I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Ice Dynamics and Palaeoclimate team, working on the GHOST (Geophysical Habitat of Subglacial Thwaites) project as part of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration. I am interested in investigating Antarctic glaciers and ice streams using geophysics – particularly using seismology to study subglacial conditions. In recent years I have also been involved in the ITGC’s TIME project at the Thwaites Eastern shear margin, and the EGGS ON TOAST (Eastwind Glacier Geophysical Surveys ON Top Of an Antarctic Ice Shelf Transition) project studying the grounding zone of Eastwind Glacier, near to McMurdo Station.

Research interests

Geophysics

Seismology

Ice streams

Subglacial conditions

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2025

Agnew, Ronan S. ORCID record for Agnew, Ronan S.. Booth, Adam D. Brisbourne, Alex M. ORCID record for Brisbourne, Alex M.. Clark, Roger A. Livermore, Philip W. Smith, Andrew M. ORCID record for Smith, Andrew M.. (2025) Subglacial Conditions From Converted-Wave Seismic Reflection Amplitudes: Synthetic Experiments and Case Study Reveal a Frozen Bed at an Antarctic Ice Rise.

Borthwick, Louise ORCID record for Borthwick, Louise. Muto, Atsuhiro ORCID record for Muto, Atsuhiro. Anandakrishnan, Sridhar ORCID record for Anandakrishnan, Sridhar. Tinto, Kirsty ORCID record for Tinto, Kirsty. Agnew, Ronan ORCID record for Agnew, Ronan. Brisbourne, Alex ORCID record for Brisbourne, Alex. Schlegel, Rebecca ORCID record for Schlegel, Rebecca. Killingbeck, Siobhan ORCID record for Killingbeck, Siobhan. Kulessa, Bernd ORCID record for Kulessa, Bernd. Alley, Richard ORCID record for Alley, Richard. Willet, Amanda. Melton, Sierra ORCID record for Melton, Sierra. (2025) Rift‐Related Sedimentary Basin and Deeper‐Seated Mafic Intrusions Modeled Beneath Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: Influence on Glacier Dynamics.

Agnew, Ronan S. ORCID record for Agnew, Ronan S.. Pearce, Emma ORCID record for Pearce, Emma. Karplus, Marianne. Ranganathan, Meghana. Hoffman, Andrew O. Hunt, Madeline. Pretorius, Andrew. Shanly, Sooraj E. Beres, Mitchel. Pradhan, Kaushik Kumar. Seldon, Yeshey. Booth, Adam D. Clark, Roger A. Young, Tun Jan. (2025) Active and Passive Seismic Surveys over the Grounding Zone of Eastwind Glacier, Antarctica.

2024

Agnew, Ronan ORCID record for Agnew, Ronan. (2024) Investigating the basal and englacial properties of a West Antarctic ice rise with novel active-source seismic methods.

2023

Agnew, Ronan S. ORCID record for Agnew, Ronan S.. Clark, Roger A. Booth, Adam D. Brisbourne, Alex M. ORCID record for Brisbourne, Alex M.. Smith, Andrew M. ORCID record for Smith, Andrew M.. (2023) Measuring seismic attenuation in polar firn: method and application to Korff Ice Rise, West Antarctica.

• Agnew, R., Brisbourne, A., & Smith, A. (2025). Seismic reflection and refraction shot gathers from Korff Ice Rise, West Antarctica, 2015 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e9ed7128-eeed-4478-b308-8d1ea347dfa4

• Booth, A., Agnew, R., Pretorius, A., Pearce, E., Cameron, E., Hehlen, M., Karplus, M., May, D., Nakata, N., Seldon, Y., Summers, P., Tulaczyk, S., & Young, T. (2025). Passive- and active-source seismic data recorded with Distributed Acoustic Sensing on Eastwind Glacier, Antarctica, February 2024 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/23dbd529-3a57-4933-bb9d-16ee1c85fda0

6. International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration

   The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration unites global scientists to study Antarctica’s most vulnerable glacier, predict sea-level rise, and inform climate action worldwide.

   Read more of: International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration