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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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
Profile

News

Cities across the world are sinking. Here’s how they might rebound
Affected coastal cities now flood more often — a growing threat as sea levels are rising.
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How one Earth system scientist mastered climate science communication
Zack Labe ’20 (Ph.D., Earth System Science) takes a different approach to climate sci-comm. And if his legions of followers are any indication, it seems to be working.
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On ice with Eric Rignot
UC Irvine glaciologist looks back on four decades of NASA-funded research on Earth’s vulnerable polar ice sheets.
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