Student Projects

Student Projects 2026 

PROJECT 1: Surface energy balance and sensitivity of melt to climate change

STUDENTS: Miaja Coombs, Travis Zalesky

ADVISOR: Regine Hock

DESCRIPTION: The project involves calculating the surface energy balance using data over one melt season from an automatic weather station on a glacier. We have data from Alaska glaciers and other sites, or you can bring your own data. You will code the energy balance model from scratch (equations will be provided), or you can use a template code in Matlab/Python. The next steps will evolve with student interests. For example, you may compare different parameterizations for various components of the energy balance, explore the sensitivity of energy components and glacier melt to changes in meteorological input variables, or compare results to a degree-day melt model.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Any programming language, e.g. Matlab or Python. The project can, in principle, also be done using spreadsheets (e.g. Excel)

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: Basic knowledge of any of the software requirements above. Prior knowledge on energy balance is not required.

PROJECT 2: A simple flowline model

STUDENTS: Jaela Allen, Katarina Henning

ADVISOR: Regine Hock

DESCRIPTION: We will investigate the behavior of an idealized simple one-dimensional glacier model which simulates the evolution of the glacier with time (length, surface elevation and thickness along the flowline) based on prescribed surface mass-balance gradients and equilibrium line altitudes. You will code the model in Matlab (based on a template and a handout that summarizes all relevant equations) and then explore the behavior of the glacier and resulting response times in response to varying boundary conditions. You may also investigate the sensitivity of the glacier evolution to changes in glacier bed, ice softness etc.
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Matlab or Python (or other)
REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: The project does not require prior ice flow modeling experience, but some basic knowledge of calculus/differential equations and Matlab is needed (or sufficient programing skills in another programing language in which case you would need to be able to code the model without coding help).

PROJECT 3: Interannual ELA variations of Greenland glaciers

STUDENTS: Luis Gentner, Jeremy Turner

ADVISOR: Alicia Rutledge

DESCRIPTION: Students will test multiple methods of identifying snow and bare ice from other surfaces (i.e. debris rich ice) such as band ratioing, image classification, NIR thresholding, albedo thresholds, etc, and then apply the method of their choice to a time series of Landsat images of Disko Island glaciers (1985 - present day) and a local DTM to examine end of season snowline (e.g., inferred ELA) differences and rate(s) of change. This will give us insight into the response of glaciers to climate variability and allow us to make inferences about regional trends vs. overall trends in Greenland. Students can choose to explore any identified trends by extracting surface temperatures from the same Landsat images and/or data from regional weather stations and perform statistical analysis to test controlling variables on local and regional scales.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: ENVI or other image processing software; I will provide data and bring a machine with ENVI already installed.

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: knowledge of image processing techniques would be helpful

PROJECT 4: Remote sensing of martian glaciers

STUDENTS: Jaime Dube, Scott Hudson

ADVISOR: Alicia Rutledge

DESCRIPTION: The cryosphere of Mars is extensive, persistent, and shows signs of past warm-based activity. Mars debris-covered glaciers show surface and interior evidence for flow structures, ex. foliation, crevassing, and stratification. We will map surface features of a Mars glacier, describe and interpret the terrains identified, and describe the inferred history of the glacier. Students will have the opportunity to augment visible image analysis with a number of other datasets according to their interests: radar (where available), thermal imagery, themophysical modeling, compositional maps…

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: JMARS (free GIS download)

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: General knowledge of GIS software is helpful but not required.

PROJECT 5:  Patterns and pace of seasonal flow variations on Malaspina and Hubbard Glaciers

STUDENTS: Ethan Carr, Marianna Marquardt

ADVISOR: Mark Fahnestock

DESCRIPTION: Goals: a) Use short time separation image pair velocity fields from ITS_LIVE to map out patterns of ice flow change on two Alaskan glaciers with large seasonal swings in velocity. Malaspina’s speed in a typical year can go from 1 meter per day at the end of summer to 4 meters per day in May, only to drop in a month back to low summer values. Hubbard, a tidewater glacier, shows even larger swings in a more complicated seasonal pattern - it flows at 5-6 meters per day through the winter only to drop rapidly to under a meter per day, nearly stopping in a limited area.

b) Analyze patterns of change - Some questions to consider: Given your maps of speedup/slowdown magnitudes and spatial extents, can you constrain how quickly the transitions happen?  Are the transitions driven from upstream or near the terminus? The seasonal timing suggests hydrologic influence on the speed, but does the spatial pattern fit that idea? Do the patterns of change have any relation to what we know about the bed geometry in either system?

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: prior installation of a suite of open source image processing code. This is most easily accomplished on Linux or MacOS - or on a Windows system with a Linux shell, but I have limited experience with the latter.I will bring several external disks with Landsat, Sentinel 1, and Sentinel 2 imagery and ITS_LIVE data for relevant areas. If you would like to download some of this imagery/data before the summer school let me know.

PROJECT 6: Patterns of recent active rifting on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

STUDENTS: Benjamin Getraer, Phoebe Jackson

ADVISOR: Mark Fahnestock

DESCRIPTION: Goals: a) Use ITS_LIVE velocity fields to locate step changes in speed that indicate active extension or shear in rifts through the ice shelf in recent years;  b) Map the appearance and evolution of these rifts over time;  c) Use this spatial view of the rifting to determine how much of the increase in ice flow speed in 2025-2026 has been accommodated by the rifts, and how much is increased deformation of the ice itself.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: same as project 5

PROJECT 7: What land is covered by glaciers?

STUDENTS: Chloe Hancock, Jonathan Kolar

ADVISOR: Ed Bueler

DESCRIPTION:  Given a _prescribed_ ice surface velocity field, a general distribution of surface mass balance, and a more-or-less realistic glacier bed, what land is covered by glaciers?  The severely-simplified model behind this question can be steady-state or time-dependent, but it is a free-boundary problem in which the ice thickness is unknown.  Three fields, namely surface mass balance, bed topography, and the (strangely) predetermined velocity field, determine glacier coverage and thickness (geometry).  We will solve this model numerically using a finite element model.  Then variations will be entertained.  Students might compare two formulations, thickness-based mass continuity and the surface kinematic equation.  Students might improve the velocity field toward something physically-believable, such as a shallow approximation of the glacier flow physics.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS:  Students will learn the Firedrake finite element library and the Paraview tool for visualization.

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND:  This project assumes some familiarity with Python and differential equations, a knowledge basis which we will strengthen.

PROJECT 8: How far can glacier stresses reach?

STUDENTS: Jules de la Cruz, Alice Furlotti

ADVISOR: Ed Bueler

DESCRIPTION:  How far does a localized bed topography perturbation, or a localized perturbation in basal resistance, influence the glacier velocity?  What controls the range of that influence?  Students will explore which physical parameters (e.g. aspect ratio, slip ratio, rheology, temperature profile) extend or shrink the range of influence in a Stokes model.  The finite element method will be used to solve a flow-line Stokes stress balance model, and students will learn about meshing and solver choices as well.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Students will learn the Firedrake finite element library, the Gmsh meshing program, and the Paraview tool for visualization.

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: This project assumes some familiarity with Python and differential equations, a knowledge basis which we will strengthen. 

PROJECT 9: The Unpinning of an iceshelf

STUDENTS: Sophia Ludtke, Ann Kristin Lund Johansen

ADVISOR: M. Truffer

DESCRIPTION: How much unpinning leads to a loss of buttressing from an iceshelf? We will investigate this question using an ice sheet model and a simplified geometry based on the Thwaites Eastern Iceshelf, where this process is currently underway. The unpinning leads to stress distributions that weaken the lateral margin. We will explore various geometries, starting with a simplified version of the processes now underway at Thwaites.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Icepack (https://icepack.github.io/), which requires Firedrake

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: Some knowledge of Python.

PROJECT 10: Inversion of satellite derived ice velocities

STUDENTS: Frank Donachie, Aman KC

ADVISOR: M. Truffer

DESCRIPTION: Deriving velocities from displacement time series is now nearly global and comes with great temporal coverage, exemplified by the ITS_LIVE product. These time series are sampled over irregular time intervals. We will invert for continuous velocity time series that are compatible with measured displacements. We will start by investigating synthetic time series in order to better understand the problem. Then we will apply the method to some ITS_LIVE data.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Python

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: Some working knowledge of the NumPy library in Python.

PROJECT 11: Geometric controls on subglacial drainage

STUDENTS: Michael Christoffersen, Satu Innanen

ADVISOR: Gwenn Flowers

DESCRIPTION: Glacier surface and bed topography exert a first-order control on the direction of subglacial water flow, with simple calculations of fluid potential able to predict the configuration of preferential flow paths and likely locations of outlet streams. This project will explore the drainage networks predicted by the subglacial fluid potential under different assumptions, and estimate discharge using a simple flow-routing algorithm. These tools can be used to compare predicted drainage networks in ice-covered versus ice-free terrain, predict the locations of subglacial lakes, and examine the sensitivity of drainage architecture to evolving glacier and ice-cap surfaces.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Project template is in Jupyter Notebooks (Python), but any language/software capable of raster calculations could be used.

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: Basic physics and calculus would be useful, and some knowledge of Python or experience with another language/software (e.g. Matlab) would be advantageous.

PROJECT 12: Outburst flood dynamics

STUDENTS: Morgan Abbruscato, Jogscha Abderhalden

ADVISOR: Gwenn Flowers

DESCRIPTION: What role do glacier geometry, channel properties, and model boundary conditions have on simulated glacier outburst floods? This project explores these (and possibly other) aspects of jokulhlaups (glacier outburst floods) using a one-dimensional numerical model of channel evolution. Extensions of this project could include coupling channel evolution with reservoirs of different hypsometries and application of the model to real glacier profiles. 

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Python or Matlab

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: Some knowledge of differential equations, working knowledge of Python or Matlab.

PROJECT 13 : Historical simulation of an Alaskan Glacier with PISM

STUDENTS: Johannes Brunner, Chloé Monty

ADVISOR: Andy Aschwanden

DESCRIPTION: Despite being called the Parallel Ice Sheet Model, PISM is equally suited to simulate the evolution of mountain glaciers. Here we will explore the application of PISM to the nearby Mt Wrangell glacier complex. Questions we are interested in include: what ice flow parameters lead to a good great agreement with observed surface speeds and how do  uncertainties in subglacial topography influence our ability to credibly reproduce surface speeds.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: conda, Python on Linux or OSX (no Windows)

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: solid knowledge of python and bash scripting.

PROJECT 14: Inverse modeling of an Alaskan Glacier with PISM

STUDENTS: Thatcher Chamberlin, Yanmei Tian

ADVISOR: Andy Aschwanden

DESCRIPTION: Despite being called the Parallel Ice Sheet Model, PISM is equally suited to simulate the evolution of mountain glaciers. Here we will explore the application of PISM’s inverse capabilities to the nearby Mt Wrangell glacier complex. Important: this project is for the adventurous only as PISM’s inverse toolbox hasn’t been thoroughly tested.

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: conda, Python on Linux or OSX (no Windows)

REQUIRED STUDENT BACKGROUND: solid knowledge of Python and bash scripting, inverse modeling of advantage.

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Several projects from past summer schools have evolved into scientific publications:

Wells, A., Tober, B.S., Child, S.F. et al. An 85-year record of glacier change and refined projections for Kennicott and Root Glaciers, Alaska. Nat Commun 16, 7835 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62962-w

Hager et al., 2022, Persistent, extensive channelized drainage modeled beneath Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica. The Cryosphere

Altena et al., 2019, Extracting recent short-term glacier velocity evolution over southern Alaska and the Yukon from a large collection of Landsat data. The Cryosphere

Brinkerhoff et al., 2016, Inversion of a glacier hydrology model. J. Glaciol.