Tavi Murray, CBE FLSW (born 1965) is a glaciologist, the eighth woman to be awarded the Polar Medal. [1]
After school in Twickenham Murray gained a BSc degree with first class honours in Physics and Computer Science from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. In 1990 she was awarded a PhD in geophysics from the University of Cambridge's Scott Polar Research Institute.[ citation needed ]
In 1993 Murray was appointed Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Leeds, being promoted to Reader in Glaciology in 2002 and Professor of Glaciology at Leeds in 2004. In 2005 she was appointed Professor of Glaciology at Swansea University where she heads up the Swansea Glaciological Group. [2] [3]
From 2004 she has been Leverhulme Research Fellow studying "Basal conditions on Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctica". [4] A leading member of the International Glaciological Society [5] Murray is unusual that her medal cited discoveries at both poles. [6] September 2007 marked the launch of the GLIMPSE Project, [7] a 5-year project headed by Murray to determine the controls on thinning at the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. GLIMPSE is funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award granted to Murray in mid-2007.
In 2012, Murray was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. [8]
Murray was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to glaciology and climate change research. [9]
Tavi is an accomplished sea kayaker: she was part of a team of 3 people that attempted to sail anti-clockwise around Ireland. [10]
An up to date list of Murray's publications is available. [11]
Glaciology is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is a United States information and referral center in support of polar and cryospheric research. NSIDC archives and distributes digital and analog snow and ice data and also maintains information about snow cover, avalanches, glaciers, ice sheets, freshwater ice, sea ice, ground ice, permafrost, atmospheric ice, paleoglaciology, and ice cores.
The Evans Ice Stream is a large ice stream draining from Ellsworth Land, between Cape Zumberge and Fowler Ice Rise, into the western part of the Ronne Ice Shelf. Mills Glacier flows adjacently into the ice stream from the southwest side. The feature was recorded on February 5, 1974, in Landsat imagery. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for Stanley Evans, a British physicist who, starting in 1961, developed apparatus for radio echo sounding of icecaps and glaciers from aircraft; he carried out upper atmosphere research at Brunt Ice Shelf, 1956–57.
Lonnie Thompson, is an American paleoclimatologist and university professor in the School of Earth Sciences at Ohio State University. He has achieved global recognition for his drilling and analysis of ice cores from ice caps and mountain glaciers in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. He and his wife, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, run the ice core paleoclimatology research group at the Byrd Polar Research Center.
Glacial surges are short-lived events where a glacier can advance substantially, moving at velocities up to 100 times faster than normal. Surging glaciers cluster around a few areas. High concentrations of surging glaciers occur in the Karakoram, Pamir Mountains, Svalbard, the Canadian Arctic islands, Alaska and Iceland, although overall it is estimated that only one percent of all the world's glaciers ever surge. In some glaciers, surges can occur in fairly regular cycles, with 15 to 100 or more surge events per year. In other glaciers, surging remains unpredictable. In some glaciers, however, the period of stagnation and build-up between two surges typically lasts 10 to 200 years and is called the quiescent phase. During this period the velocities of the glacier are significantly lower, and the glaciers can retreat substantially.
Radioglaciology is the study of glaciers, ice sheets, ice caps and icy moons using ice penetrating radar. It employs a geophysical method similar to ground-penetrating radar and typically operates at frequencies in the MF, HF, VHF and UHF portions of the radio spectrum. This technique is also commonly referred to as "Ice Penetrating Radar (IPR)" or "Radio Echo Sounding (RES)".
John Frederick Nye was a British physicist and glaciologist. He was the first to apply plasticity to understand glacier flow. He was a member of the University of Bristol's physics department for 66 years.
Mark Dyurgerov was an internationally known glaciologist and Fellow of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) of the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was born in Moscow, Russia; both of his parents were engineers, and his mother was also a Russian poet.
Elizabeth Mary Morris,, also known as Liz Morris, is a glaciologist and Senior Associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Reading since 1995. She was head of the ice and climate division at the British Antarctic Survey, from 1986 to 1999, and president of the International Glaciological Society, from 2002 to 2005.
Walter Barclay Kamb was a longtime professor and researcher at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Professor Kamb was one of the first scientists to journey to the Antarctic to study how the glacier sheets move and operate. He is listed as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the Geology department.
Mark F. Meier was an American glaciologist who was considered a leading expert on the study of rising sea levels due to the melting of glaciers. Meier was the Director of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) from 1985 to 1994 and remained the institute's director emeritus until his death in 2012. He was also a professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Julian A. Dowdeswell ScD FLSW is a British glaciologist and a Professor of Physical Geography in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, and from 2002 to 2021 was the Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Christina Hulbe is an American Antarctic researcher, and as of 2016 serves as professor and Dean of Surveying at the University of Otago in New Zealand. She was previously Chair of the Geology Department at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. She leads the NZARI project to drill through the Ross Ice Shelf and is the namesake of the Hulbe glacier.
Jean Grove was a British physical geographer and glaciologist known for her comprehensive study of climate change in the Little Ice Age across the world.
Julie Michelle Palais is an American polar glaciologist who has made significant contributions to climate change research studying volcanic fallout in ice cores from both Greenland and Antarctica. For many years, starting in 1990, she played a pivotal role working at the National Science Foundation (NSF) as Program Director of the Antarctic Glaciology Program in the Division of Polar Programs, including many trips to both North and South Polar regions. Both the Palais Glacier and Palais Bluff in Antarctica were named in her honor and she has received many further recognitions for her distinguished career.
David Edward Sugden FRSE, FRSGS is an emeritus professor and senior research fellow at the University of Edinburgh. He is a glaciologist and glacial geomorphologist. His research focuses in particular on glacial and polar landforms, Antarctic ice sheet stability, and the dynamics of the Patagonian ice cap under a changing climate. He has served as President of the Geography Section of the British Association, Vice President of the Royal Geographical Society, President of the Institute of British Geographers, and Director of SAGES. At the University of Edinburgh, Sugden has twice been Department Head of Geography and was also the inaugural Head of the School of Geosciences.
Frank Jean-Marie Léon Pattyn is a Belgian glaciologist and professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles. He is best known for developing ice-sheet models and leading model intercomparisons.
Martin J. Siegert is a British glaciologist, and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Cornwall) at the University of Exeter. He co-Chairs the Diversity in Polar Science Initiative, and has spoken about socio-economic inclusion in Polar Science and indeed broader society.
Trevor James Hill Chinn was a New Zealand glaciologist, who conducted extensive surveys of the glaciers of New Zealand's Southern Alps.
Guðfinna 'Tollý' Aðalgeirsdóttir is professor in Geophysics at the Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland.