The Cryosphere and Sea Level Rise

We employ an interdisciplinary approach to understand the interactions between ice and climate. We combine observations from remote sensing platforms and field data with numerical modeling to understand the physical processes controlling the response of the ice sheets to climate change, and to reduce the uncertainties of projections of the future contributions of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets to sea level rise regionally and globally over the coming centuries.

Research Groups
Ice Remote Sensing Group
Faculty
Eric Rignot

Uses satellite remote sensing techniques (imaging radar, laser altimetry, radio echo sounding), airborne geophysical surveys (icebridge), field surveys (radar, GPS, bathymetry, CTD), and numerical modeling

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Sea Level and Gravimetry
Faculty
Isabella Velicogna

Employs advanced multi-sensor geophysical techniques, including satellite time-variable gravity (GRACE), to study the mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets and glaciers worldwide

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Ice Sheet Modeling Group
Faculty
Mathieu Morlighem

Combines modeling techniques and remote sensing to improve our understanding of ice dynamics and how they affect the climate system.

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Faculty & Researchers
Eric Rignot
Professor of Earth System Science
erignot@uci.edu
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Isabella Velicogna
Professor of Earth System Science
isabella@uci.edu
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Mathieu Morlighem
Associate Professor of Earth System Science
mathieu.morlighem@uci.edu
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News

Megadrought in Madagascar: Human-Caused Climate Change Worsens Impacts on Communities, Wildlife
The latest report warns of climate change effects on megadrought in Madagascar, which can worsen, and result in devastating impacts on communities and wildlife.
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Arctic and boreal ecosystems are becoming increasingly unstable
Major transformations are occurring within Arctic and boreal ecosystems, which are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the planet.
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Vanessa Vazquez is writing her own story
Vazquez is the first person in her family to enroll in graduate school, and she’s also one of UCI’s very first climate justice fellows. 
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The Department of Earth System Science acknowledges our presence on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Acjachemen and Tongva peoples, who still hold strong cultural, spiritual and physical ties to this region.