Antarctica's contribution to global sea level under past and future warmth

Abstract:

The Antarctic ice sheet is a major contributor to sea level rise, but its response to future warming is uncertain because modern and projected CO2 concentrations are unprecedented during human existence. Geologic records offer a glimpse of prospective Earth landscapes. Specifically, past warm periods provide a window into the feedbacks and instabilities that govern ice sheet dynamics under a fundamentally different climatic state. I integrate process-based ice sheet modeling with geologic data to explore Antarctic Ice Sheet stability and contribution to global sea level. 

Biography: 

Anna Ruth (Ruthie) Halberstadt is an assistant professor at University of Texas at Austin, in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department. Her research integrates geologic data and numerical models to reconstruct climate and ice sheet dynamics across many different time periods, focusing on warm climates in the geologic past as well as the future. Dr. Halberstadt received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Rice University, followed by a Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a postdoctoral fellowship at Berkeley Geochronology Center.  Dr. Halberstadt has conducted field work in Antarctica aboard scientific research vessels as well as terrestrial expeditions on the ice.