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I joined BAS in 2005 as marine geologist in the Quaternary West Antarctic Deglaciation project (2005-2009). Between 2009-2015 I was a member of the Palaeo-Ice Sheets work package (within BAS’s Ice Sheets Programme led by Professor David Vaughan) with a focus on establishing improved histories of ice-sheet change in order to provide context and constraint for future projections. Since 2015 I have worked in the Palaeo environments, Ice Sheets and Climate Change (PICC team). In September 2011, I was awarded the Laws Prize. Prior to joining BAS I completed a PhD (NERC-Case) on palaeo ice shelf reconstructions at Durham University/BAS supervised by Professors Mike Bentley and Dominic Hodgson.
I have participated in 12 Antarctic field campaigns to areas of the Antarctic Peninsula, Amundsen-Bellinghausen seas, Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers and Weddell Sea and 1 Arctic field campaign (NE Greenland). My current research is focussed on understanding the history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and specifically:
1) International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC). I am part of the ITGC project THOR – Thwaites Offshore Research. I lead the field component of THOR, which involves recovering (and analysing) sediment cores from beneath the floating portion of Thwaites in collaboration with the MELT and TARSAN teams. News coverage of our recent field season on Thwaites can be seen here and here
2) Establishing the timing of ice sheet retreat in the Amundsen and Weddell seas, Antarctic Peninsula and sub-Antarctic since the Last Glacial Maximum. I use geological and geophysical data to constrain past changes in polar ice sheets and to obtain records of the climate and other environmental changes that have been the “drivers” of ice sheet change.
3) Quaternary history of WAIS. In 2017 we will use the MeBo system to drill several sites in the Amundsen Sea to understand the Quaternary history of the WAIS. We hope to answer outstanding questions about the behavior of WAIS on interglacial-glacial time-scales as well as target grounding zone wedges to better understand their role in ice sheet dynamics. The performance of Mebo on this expedition is described here.
4) Reconstructing ice shelf history and investigating sub-ice shelf processes. I am currently analysing sub-ice shelf sediments collected from beneath George VI, Larsen C and Pine Island Glacier, and Filchner-Ronne to reconstruct ice shelf history and sedimentary processes beneath ice shelves. Read our recent work on PIG here which demonstrated that retreat of Pine Island Glacier started in the mid-1940s.
5) Assessing the role of oceanic forcing in West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat – CDW25k. The aim of this NERC funded project is to determine how long Circumpolar Deep Water has been present on the shelf and whether the rate of oceanic melting we see today has varied over longer (LGM to present) and centennial timescales. This collaborative project with University of Bristol and Durham University will apply geochemical methods to reconstruct past sea surface and bottom water temperatures during the last ~25,000 years. https://twitter.com/CDW_25k
See our latest paper here together with a news and views article here
6) Greenland in a Warmer Climate – What Controls the Advance and Retreat of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream? (NEGIS).This NERC funded project, led by Professor David Roberts (Durham University) aims to reconstruct the past behaviour of Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) in order to calibrate and validate the sensitivity of 3D numerical models that can predict ice stream-shelf dynamics over 100 – 1000yr timescales. Our integrated data-model approach will be relevant to ice sheet-shelf systems in other parts of Greenland and Antarctica, and will help to underpin policy on future sea-level rise. The project will reveal new information on the deglacial and Holocene dynamic history of NEGIS and explore the forcing mechanisms that governed its millennial-scale behaviour.
My research interests are focused on reconstructing palaeo-ice sheets/ice shelves using a range of sedimentological and geochemical techniques. I am particularly interested in: (i) Dating the retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet following the LGM; (ii) Examining the mechanism which drive ice sheet retreat (iii) Reconstructing the history of Antarctic ice shelves. I have extensive field experience collecting and interpreting sediment cores from a range of depositional environments in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic continent including the continental shelf and slope, rise and abyssal plain as well as lake environments.
Callard, L., O’Cofaigh, C., Lloyd, J., Smith, J., Gebhardt, C., Kanzow, T., & Roberts, D. (2026). Palaeooceanographic and palaeoglaciological data from gravity cores collected from the Northeast Greenland continental shelf (Outer Norske Trough), September 2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/325d1471-0038-4f21-9f24-7a030871f838
Johnson, J., & Smith, J. (2024). Geomorphological measurements and lithological classifications of 90 erratic cobbles from the Hudson Mountains, West Antarctica. (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/79c8eb39-5c19-440e-804f-816cd0b8e4bd
Bentley, M., Smith, J., Jamieson, S., & Roberts, D. (2023). Pressure transducer (tidal) data for Blaso epishelf lake, Northeast Greenland July – August 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/3d7b47b5-eb0b-40d9-948a-1ae05bd62250
Smith, J., Callard, L., Sánchez Montes, M., McClymont, E., Lloyd, J., Ehrmann, W., Roberts, D., Bentley, M., Jamieson, S., Lane, T., & Darvill, C. (2022). Sedimentological data (grain size data, wet bulk density, foraminifera and magnetic susceptibility) for core LC12 sediment record from Blaso, a large, epishelf lake, NW Greenland in July-Aug 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/3d37a409-c1e2-4c25-bdbc-fe495ccff653
Smith, J., Callard, L., Sánchez Montes, M., McClymont, E., Lloyd, J., Ehrmann, W., Roberts, D., Bentley, M., Jamieson, S., Lane, T., & Darvill, C. (2022). Sedimentological data (foraminifera, wet bulk density and magnetic susceptibility) for core LC7 sediment record from Blaso, a large, epishelf lake in NW Greenland collected July-August 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/dc8c92a8-c6e0-4edb-97da-5462f4310a9d
Smith, J., Callard, L., Sánchez Montes, M., McClymont, E., Lloyd, J., Ehrmann, W., Roberts, D., Bentley, M., Jamieson, S., Lane, T., & Darvill, C. (2022). Geochemical data (XRF-scanner) for core LC7 sediment record from Blaso, a large, epishelf lake in NW Greenland collected July-August 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/71c64bf8-671e-4f22-b4e9-b67b76dc35c8
Smith, J., Callard, L., Sánchez Montes, M., McClymont, E., Lloyd, J., Ehrmann, W., Roberts, D., Bentley, M., Jamieson, S., Lane, T., & Darvill, C. (2022). Geochemical data (clay mineral, XRF-scanner and biomarker data) for core LC12 sediment record from Blaso, a large, epishelf lake in NW Greenland collected July-August 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/5a286921-9031-4abc-b227-79bce58f0640
Bentley, M., Smith, J., Jamieson, S., & Roberts, D. (2022). Conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) data from Blaso epishelf lake, Northeast Greenland, July-August 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01675
Smith, J., Callard, L., Sánchez Montes, M., McClymont, E., Lloyd, J., Ehrmann, W., Roberts, D., Bentley, M., Jamieson, S., Lane, T., & Darvill, C. (2022). Chronological sedimentological data (radiocarbon 14C) for cores LC7 and LC12 sediment record from Blaso, a large, epishelf lake in NW Greenland collected July-August 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e44bbc45-9924-401b-a7b8-7939fbb61db2
Hogan, K., Larter, R., Graham, A., Nitsche, F., Kirkham, J., Totten Minzoni, R., Clark, R., Fitzgerald, V., Anderson, J., Hillenbrand, C., Simkins, L., Smith, J., Gohl, K., Arndt, J., Hong, J., Heywood, K., Abrahamsen, E., Thompson, A., Dunbar, R., & Wellner, J. (2020). A multibeam-bathymetric compilation for the southern Amundsen Sea shelf, 1999-2019 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/f2dfeda9-bf44-4ef5-89a3-ee5e434a385c
Larter, R., Hogan, K., Hillenbrand, C., Smith, J., Batchelor, C., Cartigny, M., Tate, A., Kirkham, J., Roseby, Z., Kuhn, G., Graham, A., & Dowdeswell, J. (2019). A bathymetric compilation over Anvers-Hugo Trough, Perrier Trough and Palmer Deep, 1990-2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/70905d9c-6dc0-421b-b20b-1e2dff97e802
Fretwell, P., Hodgson, D., Hogan, K., Smith, J., Hillenbrand, C., Allen, C., Peck, V., Arndt, J., Dorschel, B., Hubscher, C., Smith, A., Larter, R., & Graham, A. (2019). A bathymetric compilation of the Brunt Sub-Iceshelf, Antarctica (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01134
Johnson, J., Roberts, S., Rood, D., Schaefer, J., & Smith, J. (2019). 10Be surface exposure age data from Mt Murphy, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica (Version 1.0) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/63bbaf4f-fe53-45a8-b2b5-d41adcf3d35f
Bentley, M., Hodgson, D., Roberts, S., Smith, J., & Sugden, D. (2012). Soil, rock and biological samples from the Moutonnee, Ablation and Citadel Bastion Lakes, Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2002 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00548
Bentley, M., Hodgson, D., Roberts, S., Smith, J., & Sugden, D. (2012). Sediment trap and delta data from the Moutonnee Lake, Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2002 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00547
Bentley, M., Hodgson, D., Roberts, S., Smith, J., & Sugden, D. (2012). Samples and analyses of sediment cores from Moutonnee, Ablation and Citadel Bastion Lakes, Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2002 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00544
Bentley, M., Hodgson, D., Roberts, S., Smith, J., & Sugden, D. (2012). Isotopic analyses of lakewater samples from the Moutonnee, Ablation and Citadel Bastion Lakes, Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2002 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00546
Bentley, M., Hodgson, D., Roberts, S., Smith, J., & Sugden, D. (2012). Analyses of snow and ice samples from the Moutonnee, Ablation and Citadel Bastion Lakes, Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2002 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00545
THOR examined sedimentary record both offshore from the glacier and beneath the ice shelf, together with glacial landforms on the sea bed, to reconstruct past changes in ocean conditions and the glaciers response to these changes.
The Larsen-C Benthos project studied benthic biodiversity on the seabed exposed by the 2017 calving of the Larsen-C Ice Shelf.
The aim of this NERC funded project is to determine how long Circumpolar Deep Water has been present on the shelf and whether the rate of oceanic melting we see today has varied over longer timescales.
This project investigated the stability of Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf to produce sea-level projections using hot water drilling, ocean measurements beneath the ice shelf, sediment coring, radar surveys and autonomous submersibles.
A new study, involving researchers from British Antarctic Survey, has found that significant thinning and retreat of the vast Thwaites Glacier began in the 1940s.
A research mission to Antarctica will study the effects of global warming on the West Antarctic ice sheet.
For the first time, geological records have been used to reconstruct the history of Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The ice shelf is the largest remaining remnant of a […]
Far underneath the ice shelves of the Antarctic, there’s more life than expected, finds a recent study in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, published this week (15 February 2021). […]
An international team of researchers has provided a new and unprecedented perspective on the climate history of Antarctica. From a sediment core collected from the seafloor in West Antarctica, they […]
Wind-driven incursions of warm, deep water forced the retreat of West Antarctic glaciers from the end of the last ice age until 7,500 years ago and since the 1940s. These […]
Reporting this week (Wednesday 5 July) in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains that wind-driven incursions of warm water forced the […]
Researchers have provided new evidence that large sub-glacial lakes existed under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the last glacial period – around 20,000 years ago – a period when […]
New study reveals when West Antarctica’s largest glacier started retreating Reporting this week (Wednesday 23 November) in the journal Nature an international team led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains […]
Exploring the seafloor
Antarctic Team Discovers Mechanism for Massive Ice Shelf Collapse New research has found that the cataclysmic break-up of a large floating ice shelf in the early 2000’s was primarily the […]
Previous rapid thinning of Pine Island Glacier sheds light on future Antarctic ice loss New research, published this week in Science, suggests that the largest single contributor to global sea […]
New Antarctic geological timeline aids future sea-level predictions Radiocarbon dates of tiny fossilised marine animals found in Antarctica’s seabed sediments offer new clues about the recent rapid ice loss from […]
Every year the Laws Prize Committee, chaired by Professor John Croxall CBE FRS, tries to select the most outstanding young scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. This year the choice […]
