I am an ice core researcher and a member of the corresponding Ice Core Team in Cambridge, UK. Before starting my postdoc at BAS, I completed my PhD in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, where I investigated the effects of near-surface melting on firn and ice cores from the polar regions. Alongside my research, I actively engage in science communication, teaching, and science-into-policy.
My research focuses on melt-affected snow, firn, and ice cores as climate archives in a warming world. I combine structural analyses — including high-resolution 3D X-ray and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging — with chemical and isotopic proxy records to understand how near-surface melting affects the climate information preserved in glaciers. Furthermore, I am interested in the capacity of firn to store meltwater and investigate its structure to assess how Antarctic ice shelves buffer sea level rise.
Baur, Dorothea Elisabeth ORCID record for Baur, Dorothea Elisabeth. Spolaor, Andrea ORCID record for Spolaor, Andrea. Scoto, Federico ORCID record for Scoto, Federico. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. (2026) In-situ tracer percolation experiments to constrain the influence of near-surface melting on Svalbard snow signatures.
Tetzner, Dieter R. ORCID record for Tetzner, Dieter R.. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. Allen, Claire S. ORCID record for Allen, Claire S.. McCulloch, Robert D. ORCID record for McCulloch, Robert D.. Perren, Bianca B. ORCID record for Perren, Bianca B.. McGuire, Amy. Segato, Delia ORCID record for Segato, Delia. Temme, Franziska. Fürst, Johannes J. ORCID record for Fürst, Johannes J.. Moser, Dorothea ORCID record for Moser, Dorothea. Fernandoy, Francisco ORCID record for Fernandoy, Francisco. Rada, Camilo ORCID record for Rada, Camilo. Humby, Jack ORCID record for Humby, Jack. Miller, Shaun. (2025) The First Firn Core From the Cordillera Darwin Icefield: Implications for Future Ice Core Research.
The Firn Symposium team, incl. Moser, Dorothea ORCID record for Moser, Dorothea. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. (2024) Firn on ice sheets.
Segato, Delia. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. Tetzner, Dieter ORCID record for Tetzner, Dieter. Jackson, Sarah. Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth ORCID record for Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth. Turetta, Clara. Fernandez, Rafael P. Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso. Pedro, Joel. Markle, Bradley. Spolaor, Andrea. (2023) Investigating halogens and MSA in the Southern Hemisphere: A spatial analysis.
Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth ORCID record for Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. Nehrbass-Ahles, Christoph. Eichler, Anja. Wolff, Eric. (2023) Melt-Affected Ice Cores for Polar Research in a Warming World.
Thomas, Elizabeth Ruth ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth Ruth. Tetzner, Dieter ORCID record for Tetzner, Dieter. Markle, Bradley. Pedro, Joel. Gacitúa, Guisella. Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth ORCID record for Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth. Jackson, Sarah. (2023) The first firn core from Peter 1st Island – capturing climate variability across the Bellingshausen Sea.
Brown, Joseph W. Moser, Dorothea E. ORCID record for Moser, Dorothea E.. Emanuelsson, Daniel B. ORCID record for Emanuelsson, Daniel B.. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. (2023) Visual Stratigraphy-Based Age Scale Developed for the Shallow Mount Siple Firn Core, Antarctica.
Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth ORCID record for Moser, Dorothea Elisabeth. Jackson, Sarah. Kjær, Helle Astrid. Markle, Bradley. Ngoumtsa, Estelle. Pedro, Joel B. Segato, Delia. Spolaor, andrea. Tetzner, Dieter ORCID record for Tetzner, Dieter. Vallelonga, Paul. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. (2021) An age scale for the first shallow (sub-)Antarctic ice core from Young Island, Northwest Ross Sea.
Moser, D. E., Spolaor, A., Scoto, F., and Thomas, E. R. (2026): In-situ tracer percolation experiments to constrain the influence of near-surface melting on Svalbard snow signatures, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-399
Moser, D. E., Thomas, E. R., Nehrbass-Ahles, C., Eichler, A., Wolff, E. (2024). Review article: Melt-affected ice cores for polar research in a warming world. The Cryosphere, 18, 2691-2718. https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/2691/2024/
Moser, D.E., Jackson, S., Kjær, H.A., Markle, B.R., Ngoumtsa, E., Pedro, J.B., Segato, D., Spolaor, A., Tetzner, D., Vallelonga, P., Thomas, E.R. (2021): An Age Scale for the First Shallow (Sub-)Antarctic Ice Core from Young Island, Northwest Ross Sea. Geosciences 11, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11090368
Moser, D.E., Hoerhold, M., Kipfstuhl, S., Freitag, J. (2020): Microstructure of Snow and Its Link to Trace Elements and Isotopic Composition at Kohnen Station, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Front. Earth Sci. 8, 1–13, doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.00023.
Pearce, E., Marsh, O., Thomas, E., & Baur, D. (2026). Continuous flow analysis chemistry, melt stratigraphy, age scale and line-scan images from firn Core S2, Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica, 2024 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/db075c2a-0b32-4ea9-a6f6-41e3bc922c24
Moser, D., Gallet, J., Thomas, E., Spolaor, A., & Scoto, F. (2025). Time-lapse video of tracer percolation experiment in Svalbard seasonal snowpack, Ny-Alesund March 2023 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/62b9e5c5-190a-4137-ad95-3565e99395fe
Moser, D., Gallet, J., Thomas, E., Spolaor, A., & Scoto, F. (2025). Snow temperature, stratigraphy, density, and stable water isotope profiles from the seasonal snowpack near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, in March 2023 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/84bab093-750e-48f5-ae41-1e5824abdecf
Tetzner, D., Thomas, E., Allen, C., McCulloch, R., Perren, B., McGuire, A., Segato, D., Moser, D., Humby, J., & Miller, S. (2025). Major ions, Stable water isotopes, Microparticle (dust, diatoms, pollen and spores) and electrical conductivity records from the first Cordillera Darwin ice core 2017 – 2020 CE (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/2d9b5828-45d2-4361-b23b-cf027c15e97c
Moser, D., Gallet, J., Thomas, E., Spolaor, A., & Scoto, F. (2025). In-situ tracer percolation experiments: conditions, results, and alteration of stable water isotope signatures in the seasonal snow near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, in March 2023 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/9cd08043-4498-4688-91d8-bb8a867d9024
Tetzner, D., Temme, F., & Furst, J. (2025). ERA5 daily downscaled surface air temperature and snowfall at two Cordillera Darwin high elevation sites 2000 – 2022 CE (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/eddc907c-f8e9-48c4-9f23-de0f674dbee0
Moser, D., & Thomas, E. (2021). Four approaches leading to the age scale of the Young Island ice core (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8b60d15f-c8a5-4178-b7c2-0fef4a2717d2
This project investigates the stability of the Antarctic ice shelves to better constrain sea-level projections in the future. Antarctic ice shelves are the floating edges of the continent’s ice sheet. […]
SUBICE, the Sub-Antarctic – ice coring expedition, part of the international Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), successfully drilled several shallow ice cores, from five of the remote and globally significant sub-Antarctic islands.
FIRN-CAISSO: Firn Capacity of Antarctic Ice Shelves via Satellites Observations
The porous firn layer on Antarctic ice shelves – between surface snow and deeper ice – acts as a sponge, retaining water when the surface melts. Climate change, however, is reducing its capacity to store meltwater. If too much water collects at the surface, cracks in the ice can form, which increase the risk of ice shelf collapse. To study how much meltwater ice shelves can absorb and better understand the impacts of climate change on Antarctica, we will sample firn and combine those records with satellite observations and climate models.
Wet Fingerprints: Constraining the Influence of (Near-)Surface Melting on Svalbard Snow Structure and Chemistry
Svalbard glaciers have provided invaluable climate information. However, global climate change is exposing the Arctic ice to ever increasing temperatures, and it is crucial for ice-core scientists to constrain the impact of melting, water movement and refreezing on environmental signatures in the snow. Rain-on-snow experiments conducted near Ny-Ålesund provide new insights into the snow’s ability to retain climate information. Funded by the Arctic Field Grant 2023 of the Norwegian Research Council (Research In Svalbard, project 12132)
UK national facility and capability
