Quantifying West Antarctic mantle viscosity via precise GPS measurement of Earth's response to surface mass balance anomalies

Lead Research Organisation: Durham University
Department Name: Geography

Abstract

Satellite measurements of ice sheet change are necessary to understand and help predict sea level rise, but are contaminated by a phenomenon known as Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA). GIA is a form of ongoing solid Earth deformation in response to previous ice sheet mass changes. It can in principle be measured wherever we have access to bedrock, but this is not the case for much of Antarctica and therefore (and also for reasons of practicability) we require physically-based mathematical models of GIA. These models must be calibrated and validated, which can be done with the aid of precise measurements of Earth deformation made using continuous GPS receivers sited on bedrock.

Continuous GPS data are therefore crucial to the determination of past and present ice mass change across Antarctica and the quantification of feedbacks between ice dynamics and solid Earth deformation. A fundamental property that must be quantified in such studies is the rheology of the solid Earth (its deformational response to forces acting on it). The Earth's mantle shows viscous behaviour over longer timescales but behaves elastically in the short term (as observed e.g. by the passage of seismic waves), a phenomenon known as viscoelasticity. Recent studies have demonstrated that there are large spatial variations in mantle viscosity across Antarctica, but at present the magnitude of such variations is not known. We propose to pioneer a new approach to determining spatially-variable mantle viscosity that involves analysing the viscoelastic response of the solid Earth to episodic surface mass balance (SMB) anomalies across Antarctica. Our approach makes use of the fact that in regions where the magnitude of surface mass change is well known, observations of the accompanying solid Earth response allow the quantification of the rheological properties of the Earth.

In order to achieve our goal we require access to high-precision, long-duration GPS records. Fortunately there is already an extensive GPS network in West Antarctica, which although erected piecemeal via a series of NERC-funded projects (and equivalent overseas grants), now has the potential to deliver such records over the next few years. We therefore propose to overhaul the existing GPS network that lies within the remit of UK logistical support in Antarctica; we will extend the time series at a strategic subset of the existing sites, and transmit all data to open access servers via satellite. The resulting step change in precision and data accessibility will enable us to achieve our scientific goals and at the same time will benefit the international scientific community: the provision of open access GPS time series for West Antarctica will contribute to emerging data inversion activities and make it possible to ground-truth ice mass balance estimates delivered by the multi-million-dollar Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Follow-on mission, which is due for launch in 2017.

Planned Impact

The main component of our pathways to impact plan is motivated by our use of cutting-edge satellite technology to collect and transmit data from remote locations around Antarctica. Building on our previous experience of working with an experienced science communicator, we will develop a series of novel cross-curricular STEM-related activities that will address curriculum learning targets, while at the same time providing secondary school pupils with the opportunity to engage first-hand with the technological solutions that are used to deliver modern polar research.

Who? These activities will benefit secondary school teachers and pupils

How? The activities will be designed to boost teacher confidence and provide pupils with real-world examples of applying STEM-related skills. Teacher confidence will be enhanced via CPD events, where the motivation behind the different activities will be explained, and tips will be given on how to deliver them.
How? Pupils will benefit from being exposed to real-world uses for skills associated with engineering, mathematics, geography and computing. By designing activities that call for pupils to use their problem-solving skills, these sessions should be more memorable than activities based purely around the delivery of information. Also, by designing tasks that are achievable, it is hoped that the experience will provide positive feedback to pupils with regard to their STEM-based capabilities. The fun nature of the tasks should also help to challenge common assumptions that STEM subjects are boring or difficult.

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Who? A number of activities associated with our project will also benefit the scientific community.

How? We will provide access to freely-available, near real-time GPS data from 22 locations across Antarctica. This resource will enhance the research capabilities of scientists working in the fields of cryosphere, sea-level change, geodesy, and geophysics. Access to the GPS data will lead to better quantification of the solid Earth response to surface loading, and hence an improved understanding of the processes governing contemporary ice sheet change.

How? We will also promote the rapid dissemination of knowledge gained during our project via the PI's co-directorship of the SCAR Scientific Research Program "Solid Earth Response and influence on Cryosphere Evolution" (SERCE). The SERCE program facilitates collaboration between Antarctic scientists around the world, and it sponsors the delivery of workshops and training schools relating to solid Earth - cryosphere interactions. Particular beneficiaries of this program (via targeted travel support) are early career researchers and researchers from countries that do not have their own polar programs.

No additional funds are needed to deliver these activities associated with academic impact.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Of the 30 GNSS instruments associated with this project 18 have been upgraded to include an Iridium modem over three Antarctic field seasons, making it possible to remotely check the state of health of the instrument and download data in near-real-time. This work significantly reduces the logistical efforts required to service these instruments. 6 of the instruments in our network were already equipped with an Iridium modem prior to the start of the project, meaning that 24 of our 30 sites can now be remotely monitored. The other 6 instruments are not scheduled to be equipped with an Iridium modem as they will be decommissioned before the end of the project (in line with project aims). Data from all sites equipped with an Iridium modem are free to download from the UNAVCO website.

Anaylsis of the GNSS time series has revealed that seasonal variations in snowfall can trigger an instantaneous solid Earth response, which explains a significant component of the non-linearity in the time series (Koulali et al., 2022). Other time series artefacts can be explained by the seasonal accumulation of ice on the GNSS antennas (Koulali et al., 2020). After correcting for these effects, the remaining time series will be investigated to understand the magnitude and cause of the viscous solid Earth response to recent surface mass change across West Antarctica.
Exploitation Route Near-real-time data from 24 GNSS sites across West Antarctica are freely available to download from the UNAVCO website.
Sectors Environment

 
Title Antarctica - PI Continuous - SGP1-Cape Disappointment P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/0YRR-PX05
 
Title Antarctica - PI Continuous - SGP3-Mount Ivins P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/QKG4-3792
 
Title Antarctica - PI Continuous - SGP4-Cape Alexander P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/QG9D-6G32
 
Title Antarctica - PI Continuous - SGP5-Marmelon Point P.S. - GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/DCTV-WP56
 
Title British Antarctic Survey GPS Network - BREN-Brennecke Nunataks P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2013 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/T52V2D7X
 
Title British Antarctic Survey GPS Network - BSA1-Horseshoe Harbour P.S. - Antarctic Peninsula, UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/T5Z899T5
 
Title British Antarctic Survey GPS Network - MAJK-Majak Nunatak P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/GGTJ-8D12
 
Title British Antarctic Survey GPS Network - THRO-Theron Mountains P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/XEZE-RG81
 
Title British Antarctic Survey GPS Network - iSTAR-D, UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations (Aggregation of Multiple Datasets) 
Description GPS/GNSS stations: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupations at multiple locations 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/T5K072N3
 
Title British Antarctic Survey/POLENET GPS Network - CAPF-Cape Framnes-Jason Peninsula P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2010 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/MYTG-8B17
 
Title British Antarctic Survey/POLENET GPS Network - DUPT-Duthiers Point P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2009 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/3PEK-C029
 
Title British Antarctic Survey/POLENET GPS Network - HUGO-Hugo Island-Santa Claus Rock P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2009 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/KN7J-R036
 
Title British Antarctic Survey/POLENET GPS Network - PRPT-Prospect Point P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2014 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/HFW7-E225
 
Title British Antarctic Survey/POLENET GPS Network - ROBN-Robertson Island-Cape Marsh P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2010 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/KY2W-7C65
 
Title British Antarctic Survey/POLENET GPS Network - SPGT-Spring Point P.S., UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations Dataset 
Description GPS/GNSS station: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupation at a single location 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2013 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/ZHFM-ZE59
 
Title CAPGIA - West Antarctica Continuous Network, UNAVCO, GPS/GNSS Observations (Aggregation of Multiple Datasets) 
Description GPS/GNSS stations: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupations at multiple locations 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2013 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact n/a 
URL https://doi.org/10.7283/T56Q1VN5
 
Title GPS vertical time series of solid Earth deformation for the southern Antarctic Peninsula 2010-2020 
Description This dataset contains vertical GPS time series observed from selected sites in the southern Antarctic Peninsula. The dataset contains raw time series and time series corrected for the effect of elastic deformation - induced from the RACMO surface mass balance (SMB) model with a 5.5 km horizontal resolution (van Wessem et al. 2018). Hence there are two time series files for each of ten sites, presented as CSV files. There is a README file which details the content of the files. Offsets and outliers of the time series are documented in a structured ASCII text file called tsview.renames.smb. This work is supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant NE/R002029/1. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Availability of GNSS time series for use by researchers studying and modelling the response of the solid Earth to changes in ice mass loading in the Antarctic Peninsula 
URL https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01660
 
Title NCL20: A global GNSS velocity field for estimating tectonic plate motion and testing GIA models 
Description Global GNSS velocity field 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact none 
URL https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.935079
 
Title NCL20: A global GNSS velocity field for estimating tectonic plate motion and testing GIA models 
Description We created a 3D GNSS surface velocity field to estimate tectonic plate motion and test the effect of a set of 1D and 3D Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) models on tectonic plate motion estimates. The main motivation for creating a bespoke 3D velocity field is to include a larger number of GNSS sites in the GIA-affected areas of investigation, namely North America, Europe, and Antarctica. We created the GNSS surface velocity field using the daily network solutions submitted to the International GNSS Service (IGS) "repro2" data processing campaign, and other similarly processed GNSS solutions. We combined multiple epoch solutions into unique global epoch solutions of high stability. The GNSS solutions we used were processed with the latest available methods and models at the time: all the global and regional solutions adhere to IGS repro2 standards. Every network solution gives standard deviations of site position coordinates and the correlations between the network sites. We deconstrained and combined the global networks and aligned them to the most recent ITRF2014 reference frame on a daily level. Additionally, several regional network solutions were deconstrained and aligned to the unique global solutions. The process was performed using the Tanya reference frame combination software (Davies & Blewitt, 1997; doi:10.1029/2000JB900004) which we updated to facilitate changes in network combination method and ITRF realisation. This resulted in 57% reduction of the WRMS of the alignment post-fit residuals compared to the alignment to the previous ITRF2008 reference frame for an overlapping period. We estimated linear velocities from the time series of GNSS coordinates using the MIDAS trend estimator (Blewitt et al., 2016; doi:10.1002/2015JB012552). The sites selected through multiple steps of quality control constitute a final GNSS surface velocity field which we denote NCL20. This velocity field has horizontal uncertainties mostly within 0.5 mm/yr, and vertical uncertainties mostly within 1 mm/yr, which make it suitable for testing GIA models and estimating plate motion models. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
URL https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.935079
 
Title Solutions of ocean tide loading displacement, self-attraction and loading and ocean tides for an advanced 3D anelastic solid Earth model 
Description As a supplement to Huang et al. (2022) "The influence of sediments, lithosphere and upper mantle (anelastic) with lateral heterogeneity on ocean tide loading and ocean tide dynamics", we provide for the advanced earth model LH-Lyon-3Dae [consisting of 3D elastic sediments, lithosphere and 3D anelastic upper mantle structures, see Huang et al.(2022) for details] the solutions of vertical ocean tide loading (OTL) displacement, self-attraction and loading (SAL) elevation, and ocean tides. Solutions for three tidal constituents, i.e., M2, K1 and Mf, are given. As a comparison, solutions based on the 1D elastic model PREM and the 1D anelastic LH-Lyon-1Dae are also presented. With these solutions, the primary results in Huang et al. (2022) such as the model amplitude differences, RMS differences and the predictions in GNSS stations can be reconstructed. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
URL https://dataservices.gfz-potsdam.de/panmetaworks/showshort.php?id=7f6767aa-f60a-11ec-9531-ca1f3ed77c...
 
Description 3D GIA modelling 
Organisation Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Numerical modelling making use of data received from one partner, and delivery of model output to both partners
Collaborator Contribution Sharing of data and model code.
Impact Two publications have so far resulted from this collaboration (van der Wal et al., 2015; Nield et al., 2018).
Start Year 2013
 
Description 3D GIA modelling 
Organisation POLENET
Country Global 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Numerical modelling making use of data received from one partner, and delivery of model output to both partners
Collaborator Contribution Sharing of data and model code.
Impact Two publications have so far resulted from this collaboration (van der Wal et al., 2015; Nield et al., 2018).
Start Year 2013
 
Description ACEAS program 
Organisation University of Tasmania
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research collaboration: will contribute to several work packages in this 4-year multi-institutional ARC-funded international research program.
Collaborator Contribution The Australian Centre for Excellent in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) program is headed up by Matt King at University of Tasmania. He will provide overall leadership to this 4-year program that involves 8 Australian institutions and 33 overseas research institutions. The overarching goal of the Centre is to prepare humanity for future climate-change risks from East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean by forging new knowledge of complex, interconnected processes and transforming predictive capability. The work will span modelling, and field and satellite observations, with a goal of reliably projecting the future of the coupled ocean-atmosphere-ice-ecosystem-solid Earth system and communicating this to stakeholders in industry and government. The Centre will develop a new generation of early career researchers trained in science, policy, governance, and law, and work toward achieving gender balance in Antarctic sciences.
Impact No outcomes yet.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Antarctic postseismic deformation 
Organisation Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Investigation of the magnitude of the postseismic signal in GNSS measurements of surface deformation across Antarctica due to large intraplate earthquakes during the last few decades. I am a project partner, and I host a postdoctoral researcher who is carrying out numerical modelling of the postseismic signal, accounting for 3D variations in mantle rheology.
Collaborator Contribution The collaboration is led by University of Tasmania who provide expertise in analysis of GNSS data, project partners in University of Newcastle (Australia) and TU Delft provide expertise in numerical modelling.
Impact no outputs yet
Start Year 2017
 
Description Antarctic postseismic deformation 
Organisation University of Newcastle
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Investigation of the magnitude of the postseismic signal in GNSS measurements of surface deformation across Antarctica due to large intraplate earthquakes during the last few decades. I am a project partner, and I host a postdoctoral researcher who is carrying out numerical modelling of the postseismic signal, accounting for 3D variations in mantle rheology.
Collaborator Contribution The collaboration is led by University of Tasmania who provide expertise in analysis of GNSS data, project partners in University of Newcastle (Australia) and TU Delft provide expertise in numerical modelling.
Impact no outputs yet
Start Year 2017
 
Description Antarctic postseismic deformation 
Organisation University of Tasmania
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Investigation of the magnitude of the postseismic signal in GNSS measurements of surface deformation across Antarctica due to large intraplate earthquakes during the last few decades. I am a project partner, and I host a postdoctoral researcher who is carrying out numerical modelling of the postseismic signal, accounting for 3D variations in mantle rheology.
Collaborator Contribution The collaboration is led by University of Tasmania who provide expertise in analysis of GNSS data, project partners in University of Newcastle (Australia) and TU Delft provide expertise in numerical modelling.
Impact no outputs yet
Start Year 2017
 
Description Collaboration between field and modelling scientists 
Organisation British Antarctic Survey
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Providing advice to field scientists on the sort of data that would be useful for calibrating and tuning numerical models of ice sheet change.
Collaborator Contribution The collection of new data that can help constrain the past history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. This work is funded by a NERC standard grant; I am a project partner who provides guidance on the direction of the project.
Impact No outputs yet.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GPS and GIA 
Organisation Newcastle University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Ongoing collaboration with Matt King (University of Tasmania, formerly of Newcastle University, UK), Peter Clarke (Newcastle University, UK), and Terry Wilson (Ohio State University, PI of the NSF-funded POLENET project). My expertise is to produce numerical models of solid Earth deformation in response to changes in surface loading by ice sheets. Such models are tuned or tested using geodetic data.
Collaborator Contribution Matt King's expertise is polar geodesy; including the production and analysis of the polar geodetic data sets that are used to test my numerical models. Peter Clarke's expertise is in linking geodesy and geophysics; including understanding of the solid Earth processes that are represented in my numerical models. Terry Wilson runs the mulit-million dollar NSF-funded POLENET project that is responsible for much of the geodetic infrastructure across West Antarctica.
Impact This collaboration has led to the publication of 13 co-authored, peer-reviewed publications since 2011. I am a project partner on two current projects led by Matt King, which are funded by the Australian Research Council, and one project led by Terry Wilson, which is funded by NSF. I receive no financial input from these projects. I am the PI or Co-I of two NERC-funded projects on which Peter Clarke is a Co-I (reported elsewhere). Though this collaboration I have co-supervised two PhD students.
Start Year 2009
 
Description GPS and GIA 
Organisation POLENET
Country Global 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Ongoing collaboration with Matt King (University of Tasmania, formerly of Newcastle University, UK), Peter Clarke (Newcastle University, UK), and Terry Wilson (Ohio State University, PI of the NSF-funded POLENET project). My expertise is to produce numerical models of solid Earth deformation in response to changes in surface loading by ice sheets. Such models are tuned or tested using geodetic data.
Collaborator Contribution Matt King's expertise is polar geodesy; including the production and analysis of the polar geodetic data sets that are used to test my numerical models. Peter Clarke's expertise is in linking geodesy and geophysics; including understanding of the solid Earth processes that are represented in my numerical models. Terry Wilson runs the mulit-million dollar NSF-funded POLENET project that is responsible for much of the geodetic infrastructure across West Antarctica.
Impact This collaboration has led to the publication of 13 co-authored, peer-reviewed publications since 2011. I am a project partner on two current projects led by Matt King, which are funded by the Australian Research Council, and one project led by Terry Wilson, which is funded by NSF. I receive no financial input from these projects. I am the PI or Co-I of two NERC-funded projects on which Peter Clarke is a Co-I (reported elsewhere). Though this collaboration I have co-supervised two PhD students.
Start Year 2009
 
Description GPS and GIA 
Organisation University of Tasmania
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Ongoing collaboration with Matt King (University of Tasmania, formerly of Newcastle University, UK), Peter Clarke (Newcastle University, UK), and Terry Wilson (Ohio State University, PI of the NSF-funded POLENET project). My expertise is to produce numerical models of solid Earth deformation in response to changes in surface loading by ice sheets. Such models are tuned or tested using geodetic data.
Collaborator Contribution Matt King's expertise is polar geodesy; including the production and analysis of the polar geodetic data sets that are used to test my numerical models. Peter Clarke's expertise is in linking geodesy and geophysics; including understanding of the solid Earth processes that are represented in my numerical models. Terry Wilson runs the mulit-million dollar NSF-funded POLENET project that is responsible for much of the geodetic infrastructure across West Antarctica.
Impact This collaboration has led to the publication of 13 co-authored, peer-reviewed publications since 2011. I am a project partner on two current projects led by Matt King, which are funded by the Australian Research Council, and one project led by Terry Wilson, which is funded by NSF. I receive no financial input from these projects. I am the PI or Co-I of two NERC-funded projects on which Peter Clarke is a Co-I (reported elsewhere). Though this collaboration I have co-supervised two PhD students.
Start Year 2009
 
Description PhD Studentship at Newcastle University 
Organisation Newcastle University
Department School of Chemistry
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Supervision of a PhD student based at Newcastle University. My role is to provide training and model predictions associated with the field of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA). The student will use model predictions that I have generated during my Fellowship to aid in the interpretation of the global deformation field, as measured by GPS, with the ultimate goal of gaining insight into the global water cycle.
Collaborator Contribution Two of the student's supervisors (including the lead supervisor) are based at Newcastle University. Research undertaken by the student feeds into research interests of both me and the supervisors at Newcastle University.
Impact No outcomes yet
Start Year 2016
 
Description SERCE 
Organisation Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution I am the co-director of a Scientific Research Program (SRP) titled: Solid Earth Response and influence on Cryosphere Evolution (SERCE), hosted by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). This program aims to facilitate collaborative research in the field of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment. We have an annual budget of US$20,000, which is spent on running workshops and training activities associated with ice sheet - solid Earth feedbacks, and facilitating Early Career Researcher (ECR) attendance at these activities. Tasks associated with my role include: completing annual reports on program activities, sitting on the UK National Committee for Antarctic Research, co-organizing workshops and training schools, allocating ECR travel funds, and planning for future activities.
Collaborator Contribution My co-director (Matt King, University of Tasmania) makes an equal contribution to this activity.
Impact Co-sponsorship of training school on Glacial Seismology (2017). Co-sponsorship of workshop on Glacial Isostatic Adjustment and Elastic Deformation (2017). Co-sponsorship of workshop on Antarctic Heat Flux (2018) and Polar Geodesy (2018). Co-sponsorship of training school and workshop on Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (both 2019). Beneficiaries of SERCE support are encouraged to acknowledge this in publications where the author has benefited from attending SERCE-organised activities. High profile article published in 2019 describing the research aims and outstanding research questions associated with SERCE activities.
Start Year 2016
 
Description BBC interview for COP26 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Interviewed by BBC journalist in the lead-up to COP26 for a long-format article, I provided information on the current state of the Antarctic Ice Sheet
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://stories.council.science/unlocking-science-antarctica-climate-change/
 
Description Blog on Antarctic Research 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I write an occasional blog about my research on Antarctica. The reason for writing the blog is to provide insight to the general public on why the research is important, and how we go about carrying out science in such a hostile environment. I receive very positive, informal feedback on the posts, either in person or via social media (Twitter). In particular, it has been a delight to be able to highlight the number of women working in Antarctica, or on Antarctic Science; people have expressed surprise at this, and hopefully my writing has made people think twice about what an 'Antarctic Scientist' might look like!
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016,2017
URL http://antarcticpippa.blogspot.co.uk/
 
Description COCO Lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Invited to speak at a student-organised local conference in support of the COCO charity. Presentation of my research to the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description GIA Summer School 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact I was the lead organiser of an international summer school on Glacial Isostatic Adjustment, held in Gavle, Sweden in August 2019. The summer school was delivered by 12 international lecturers (including me), to 42 in-person participants from 28 countries. In addition, we received over 500 views via our 'remote participation' platform during the week. The lectures remain online for all to view.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://polenet.org/2019-glacial-isostatic-adjustment-gia-training-school
 
Description Hutton Club talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Evening lecture to academics and members of the public, held at the University of Edinburgh.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description INSTANT Scientific Research Program 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Development and successful funding of a new 8-year Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) research program focused on Instabilities and Thresholds of Antarctic ice sheet dynamics. Member of the lead writing team and theme leader. Aim of the program is to facilitate collaboration and enhance research capacity across the international research community.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020,2021
URL https://www.scar.org/science/instant/home/
 
Description Interview for First News 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Interviewed by 'First News', a weekly newspaper aimed at 7-14 year-olds across the UK. The newspaper published an interview with me about my job as an Antarctic scientist.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Interview for International Women's Day 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact 45-minute interview for Ustinov College's (Durham University) celebration of International Women's Day 2021. One of sixteen interviews with inspirational women as part of the 'Ustinov meets' series. All sixteen interviews are student-led and feature inspirational women from a range of sectors in public life, including public service, the emergency services, health, higher education, music, the arts, research, media, and publishing.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.dur.ac.uk/ustinov.college/iwd2021/
 
Description Lecture for Van Mildert College 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Evening lecture for university members: covering the wide range of research on Antarctica that is taking place at Durham University
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Net Zero panel member - UK Antarctic Science Conference 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Panel member for a discussion on how to achieve 'Net Zero' within the activities of the British Antarctic Survey. Discussion took place during the 2022 UK Antarctic Science Conference
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Polar Horizons 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Participated in the 2021 Polar Horizons program as a science host and invited speaker. The Polar Horizons program seeks to build new connections and collaborations between the UK Polar Science community and those from currently underrepresented groups, particularly BAME, LGBTQ+ and Disabled.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/diversity-in-uk-polar-science-initiative/uk-polar-horizons-2021/
 
Description Talk for high school students visiting Durham Uni 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact 'Taster lecture' for GCSE and A level students from local schools - covered various topics associated with climate change, ice melt and sea-level change.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description UKANET presentation at INSTANT-PSE Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation on the past achievement and potential future of UKANET - the NERC-funded network of GNSS receivers that are deployed across West Antarctica to measure ice sheet change. The network is a sister-network of a US-funded network of instruments. Both networks are due for imminent decommission, the presentation aimed to raise awareness of this to researchers who use the data and national-level funding bodies.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022