Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Ice sheets and glaciers are poised to contribute significant volumes of water to the ocean, causing global sea level rise. The characteristics of water networks at the base of ice bodies exert direct control on ice flow rates into the ocean. The CRC research program will improve our understanding of the interactions between ice dynamics and hydrology by: 1) using coupled models of subglacial hydrology and ice dynamics to examine Antarctic ice flow drivers, 2) determining the role of hydrology in past and future Antarctic ice dynamics to improve sea level rise estimates, 3) evaluating the impact of surface water input on basal systems for both the Greenland Ice Sheet and for Antarctica as air temperatures warm and surface water becomes more prolific, and 4) developing improved mass estimates of Canadian glaciers for sea level rise projections and water resource evaluation using geophysical techniques. This novel combination of modeling and geophysical methods will significantly improve our understanding of the relationship between hydrology and ice dynamics. For Canadian glaciers, this research will provide the first geophysically-derived values of ice thickness and therefore sea-level rise potential for the country.