Long-term Glacier Dynamics in East Antarctica & impact on sea-level rise

Our research topic addresses one of the most important problems in current climate change science, the question of Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level rise. In the context of global warming, the response of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to climate change along with the related contribution to sea-level rise are still largely unknown. This lack of knowledge results from large uncertainties in the net amount of the sub-basin contributions, due to the complexity of interactions of solid earth (isostasy) and climate (ocean and atmospheric processes) dynamics with ice dynamics processes (e.g., grounding line, ice surface melting) occurring in the coastal region. These topics have recently become the focus of growing research to better constrain the numerical models of ice sheet evolution for better predictions and anticipations. Here, we propose to improve the assessment of the future contribution of ice sheet loss in Terre Adélie and Wilkes Sub-Basin to the global SLR through a robust calibration of ice sheet models based on reconstruction and dating of ice retreat in the region over millennial timescales. In this project, we will address the following main question: How did the EAIS dynamically respond to combined climate warming and sea-level rise over millennial timescales and how can this be used to model its future evolution?