and ice have co-evolved over millions of years, including past warm periods with high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, like today.
To understand future impacts from today’s high level of atmospheric carbon dioxide, we develop advanced numerical models to predict how much ice Antarctica will lose and how fast sea levels will rise.
Our melting ice sheet and sea ice are also impacting the nutrient cycles and phytoplankton growth in our oceans, and our work helps to understand the impact of these changes on our global carbon cycle now and into the future. The sediments below our oceans, record the myriad important cycles and processes occurring above and our work deciphering them can tell the story of our ocean through the ages.
Study our new major in Oceans, Climate and Ice as part of the Bachelor of Marine and Antarctic Science.