Christine Dow


Canada Research Chair in Glacier Hydrology and Ice Dynamics

Tier 2 - 2017-11-01
Renewed: 2024-05-01
University of Waterloo
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

519-888-4567 ext 33629
christine.dow@uwaterloo.ca

Research involves


Investigating the impact of glacial hydrology on the dynamics of ice sheets and glaciers over multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Research relevance


This research will contribute to predictions of ice mass change and resulting sea level rise in a warming climate.

Research summary


As the climate warms, the world’s melting ice sheets and glaciers are poised to contribute significant volumes of water to the ocean, causing global sea levels to rise. How quickly this ice changes and moves is closely linked to conditions at its base. As Canada Research Chair in Glacier Hydrology and Ice Dynamics, Dr. Christine Dow is building on her expertise in subglacial hydrology and ice dynamics to explore the links between climate change and the drivers of ice flow.

She and her research team are studying ice in Antarctica and examining changes in ice and hydrology configurations across millennia to understand what’s next. They are measuring Canadian glaciers and studying how future surface water will affect the bases of glacier systems. Their work will shed light on the relationship between hydrology and ice dynamics and provide the first geophysically derived values of ice thickness (and potential for sea-level rise) for Canada.