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Overview

Edmund Lea

Research Postgraduate (PhD)


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Research Postgraduate (PhD) in the Department of Geography

Biography

I am an early-career researcher and educator in polar science, with experience in remote sensing, glaciology, and glaciated landscapes. I completed a BSc in Physical Geography and MSc by Research at Durham University, with a thesis on landscape structure and history in an enigmatic region of ice-covered Antarctica, entitled “Understanding Landscape and Ice Sheet Evolution in the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, East Antarctica, using Ice Surface Mapping”. I have a particular interest in ancient landscapes preserved beneath modern ice sheets, which evidence past ice dynamics during warm periods analogous to the near future.

My research is inspired by wonder and curiosity at the world's landscapes, and the pressing need to address the challenges of global anthropogenic climate change and landscape degradation. I enjoy applying novel techniques in remote sensing and computational geomorphology to "read" the landscape archives of the Earth's surface, distilling big datasets into meaningful information to improve models of landscape evolution and glacial change in our rapidly changing world.

Decoding glacial landscapes

I am currently undertaking a PhD project funded through the Iapetus DTP entitled “Decoding glacial landscapes using automated geomorphological mapping and machine learning”, aiming to improve quantitative understandings of glacial landscapes and glacial erosion at a continental scale. This is necessary to reduce the uncertainty in current ice sheet models in order to improve predictions of future sea level rise. The project harnesses the power of automation in topographic analysis, using large, satellite-derived digital elevation datasets and machine learning techniques.

Research interests

  • Glacial landscapes
  • Computational geomorphology
  • Ice sheet history
  • Remote sensing