Jennifer Esch

Areas of interest

This fall, I’m beginning my first year of my master’s degree and will be joining the glaciology research group. My passion for glaciers began with an admiration for their beauty, which I first experienced in Norway, Iceland, and later Canada. I’ve always been amazed by the regulatory role our large ice sheets and icefields play in the global climate system.

During my travels to the Himalayas, I was astonished at how dependent local communities are on the nutrients and waters provided by glaciers. It was inspiring to witness how a high-altitude desert can thrive thanks to glaciers, but it also worried me. My ultimate goal is to holistically understand the effects glaciers have on the environment, from local ecosystems to planetary scales, and how they impact the communities around them.

During my undergrad, I focused on ice-atmosphere interactions, particularly melt ponding on Antarctic ice shelves projected by RACMO2.3p2. As I join the glaciology group at SFU, I am excited to continue working on atmospheric impacts on glaciers, namely accumulation. Additionally, I’m so excited to explore and learn about new aspects of glaciers through field work, modelling and the research group.