Alex Robel
@iceclimate.bsky.social
Ice sheets, climate, math, coasts, community resilience. Associate Professor
Georgia Tech EAS. Miami born 🇧🇴-🇦🇷-🇺🇸 he/him
Georgia Tech EAS. Miami born 🇧🇴-🇦🇷-🇺🇸 he/him
Pinned
Alex Robel
@iceclimate.bsky.social
· Sep 8
Opportunities – GT Ice & Climate Group
iceclimate.eas.gatech.edu
🚨🚨 We are recruiting a PhD student to start in Fall 2026 on the NeuCIM Project funded by @heisingsimonsfdn.bsky.social. Please send this opportunity to any candidates with interests related to ice sheet modeling, projections and/or machine learning iceclimate.eas.gatech.edu/opportunities/
Reposted by Alex Robel
6,000,000 year old ice & plenty of wind and cold! What folks go through for old ice.
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
6,000,000 year old ice & plenty of wind and cold! What folks go through for old ice.
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
A new and improved parameterization of the subgrid-scale effects of icebergs will enable realistic simulations of the future of the ocean around ice sheets. Led by postdoc Paul Summers and in collab with Rebecca Jackson, as part of the GLACIOME project! tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...
Sub-grid parameterization of iceberg drag in a coupled iceberg–ocean model
Abstract. Ocean conditions in fjords play a key role in the accelerating ice mass loss of Greenland's marine-terminating glaciers. Ice mélange and icebergs have been shown to impact fjord circulation,...
tc.copernicus.org
October 31, 2025 at 12:55 PM
A new and improved parameterization of the subgrid-scale effects of icebergs will enable realistic simulations of the future of the ocean around ice sheets. Led by postdoc Paul Summers and in collab with Rebecca Jackson, as part of the GLACIOME project! tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...
Reposted by Alex Robel
🌊🧊🇦🇶
I am happy and proud to present our #platformist team effort out in @nature.com!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We examine if, when, and why #Antarctic #ice shelves will no longer be viable, at the latest, due to changes in #atmosphere and #ocean conditions.
A little 🧵 for the experts...
1/7
I am happy and proud to present our #platformist team effort out in @nature.com!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We examine if, when, and why #Antarctic #ice shelves will no longer be viable, at the latest, due to changes in #atmosphere and #ocean conditions.
A little 🧵 for the experts...
1/7
Ocean warming threatens the viability of 60% of Antarctic ice shelves - Nature
The viability of Antarctic ice shelves under low rates and high rates of global warming is modelled to estimate when it will become unfeasible for the ice shelves to maintain their present-day shape.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:41 PM
🌊🧊🇦🇶
I am happy and proud to present our #platformist team effort out in @nature.com!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We examine if, when, and why #Antarctic #ice shelves will no longer be viable, at the latest, due to changes in #atmosphere and #ocean conditions.
A little 🧵 for the experts...
1/7
I am happy and proud to present our #platformist team effort out in @nature.com!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We examine if, when, and why #Antarctic #ice shelves will no longer be viable, at the latest, due to changes in #atmosphere and #ocean conditions.
A little 🧵 for the experts...
1/7
Reposted by Alex Robel
PNAS: Six-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica offers unprecedented window into a warmer Earth via our NSF COLDEX & US Antarctic Program. ❄️ www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
October 28, 2025 at 9:44 PM
PNAS: Six-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica offers unprecedented window into a warmer Earth via our NSF COLDEX & US Antarctic Program. ❄️ www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
A great explainer on @dgrau13.bsky.social’s recent paper finding simple equations describing the size of melt lakes on ice sheets doi.org/10.1038/s414...
October 27, 2025 at 10:20 PM
A great explainer on @dgrau13.bsky.social’s recent paper finding simple equations describing the size of melt lakes on ice sheets doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Reposted by Alex Robel
Career update: I’m excited & honored to be @igsoc.bsky.social's new Secretary General! I’m particularly excited to return to my roots as a glaciologist in this community-facing role. As I’m getting up to speed, feel free to reach out & see you at IGS meetings and publishing in IGS journals soon?!
October 27, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Career update: I’m excited & honored to be @igsoc.bsky.social's new Secretary General! I’m particularly excited to return to my roots as a glaciologist in this community-facing role. As I’m getting up to speed, feel free to reach out & see you at IGS meetings and publishing in IGS journals soon?!
Reposted by Alex Robel
Icebergs are big. Researchers made mini versions in a lab to better understand what moves them.
eos.org/articles/mel...
eos.org/articles/mel...
Melting Cylinders of Ice Reveal an Iceberg’s Tipping Point - Eos
New lab experiments on cylinders of pure ice shed light on how icebergs flip over as they melt, demonstrating the link between a warming ocean and small-scale events that can have rippling consequence...
eos.org
October 24, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Icebergs are big. Researchers made mini versions in a lab to better understand what moves them.
eos.org/articles/mel...
eos.org/articles/mel...
Reposted by Alex Robel
New paper drop led by former postdoc Jacob Adler now at ASU. www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Pressure, temperature, & composition affect the transport and morphology of sedimentary flows on Mars - in space and time!
☠️ beware of using earth analogs to interpret Hesperian and Amazonian deposits☠️
Pressure, temperature, & composition affect the transport and morphology of sedimentary flows on Mars - in space and time!
☠️ beware of using earth analogs to interpret Hesperian and Amazonian deposits☠️
Microclimate governs the morphology of sediment flows on Mars - Communications Earth & Environment
Gravitational flow deposits on Earth may not be meaningful analogues for those on Mars or other planetary bodies according to laboratory experiments conducted at Mars-like temperatures and pressures w...
www.nature.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
New paper drop led by former postdoc Jacob Adler now at ASU. www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Pressure, temperature, & composition affect the transport and morphology of sedimentary flows on Mars - in space and time!
☠️ beware of using earth analogs to interpret Hesperian and Amazonian deposits☠️
Pressure, temperature, & composition affect the transport and morphology of sedimentary flows on Mars - in space and time!
☠️ beware of using earth analogs to interpret Hesperian and Amazonian deposits☠️
A great piece on work being done around flood prediction and resilience at GT making the connection with fundamental glacier physics 🌊🐝
Georgia Tech researchers are developing solutions to monitor and forecast flooding, as well as restore ecosystems to prevent future flooding. These efforts support communities’ resilience in the face of climate change and keep the U.S. secure. b.gatech.edu/47BcWW0 f
October 21, 2025 at 8:07 PM
A great piece on work being done around flood prediction and resilience at GT making the connection with fundamental glacier physics 🌊🐝
Reposted by Alex Robel
I was interviewed for this great piece about sea level rise.
Solid reporting here on the scientific controversy, but I like that Evan ended with my bigger picture quote that a lot of the controversy doesn't really matter because by 2100, we will be talking about a radically different coastline.
Solid reporting here on the scientific controversy, but I like that Evan ended with my bigger picture quote that a lot of the controversy doesn't really matter because by 2100, we will be talking about a radically different coastline.
How Soon Will the Seas Rise? | Quanta Magazine
The uniquely vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 5 meters. But when that will happen — and how fast — is anything but settled.
www.quantamagazine.org
October 20, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I was interviewed for this great piece about sea level rise.
Solid reporting here on the scientific controversy, but I like that Evan ended with my bigger picture quote that a lot of the controversy doesn't really matter because by 2100, we will be talking about a radically different coastline.
Solid reporting here on the scientific controversy, but I like that Evan ended with my bigger picture quote that a lot of the controversy doesn't really matter because by 2100, we will be talking about a radically different coastline.
Reposted by Alex Robel
🚨 New paper alert!
Research by postdoc Maaike Izeboud from the bglacier group in Nature Climate Change 🎉
Using 20 years of satellite data, she mapped Antarctic ice shelf fractures and showed how damage rises under high emissions but stabilises in low-emission futures
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Research by postdoc Maaike Izeboud from the bglacier group in Nature Climate Change 🎉
Using 20 years of satellite data, she mapped Antarctic ice shelf fractures and showed how damage rises under high emissions but stabilises in low-emission futures
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Damage development on Antarctic ice shelves sensitive to climate warming - Nature Climate Change
Damages such as crevasses or cracks can be early indicators of ice shelf weakening. Here, the authors quantify changes in damage structures in Antarctic ice sheets, which show sensitivity to warming
www.nature.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:27 PM
🚨 New paper alert!
Research by postdoc Maaike Izeboud from the bglacier group in Nature Climate Change 🎉
Using 20 years of satellite data, she mapped Antarctic ice shelf fractures and showed how damage rises under high emissions but stabilises in low-emission futures
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Research by postdoc Maaike Izeboud from the bglacier group in Nature Climate Change 🎉
Using 20 years of satellite data, she mapped Antarctic ice shelf fractures and showed how damage rises under high emissions but stabilises in low-emission futures
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alex Robel
We have a new paper out! Work with @leighstearns.bsky.social, @laserglaciers.bsky.social, and Sid Shankar studying the potential of new ICEYE SAR satellite imagery to study the dynamic behaviour of ice mélange around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Read more here: tinyurl.com/mtc94juu
Read more here: tinyurl.com/mtc94juu
October 14, 2025 at 7:25 PM
We have a new paper out! Work with @leighstearns.bsky.social, @laserglaciers.bsky.social, and Sid Shankar studying the potential of new ICEYE SAR satellite imagery to study the dynamic behaviour of ice mélange around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Read more here: tinyurl.com/mtc94juu
Read more here: tinyurl.com/mtc94juu
Reposted by Alex Robel
🌊🌊JOB ALERT!! Are you an ice sheet modeler looking for a postdoc that does not rely on federal funding? Come join our research team at University of Wisconsin-Madison to study the physical and human dynamics of sea-level rise. www.linkedin.com/posts/andrea...
Job ad for postdoctoral research in ice sheet modeling | Andrea Dutton
🌊 🌊 JOB ALERT!! Looking for a postdoc that does not rely on federal funding?? Looking to live in a city that is routinely ranked as one of the best cities to live in across the entire U.S.? Come jo...
www.linkedin.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:14 PM
🌊🌊JOB ALERT!! Are you an ice sheet modeler looking for a postdoc that does not rely on federal funding? Come join our research team at University of Wisconsin-Madison to study the physical and human dynamics of sea-level rise. www.linkedin.com/posts/andrea...
Reposted by Alex Robel
We’ve made our results into an interactive map showing which infrastructure across the Global South is exposed to rising seas. It shows how exposure varies with topography & development + what’s possible to protect with swift action.
sea-level-submergence.projects.earthengine.app/view/sea-lev...
sea-level-submergence.projects.earthengine.app/view/sea-lev...
October 9, 2025 at 8:11 PM
We’ve made our results into an interactive map showing which infrastructure across the Global South is exposed to rising seas. It shows how exposure varies with topography & development + what’s possible to protect with swift action.
sea-level-submergence.projects.earthengine.app/view/sea-lev...
sea-level-submergence.projects.earthengine.app/view/sea-lev...
Reposted by Alex Robel
Tidewater glacier calving events inspire awe and remind us to be humble. Turns out they also stir up fjord waters and amplify melt. New paper "Calving as a Source of Acute and Persistent Kinetic Energy to Enhance Submarine Melting..." ❤️glaciology agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
October 9, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Tidewater glacier calving events inspire awe and remind us to be humble. Turns out they also stir up fjord waters and amplify melt. New paper "Calving as a Source of Acute and Persistent Kinetic Energy to Enhance Submarine Melting..." ❤️glaciology agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
Presenting Dr. Ziad Rashed!! 🧊❄️🍾🎉
October 2, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Presenting Dr. Ziad Rashed!! 🧊❄️🍾🎉
Reposted by Alex Robel
Equally as important, please check out the accompanying AWS public dataset for all the cloud-optimized point cloud files and COGs in this S3 bucket (s3://atlas-lidar-helheim/).
An 8-year record of daily and sub-daily ATLAS elevations and velocities when operational. The first of its kind!
An 8-year record of daily and sub-daily ATLAS elevations and velocities when operational. The first of its kind!
October 1, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Equally as important, please check out the accompanying AWS public dataset for all the cloud-optimized point cloud files and COGs in this S3 bucket (s3://atlas-lidar-helheim/).
An 8-year record of daily and sub-daily ATLAS elevations and velocities when operational. The first of its kind!
An 8-year record of daily and sub-daily ATLAS elevations and velocities when operational. The first of its kind!
Reposted by Alex Robel
🚨 New Publication 🚨
I’m excited to share our new paper out in @jgrearthsurface.bsky.social!
Read more about calving mechanisms at Helheim Glacier from two autonomous terrestrial laser scanners (ATLAS) results here doi.org/10.1029/2024...
I’m excited to share our new paper out in @jgrearthsurface.bsky.social!
Read more about calving mechanisms at Helheim Glacier from two autonomous terrestrial laser scanners (ATLAS) results here doi.org/10.1029/2024...
Calving Mechanisms Inferred From Observations of Surface Depressions at Helheim Glacier, Greenland
Surface depressions on Helheim Glacier appear at a consistent location on the lee side of a subglacial ridge and have increased in frequency
Observed calving episodes, regardless of calving style...
doi.org
October 1, 2025 at 11:53 PM
🚨 New Publication 🚨
I’m excited to share our new paper out in @jgrearthsurface.bsky.social!
Read more about calving mechanisms at Helheim Glacier from two autonomous terrestrial laser scanners (ATLAS) results here doi.org/10.1029/2024...
I’m excited to share our new paper out in @jgrearthsurface.bsky.social!
Read more about calving mechanisms at Helheim Glacier from two autonomous terrestrial laser scanners (ATLAS) results here doi.org/10.1029/2024...
Reposted by Alex Robel
Will landscape responses reduce glacier sensitivity to climate change in High Mountain Asia? 🧪⚒️❄️⛰️ New paper in @egu-cr.bsky.social The Cryosphere
tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...
tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...
Will landscape responses reduce glacier sensitivity to climate change in High Mountain Asia?
Abstract. In High Mountain Asia (HMA), ongoing climate change threatens mountain water resources as glaciers melt, and the resulting changes in runoff and water availability are likely to have conside...
tc.copernicus.org
September 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Will landscape responses reduce glacier sensitivity to climate change in High Mountain Asia? 🧪⚒️❄️⛰️ New paper in @egu-cr.bsky.social The Cryosphere
tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...
tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...
Reposted by Alex Robel
Led by Chris Bézu, with co-authors @bradlipovsky.bsky.social, Daniel Shapero & myself, our @igsoc.bsky.social pre-print presents a new open-source model that couples ice-shelf flow, flexure & fracture 🧊 🧪
@cires.colorado.edu @cpom-uk.bsky.social #glaciology
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
@cires.colorado.edu @cpom-uk.bsky.social #glaciology
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Ice shelf evolution combining flow, flexure, and fracture | Journal of Glaciology | Cambridge Core
Ice shelf evolution combining flow, flexure, and fracture
www.cambridge.org
September 24, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Led by Chris Bézu, with co-authors @bradlipovsky.bsky.social, Daniel Shapero & myself, our @igsoc.bsky.social pre-print presents a new open-source model that couples ice-shelf flow, flexure & fracture 🧊 🧪
@cires.colorado.edu @cpom-uk.bsky.social #glaciology
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
@cires.colorado.edu @cpom-uk.bsky.social #glaciology
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
My second-year student delayed her submission to this year so she could get preliminary results for her proposal. We were discussing her proposal plan today when this was announced. This is a shit way to bring up the next generation of scientists…
Waiting a year is an intentional and strategic choice. This offers more time to prepare and develop the best proposal possible. Taking this opportunity away in the final hour is a gut punch. They worked so hard and don’t even get to throw their hat in the ring. This is harm and generational impact.
Announcing such a major change to NSF GRFP this late in the cycle is incredibly cruel. 2nd yr students (mine included) have been working so hard on their proposals despite ongoing uncertainty. They are driven and passionate about being outstanding scientists and helping those coming up behind them.
September 27, 2025 at 12:22 AM
My second-year student delayed her submission to this year so she could get preliminary results for her proposal. We were discussing her proposal plan today when this was announced. This is a shit way to bring up the next generation of scientists…
Reposted by Alex Robel
Last week I published my first PhD paper on the sources of freshwater for Greenland's fjords (tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...)
Seasonal and interannual variability in freshwater sources for Greenland's fjords
Abstract. The magnitude, source, release location, and timing of freshwater that ends up in the numerous Greenland fjords is of special interest for ice–ocean interactions and ecosystems. In this stud...
tc.copernicus.org
September 26, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Last week I published my first PhD paper on the sources of freshwater for Greenland's fjords (tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/...)
What humans do to change climate matters much, much more than natural climate variations in determining future ice loss from Greenland 👉 Read about the results of the Greenland Ice Sheet Large Ensemble (GrISLENS) Project in our paper out now in The Cryosphere doi.org/10.5194/tc-1...
The Greenland Ice Sheet Large Ensemble (GrISLENS): simulating the future of Greenland under climate variability
Abstract. The Greenland ice sheet has lost ice at an increasing pace over recent decades, driven by a combination of human-caused climate change and internal variability in the climate system. In proj...
doi.org
September 17, 2025 at 7:41 PM
What humans do to change climate matters much, much more than natural climate variations in determining future ice loss from Greenland 👉 Read about the results of the Greenland Ice Sheet Large Ensemble (GrISLENS) Project in our paper out now in The Cryosphere doi.org/10.5194/tc-1...
Reposted by Alex Robel
As a postdoc on the job market, I've been worried about the impact of ongoing funding/policy uncertainties on faculty positions. So I decided to compare the progression of faculty jobs this cycle to previous years based on positions posted to eswnonline.org/online/earth...
September 16, 2025 at 6:29 PM
As a postdoc on the job market, I've been worried about the impact of ongoing funding/policy uncertainties on faculty positions. So I decided to compare the progression of faculty jobs this cycle to previous years based on positions posted to eswnonline.org/online/earth...