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Disputation: Coline Lili Mathy Bouchayer

Doctoral candidate Coline Lili Mathy Bouchayer at the Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, is defending the thesis Transient glacier dynamics and subglacial hydro-mechanical processes for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor.

Coline Lili Mathy Bouchayer. Photo: Private

Coline Lili Mathy Bouchayer. Photo: Private

The PhD defence and trial lecture will be held in Auditorium 1 in The Geology Building. In some cases, it will be possible to attend the trial lecture and dissertation digitally, in that case a link to Zoom will be posted.

Trial lecture

Thursday 30 November, 10:00 -10:45, Aud 1, The Geology Building  

Unpacking global ice loss: relevant mechanisms and processes

Conferral summary (in Norwegian)

Fremstøtsbreer (surgende isbreer) forekommer ofte i Arktis. Fronten av isbreen fryser fast til underlaget, isen akkumulerer og smelter under trykket, og rykker frem. I dette doktorgradsarbeidet undersøkes den komplekse dynamikkene til fremstøtbreer, deres unike egenskaper, og de faktorene som driver deres ustabilitet. Den legger vekt på samspillet mellom faktorer som sprekkeformasjon, transport av subglacialt vann, bunnslipp og sedimentdeformasjon i å starte og spre midlertidig fremrykk av isbreen.

Main research findings

Popular scientific article about Bouchayers’s dissertation:

Transient glacier dynamics and subglacial hydro-mechanical processes

The Cryosphere, encompassing elements like sea ice, permafrost, snow, glaciers, and ice sheets, faces a grave threat from ongoing climate change and can significantly impact ecosystems, human lives, and livelihoods. Understanding their dynamics is essential to predict their future and inform mitigation strategies. One critical concern within the Cryosphere is the flow of glaciers and ice sheets directly affecting sea-level rise. Particularly, the character transient of some glacier flow is yet not well understood as the answer is hidden in the glacier subglacial environment, challenging to access. 

This doctoral research focuses on constraining further these processes, with a primary focus on surge-type glaciers. Surge-type glaciers exhibit cyclic rapid flow, followed by slow movement. The study is based on multiple direct and indirect subglacial measurements at various spatio-temporal scales and integrates multiple methodologies, including data analysis, machine learning, and cryoseismology. The research reveals that surge-type glaciers have distinct attributes in certain areas, triggering instability. The doctoral work emphasizes the feedback between crevasses formation, subglacial water transport, basal slip and glacier flow acceleration as driver for glacier instabilities. The interplay between the subglacial water transport and sediment mechanic is explored to gain insight into the precise processes underlying these instabilities of a surging glacier.
 

Photo: Kongsfjorden in Svalbard, with Kongsvegen glacier on the left and Kronebreen glacier on the right. Kongsfjorden (Kongs Fjord or Kings Bay) is an inlet on the west coast of Spitsbergen. See the full panorama picture. Photo: Coline Lili Mathy Bouchayer
Kongsfjorden in Svalbard, with Kongsvegen glacier on the left and Kronebreen glacier on the right. Kongsfjorden (Kongs Fjord or Kings Bay) is an inlet on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. See full panorama picture. Photo: Coline Lili Mathy Bouchayer

 

Photo and other information:

Press photo: Coline Lili Mathy Bouchayer, portrait; 500px. Photo: Private

Other photo material: Panorama photo with description and credit as specified in the article above, size 1600px.

Published Nov. 16, 2023 9:45 AM - Last modified Dec. 5, 2023 10:00 AM