College of Science & Engineering


Sophia Love

Sophia Love

Elle Robertson

Elle Robertson

Romain Vaucher

Romain Vaucher

Jenny Fisher

Jenny Fisher

Ambili Narayanan

Ambili Narayanan

Sarfaraz Ali

Sarfaraz Ali

Tom Lloyd

Tom Lloyd

Harnessing animal genomes to understand East Antarctic Ice Sheet melt history
Sally Lau - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
03 Nov 2025 - 31 Dec 2027
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 19m, yet its sensitivity to warming is deeply uncertain. This project aims to understand whether the EAIS experienced significant melting during the unusually warm periods in the last one million years, when average temperatures reached ~0.5-5°C warmer than today, with global sea levels up to 20m higher. It does so by investigating marine animal evolutionary history restricted along the EAIS margin, which can reveal the sizes of the available seafloor habitat in the last one million years, to reconstruct the EAIS extent through time. Understanding whether the EAIS experienced mass loss during past warm periods, the sensitivity of the ice sheet to warming can be established. By providing empirical evidence pinpointing the thresholds of EAIS instability, this project will benefit the ability of policymakers to plan and mitigate against impending global sea level rise.
Reseracher: Morgan Pratchett (Professor, Marine Biology & Aquaculture)
Reseracher: Morgan Pratchett (Professor, Marine Biology & Aquaculture)
Reseracher: Helen McCoy-West (Senior Lecturer, Geology (Igneous Petrology and Critical Resources))
Start Date: 01 Jan 2020
End Date: 01 Jan 2025
Reseracher: Helen McCoy-West (Senior Lecturer, Geology (Igneous Petrology and Critical Resources))
Start Date: 01 Jan 2023
End Date: 01 Jan 2025
Start Date: 01 Jan 2018
End Date: 01 Jan 2020
Reseracher: Michael Bird (Distinguished Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2010
Start Date: 01 Jan 2010
End Date: 01 Jan 2015
Start Date: 01 Jan 2004
End Date: 01 Jan 2006