Changes to the ice sheets
Ice sheets in retreat
Glaciers and ice streams are speeding up in Greenland and Antarctica. We work to understand these changes, using a variety of tools including remote-sensing data, field data, and models.
We generally focus on large systems that have the potential to raise global sea level. Understanding changes in such systems is crucial for understanding how speedup and retreat will progress in the future. Two primary areas of focus are the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) and the Amundsen Sea Embayment.
Greenland
NEGIS is a ribbon of fast flow extending 600 km inland in Greenland. It has been intensely studied due to its draining a large portion of the ice sheet, and since its outlets have retreated and sped up recently. Understanding how these changes may impact upstream ice has been our focus. For example, we have worked to understand deep inland speedup and to understand how ice-crystal fabric affects flow there.
Antarctica
The Amundsen Sea Embayment is the fastest changing region of Antarctica. We have worked on Smith, Pope, and Kohler Glaciers in the area, using remote sensing and modeling. Genevieve Sauret, a new group member, is currently spinning up work on Thwaites Glacier, one of the largest and most important glaciers worldwide.
Currently, Mallory Miller is working on Dibble Glacier, a small, understudied system in East Antarctica.
Recent modern change publications
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Banerjee, Lilien, et al (2025)
Evolution of Shear-Zone Fractures Presages the Disintegration of Thwaites Eastern Ice ShelfJournal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 130(9), e2025JF008352. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JF008352
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Lilien, Alley, and Alley (2025)
The effect of melt-channel geometry on ice-shelf flow
Journal of Glaciology, 71, e73. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2025.36