Jemma Wadham

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Jemma Wadham
Jemma Wadham and the Bouquetins Ridge, above the Haut Glacier d'Arolla where she started her glaciological studies in 1993.jpg
Jemma Wadham at the Arolla Glacier
NationalityBritain
Alma materMA University of Cambridge
PhD University of Bristol
Awards Philip Leverhulme Prize (2007)
Scientific career
Fields Glaciology
Institutions University of Bristol
Website https://www.jemmawadham.com/

Jemma L. Wadham is a British glacier biogeochemist.

Contents

Early life and education

Wadham completed her BA and MA in physical geography at Cambridge University [ when? ], and then completed her PhD in glaciology at the University of Bristol in 1998. [1]

Career

Wadham undertook a short post-doctoral research post at the University of Leeds before returning to the University of Bristol to take up a post at the Bristol Glaciology Centre. [2] [3]

Wadham researches glacial ecosystems and investigates their impact on biogeochemical processes. [4] [5] [6] She has worked in the polar regions, including the Antarctic [4] and the Greenland ice sheets. [7] This has led to more than 90 articles [8] and a textbook on Antarctic lakes. [9]

Wadham has been involved with the International Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and subglacial science in Antarctica. [10] She has served on the Lake Ellsworth Exploration Steering Committee and is a contributor to this subglacial lake exploration programme. [11]

In 2012, Wadham's team at the University of Bristol used computer models to predict the amount of trapped methane under ice sheets and discovered 400 billion metric tons of carbon beneath. [12] [4]

She is one of few women working on technology development for exploring subglacial lakes. [7] Her work in Greenland has advanced our understanding of the dynamics of ice sheets and their contribution to global biogeochemical cycles. [7] [6]

In 2022, Wadham and her collaborator Dr. Monica Winsborrow were awarded €15 million to direct the Centre for ice, Cryosphere, Carbon and Climate (iC3), a ten-year Norwegian Centre of Research Excellence funded by the Norwegian Research Council that will run from 2023 to 2033. [13] [14] iC3 is located at the University of Tromsø. [15]

Ice Rivers

In 2021, Wadham published a trade book, Ice Rivers, [16] which tells the story of glaciers and their place on a changing planet, alongside the authors' own story of travel and discovery. Reviewers commended the book for its 'outstanding introduction to glaciers', and for its insights into the life of a glaciologist. [17]

Awards and honours

She was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize in October 2007 for her international contribution to polar science. [18]

References

  1. ↑ "Jemma Wadham - The Conversation" . Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  2. ↑ Bristol, University of. "Professor Jemma Wadham – School of Geographical Sciences". bris.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Bristol Glaciology Centre". bris.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Billions of Tons of Methane Lurk Beneath Antarctic Ice | Climate Change". Live Science. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Morales, Alex (30 August 2012). "Antarctica's Hidden Carbon Stores Pose Warming Risk in Study". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Jemma Wadham". speakezee.org. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "'Cryo-egg' to predict sea levels". BBC. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Bristol, University of. "Professor Jemma Wadham – School of Geographical Sciences publications". bris.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Antarctic Lakes. Oxford University Press. 14 October 2014. ISBN   978-0-19-967049-9 . Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Newsletter" (PDF). scar.org. SCAR. 2013.
  11. ↑ "Consortium members". ellsworth.org.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Morales, Alex. "Antarctica's Hidden Carbon Stores Pose Warming Risk in Study". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "1,4 milliarder kroner til ni nye sentre for fremragende forskning". www.forskningsradet.no (in Norwegian). 23 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "Billions of Tons of Methane Lurk Beneath Antarctic Ice | Climate Change". Live Science. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  15. ↑ Bhambra, Raveena (28 April 2025). "A forensic investigator of glacier change". Nature. 641 (8061): 274–274. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01300-y – via www.nature.com.
  16. ↑ Wadham, Jemma (2021). Ice Rivers: A Story of Glaciers, Wilderness, and Humanity . Retrieved 13 June 2025– via Princeton University Press.
  17. ↑ Pyle, C (2022). "Ice rivers: A story of glaciers, wilderness and people". Teaching Geography. 47: 40.
  18. ↑ "Philip Leverhulme Prize" (PDF).
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