Research Interests

Ph.D. Project

My research focuses on the long-term stability and critical thresholds, or “tipping points”, of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, as well as their implications for future sea-level rise under global warming. In particular, I focus on how the stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is influenced by interacting tipping elements within the Earth’s climate system, such as the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The goal of my Ph.D. project is to determine whether interactions between the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets increase the likelihood that a tipping of the Greenland Ice Sheet amplifies the tipping potential of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Simulated equilibrium states of the Antarctic Ice Sheet at different levels of global warming
Simulated equilibrium states of the Antarctic Ice Sheet at different levels of global warming (from Garbe et al., 2020).

To get a better idea of my research focus, watch this short introduction video about the TiPACCs project on tipping points in Antarctic climate components, in which I am involved:

Models

Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM)

For my research, I mainly use and co-develop the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM). PISM is an open-source, high-resolution computer model used to simulate the flow of ice sheets and glaciers, which is adopted as a scientific tool by many research groups around the globe. PISM is jointly developed at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

Antarctic Ice Sheet as simulated with PISM
Antarctic Ice Sheet as simulated with PISM.

Modeling Sandbox

Want to play around with some simple ice-sheet models yourself? Check out this Github repository!