My research involves using measurements and modeling to understand the ice dynamics leading to the preservation of old (>4 Ma) ice at the Allan Hills blue ice area in Antarctica. I have used polarimetric ApRES measurements from the Allan Hills to characterize ice fabric in the region, and I plan to compare these data with models of ice fabric evolution forced with measured present-day strain rates. Understanding whether the ice fabric we observe at the Allan Hills is consistent with the fabric we would expect to evolve under steady-state strain conditions will inform us about the past stability of ice flow in the area.
Additionally, I am interested in using thin section measurements of bubble elongations, grain sizes, and c-axis alignments to understand shearing and deformation in the Allan Hills shallow ice cores. We observe highly elongated bubbles in thin sections of Allan Hills ice, which act as indicators of recent or ongoing strain within the ice column.