I have set of EGU contributions this year - hope to see many of you next week in Vienna! www.linkedin.com/posts/willia...

Another year, another EGU! I am involved in several contributions and sessions, as detailed below: Monday 4 May, 16:15–18:00 (PICO: 16:19–16:21) Title: Monitoring and forecasting the state of… | Will...

Another year, another EGU! I am involved in several contributions and sessions, as detailed below: Monday 4 May, 16:15–18:00 (PICO: 16:19–16:21) Title: Monitoring and forecasting the state of Svalbar...

linkedin.com

Tomorrow, the governing body - Court - of the University of Aberdeen will decide whether to proceed with management proposals that will place over 125 FTE jobs at risk, increase staff-student ratios to 1:20 for STEM & 1:25 for SHAPE, and restructure from 12 schools to 4 faculties.

Ulvebreen (Svalbard) Fieldwork I have been in Svalbard for the last couple of weeks helping a team led by Whyjay Zheng ( install a set of GNSS stations on Ulvebreen in eastern Svalbard. Ulvebreen is a surge-type glacier, currently in its quiescent phase and last surged around 1900 i.e. over 100…

Ulvebreen (Svalbard) Fieldwork

I have been in Svalbard for the last couple of weeks helping a team led by Whyjay Zheng ( install a set of GNSS stations on Ulvebreen in eastern Svalbard. Ulvebreen is a surge-type glacier, currently in its quiescent phase and last surged around 1900 i.e. over 100 years ago (see our recent review paper: & database of surge-type glaciers in Svalbard: …

williamharcourt.co.uk

It’s the world day of glaciers - here, I give some brief thoughts on their importance to the world and us as humans.

University of Aberdeen@uniofaberdeen.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Glaciers hold vital records of our planet’s past and play a key role in shaping its future. As they continue to change, so too does the world around us. They hold huge reserves of freshwater and help sustain communities around the world. 1/2

Glaciers hold vital records of our planet’s past and play a key role in shaping its future. As they continue to change, so too does the world around us. They hold huge reserves of freshwater and help sustain communities around the world. 1/2

New review of surging glaciers in Svalbard! I am pleased to share our new paper in which we review the current distribution of surging glaciers in Svalbard! Published in Earth Science Reviews, you can find the full paper here: The surging Borebreen in 2024. In this review, we analyse the methods…

SvalbardDT at ESA Workshop So much has been happening that I have not had a chance to keep up with posts on this website! You'll be seeing updates very soon... Let's start with the most recent - this week, SvalbardDT attended the ESA Digital Twin Earth Components: Open Science Meeting 2026' in…

Some downtime to enjoy the snow - Longyearbreen behind!

Back in the frozen north - Svalbard with more than a sprinkling of snow!

New paper out in Journal of Glaciology! We have a new paper out! Work with Leigh Stearns, Michael Shahin, and Sid Shankar studying the potential of new ICEYE SAR satellite imagery to study the dynamic behaviour of ice mélange around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The higher resolution…

We have a new paper out! Work with @leighstearns.bsky.social, @laserglaciers.bsky.social, and Sid Shankar studying the potential of new ICEYE SAR satellite imagery to study the dynamic behaviour of ice mélange around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Read more here: tinyurl.com/mtc94juu

Applications are now open for a Glasgow-based Iapetus DTP project centred on using in situ 14C to study glacier histories in East Antarctica! tinyurl.com/3ddvynn2 @stever60.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social @iapetusdtp.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk

We have a new preprint out reviewing the monitoring & detection of Svalbard surging glaciers: eartharxiv.org/repository/v... We also compiled a new database of Svalbard's surge-type glaciers: zenodo.org/records/1524... @dannipearce.bsky.social @hazlovell.bsky.social @adrianluckman.bsky.social

A challenging field season this year, with some unprecedented issues with the local gasoline supply (lnss.no/oppdatering-...)! Nonetheless, we still managed to continue our monitoring of Borebreen's surge, which is currently advancing through the fjord and showing no signs of stopping...

Back in my favourite place, Svalbard!

I am extremely happy to see my colleague Brice Rea be appointed as the next director of @scotsages.bsky.social! I am looking forward to seeing SAGES continue to flourish in the years to come!

SAGES@scotsages.bsky.social · last yr.

📢 Leadership Update from SAGES!🌍 We’re thrilled to announce that Professor Brice Rea from the University of Aberdeen has been appointed as the new Director of SAGES, taking over in July 2025.

📢 Leadership Update from SAGES!🌍 We’re thrilled to announce that Professor Brice Rea from the University of Aberdeen has been appointed as the new Director of SAGES, taking over in July 2025.

Shocking scenes following the disintegration and collapse of the Birch Glacier. A stark example of the evolving nature of cryospheric hazards under rapid warming and deglaciation in mountain regions. Monitoring and early evacuation prevented a bigger human impact here. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Swiss glacier collapse buries most of village of Blatten

Many homes in Blatten have been flattened after a large chunk of the Birch glacier fell on to the village.

bbc.com

The 2025 SAGES Annual Science Meeting in Stirling has been great! Thanks so all who came along and presented. It's been a wonderful two days in Stirling.

Another great @scotsages.bsky.social conference - a wonderful community producing great science!

SAGES@scotsages.bsky.social · last yr.

The 2025 SAGES Annual Science Meeting in Stirling has been great! Thanks so all who came along and presented. It's been a wonderful two days in Stirling.

EGU Contributions! Next week we will be at EGU in Vienna presenting some of our teams exciting new research! Please come and talk to us: Poster #1 🧊 The distribution of glacier surge behaviour in Svalbard and implications for understanding unstable ice flow📅 Poster | Monday, 28 Apr, 10:45–12:30…

Next week I will be at EGU in Vienna presenting some of our teams exciting new research - please come and talk to us! Here's a flavour of what we will be offering this year:

New paper on using the internal GPS data from seismometers to track ice flow! Great work by Wojciech Gajek, also inc. @adrianluckman.bsky.social @dannipearce.bsky.social & Richard Hann First paper on the Borebreen surge, watch this space for more coming soon… www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Blue sky over #UnitedKingdom! The spring almost cloudfree #Copernicus #Sentinel3 images collected on April 2nd shows green field and awesome shades of Ocean colours surrounding the islands. #Ireland #England #Scotland #Wales #UKweather @giuliofirenze.bsky.social @eumetsat.int

Happy #WorldDayforGlaciers! 🧊🧊 I will forever be captivated by these natural beauties.

New ESA Project! We are pleased to share our new project that officially kicked off in 2025: 'Svalbard Cryosphere Digital Twin (SvalbardDT)'. Website here: The SvalbardDT project will build a Digital Twin Component (DTC) as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESAs) Destination Earth (DestinE)…

New ESA Project!

We are pleased to share our new project that officially kicked off in 2025: 'Svalbard Cryosphere Digital Twin (SvalbardDT)'. Website here: The SvalbardDT project will build a Digital Twin Component (DTC) as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESAs) Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative to build a digital twin of the Earth. We will construct a new DTC of the ice and snow of Svalbard’s cryosphere in the 21st Century through an automated data management system to ingest, harmonise, and analyse data products ready for delivery to the Digital Twin Earth Service Platform (DESP).

williamharcourt.co.uk

Running along the beach in Aberdeen this morning with the wind and rain battering down. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I must say I kind of enjoy it!

We are at the ESA Digital Twin workshop - great to be a part of the Destination Earth initiative!

Hear about how AI and other new technologies are set to transform climate research and build a sustainable future in Scotland and further afield! I was delighted to participate in this episode of the magnificent @scotsages.bsky.social Climate Podcast! youtu.be/1odPOyrwpWo?...

Innovating the Future: Technology, AI, and sustainable water solutions

YouTube video by SAGES

youtu.be