Dr. Richard Jones Honours Projects

What caused the Antarctic Ice Sheet to retreat over the last 20,000 years?

Supervisor: Richard Jones

Field of study: Antarctica / palaeoclimate / glaciology

The Antarctic Ice Sheet was much larger than it is today at the Last Glacial Maximum (approx. 20,000 years ago), extending to near the continental shelf edge and being hundreds of metres thicker at the coast. Palaeo/geological data then record thinning and retreat – occurring at different rates and magnitudes, depending on the region – to its present-day geometry. Understanding the drivers of retreat over this time provides vital context for ongoing and future ice sheet change, yet the exact causes are not fully understood. This project would utilise various types of palaeoclimate data to investigate the past causes of retreat across Antarctica.

Desirable knowledge and skills: foundational understanding of palaeoclimate; ideally some knowledge of Antarctica and glaciology; scientific computing experience (e.g. python, Matlab, R).

How does snow impact cosmogenic dating in Antarctica?

Supervisor: Richard Jones

Field of study: geochronology / Antarctica / (palaeo)climate

Cosmogenic dating – or terrestrial cosmogenic-nuclide surface-exposure dating, to be specific – is one of the most versatile and commonly-used geochronological approaches, especially for dating surface process events (e.g. landslides) and climate-related events (e.g. glacier retreat). Snow can potentially impact the reliability of the dating approach as it intermittently covers the surface being dated, yet this process if often ignored. In Antarctica, where cosmogenic dating is widely used to reconstruct past ice sheet thinning and estimate rock erosion rates, snowfall is common. This project would utilise climate datasets and a cosmogenic dating model to test the impact of snow in Antarctica.

Desirable knowledge and skills: some understanding of palaeoclimate, and ideally of geochronology approaches and regional climate models; scientific computing experience (e.g. python, Matlab, R).

Past honours supervision

  • Julia D’Agostino – Shaping life: Geomorphological change impacts microbial biomass in Antarctic periglacial soils
  • Isabel Wright – Evaluating the role of bed topography in controlling past ice sheet retreat in Antarctica

For further information contact Richard Jones