Bridging pore and grain-scale physics to the changing cryosphere

Interdisciplinary Areas: Data and Engineering Applications, Innovation and Making

Project Description

The Greenland Ice Sheet has become the largest single source of barystatic sea-level rise in the cryosphere. Numerical models are the best tools to make projections of the future of the ice sheet. However, predicting how fast the ice sheet flows, and when does calving occur at glacier margins has proven to be challenging, primarily because of (1) the limited knowledge of the fate of meltwater in the hydrologic system and (2) the poor representation of ice-ocean interactions. This project aims to combine cold-room experiments, discrete element [1] and continuum models [2, 3], and remote observations [4] to better predict the feedback between the cryosphere and climate change.
The uniqueness and potential of the project are justified as follows: Due to the limited spatial and temporal coverage of remote observations of the cryosphere, many models fit observations on sea ice extent and ice sheet dynamics using empirical parameterizations that lack physical insights. The proposed cold-room experiments enable the study of ice morphology and phase changes. Through multiscale modeling, pore and grain-scale physics can be bridged to ice-sheet and climate models to reduce uncertainty in sea-level rise predictions.

Start Date

In 2025, details to be discussed with co-advisors 

Postdoc Qualifications

• The candidate is expected to have earned a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or other related fields.
• Strong experimental or programming skills.
• Basic knowledge of discrete element or continuum models.
• Knowledge of remote sensing analysis is preferred but not required.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills.

Co-advisors

Yue (Olivia) Meng: olivmeng@stanford.edu; Assistant Professor at the School of Civil Engineering (start on Jan/1/2025), Purdue University; https://olivmenggeosci.wordpress.com/
Hector Gomez: hectorgomez@purdue.edu; Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University; https://engineering.purdue.edu/gomez/

Bibliography

[1] Meng, Y., Lai, C. Y., Culberg, R., Shahin, M., Stearns, L., Burton, J., & Nissanka K. Seasonal Changes of Mélange Thickness Coincide with Greenland Calving Dynamics. Nature Communications, under revision.
[2] Meng Y., Culberg R., Lai C-Y. (2024) Vulnerability of firn to hydrofracture: poromechanics modeling. Journal of Glaciology, 1-40.
[3] Gomez, H., Bures, M., & Moure, A. (2019). A review on computational modelling of phase-transition problems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 377(2143), 20180203.
[4] Black, T. E., & Joughin, I. (2023). Weekly to monthly terminus variability of Greenland's marine-terminating outlet glaciers. The Cryosphere, 17(1), 1-13.