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Research - Outreach
| Studying the dynamical behaviour
of ice sheets and glaciers is of importance if we
want to understand and predict how they react to
changes in the environment (climate), of which
the recent global warming is of major concern.
Recent warming trends result in observable
changes to the Earth's cryosphere. However, the
picture is quite complex for the Antarctic ice
sheet. Some areas are more vulnerable to melting,
particularly those that exist in the warmer parts
of Antarctica, such as the Antarctic Peninsula.
Glaciers along the Siple Coast are not only fast
but fickle (they speed up and slow down over a
period of hundreds of years), while in some areas
the ice sheet thins rapidly (Amundsen Sea
Embayment). Ice dynamics and the interaction of
the ice sheet with the underlying substrate play
an important role in the complex behaviour of the
ice sheet. There is currently a great lack of
accuracy in the models that are used to predict
the effect of climate change on the mass loss or
gain of ice sheets. The major reason for this is
that there is a lack of knowledge on the dynamic
behaviour of grounding lines. The grounding line
is the area where the ice sheet, as it flows
towards the ocean, starts to float and forms an
ice shelf (see figure).
© IPF / IPF
While the carving off of icebergs further
downstream constitutes the main cause for the
mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet, changes in
the mass flux across the grounding line also has
a direct impact on sea level. This is because as
ice crosses the grounding line, it becomes part
of the ocean system and positively contributes to
sea level rise. It is therefore important to know
the amount of mass loss that can be attributed to
melting, but also the amount of mass loss that
provokes an increased mass discharge across the
grounding line.
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(© F. Pattyn, 1991-2004)
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Research activities
Numerical modelling of
the cryosphere (ice sheets, glaciers, ice
streams)
Dynamics of the
Antarctic ice sheet
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(© F. Pattyn, 1991-2004)
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Research projects
- ICECUBE-DYN:
Deep ice behaviour and subglacial
linkages within ICECUBE, South Pole,
Antarctica. ARC project (ULB, Communauté
française de Belgique), 2008-2012.
- Estimation of
glacier mass loss in the Brooks Range,
Alaska and its contribution to 21st
Century sea-level rise. FNRS Crédit aux
chercheurs, 2009-2010.
- Modélisation de gestion des ressources
hydriques d’origine glaciaire sous
le cadre des changements climatiques
(Cordillère de La Paz, Villes de la Paz
et El Alto). Projet de coopération
bilatérale avec la Bolivie (CGRI):
2007-2010)
- Dynamique des lignes d'ancrage et
stabilité de la calotte d'Antarctique.
Projet Tournesol, Communauté
Française Wallonie Bruxelles
(2007-2008): échanges avec LGGE,
Grenoble, France (promoter).
- "Au delà de la dernière
glaciation: un programme de forage
profond au Groenland septentrional
pendant l'Année Polaire Internationale (IPY-NEEM) -
The last interglacial and beyond: a
northwest Greenland deep ice core
drilling programme during the
International Polar Year
(IPY-NEEM)", FRFC project (FNRS),
2007-2010. (promoter)
- ASPI (Antarctic
Subglacial Processes and Interactions:
the role of transition zones in ice sheet
stability). Belgian Federal Public
Planning Service Science Policy Research
programme “Science for a sustainable
development”, Belgian
Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO).
(coordinater)
- EU
Framework V project "European
Project on Ice Coring in Antarctica
(EPICA)" 2001-2004 (Contributor
to Work Package WP7)
- EU
Framework VI project "EPICA-MIS: New
paleoreconstructions from Antarctic ice
and marine records" 2004-2007
(Contributor to Work Package WP7).
- "Antarctic
ice-sheet dynamics and climatic change:
modelling and ice composition studies
(AMICS)", Research
project EV/03/08 (Research action
EV), Belgian Science Policy, 2000-2005
(co-promotor)
- Belgian Polar Research Cluster
(BE-POLES), Belgian Science Policy,
2003-2006 (co-promotor)
- "Dynamics of the Antarctic ice cap
and climate changes (a contribution to
EPICA)", Research project A4/DD/E03
(Research action A4), Belgian Science
Policy, 1996-2000 (co-promotor)
- "Glacier fluctuations and climatic
change in South Siberia", Research
project BL/R/06 (Research action BL),
Belgian Science Policy, 1997-2000
(co-promotor).
- WCRP ACSYS/CliC Numerical Experimentation
Group: ISMIP
(Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project)
(convenor of higher-order model
excercise)
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(© F. Pattyn, 1991-2004)
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Education and outreach
- GRANTISM: I
developed a simple but competely dynamic
numerical model (in Microsoft Excel) of the
Greenland & Antarctic ice sheet. Both English
(EN) and
Dutch (NL)
versions are available.
Antarctica and glaciology links
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