6-9 Carlton House Terrace
St. James's, London SW1Y 5AG
UK
For over 50 years scientists have been working to understand Antarctica’s contribution to sea level. For much of this time there has been disagreement about if this massive ice sheet is even growing or shrinking. In 2012, advances in data analysis and computer modelling resulted in the first reconciled estimate of change being achieved. This showed that Antarctica is increasingly contributing to sea-level rise. During this lecture Professor King will explain some of the major advances that led to this reconciled estimate, and highlight some of the fascinating things we can learn about Earth from the vantage-point of Antarctica; these take us from hundreds of miles above Earth’s surface to hundreds of miles below, and from present-day ice sheet changes to those that happened 20,000 years ago.
The Kavli Medal and Lecture is awarded biennially (in odd years) for excellence in all fields of science and engineering relevant to the environment or energy. Professor King was awarded the Kavli Medal and Lecture for his research in field glaciology leading to the first reconciled estimate of ice sheet contribution to sea level.
Image caption: A Global Positioning System (GPS) deployed in remote West Antarctica for the purpose of measuring the motion of its bedrock. The bedrock is responding to past and present changes in the weight of ice upon it. Credit: Matt Burke