Niamh, 23, is a PhD student within the School of Geosciences at the University of Aberdeen. Her ambitious arctic glaciology project will examine how the mass balance of surge-type glaciers in Svalbard are responding to climate change.
‘Surging’ affects only a small number of glaciers worldwide. It refers to the sudden acceleration in the speed of a glacier’s downstream flow, which is usually a slow ‘creep’, but occasionally cycles through phases of rapid ‘surge’. Arctic warming can exacerbate surging occurrences, causing increased transfers of ice from higher to lower elevations. This can result in positive feedback loops of intensified melting and greater ice loss due to a large proportion of the glacier existing at lower elevations, where the air temperatures are warmer.
Niamh’s project aims to improve understanding of the influence of climate change on surging behaviour through comparison of two marine-terminating glaciers in Svalbard. Her project includes fieldwork data collection including drone surveys and monitoring ice surface lowering from on top of the glaciers themselves. This, she will combine with long-term satellite datasets, including ICESat-2 and ArcticDEM. Fieldwork is expected to begin during spring and summer 2026.
The findings will establish mass balance monitoring in northwest Isfjorden, providing data to better understand the different surface mass balance processes on surging and non-surging glaciers. Niamh’s aim is to publish her findings through peer-reviewed, open-access journals, as well as sharing via social media and presenting at international and national events such as the Svalbard Science Conference.
The ReQuest Foundation considered Niamh’s project to be a worthy winner of the January 2026 grant round, given the project’s clear contribution to the protection of polar regions. Her application was well-structured, with clear aims and she was able to demonstrate strong support from her academic mentor.
Congratulations Niamh – we can’t wait to see the results of your work!