Social Media , 2017 – 2018

Background

I started off studying Geology &Geophysics MSci at Imperial College London, and didn’t find my way to polar studies until I started moving towards palaeoclimate research as my focus. My MSci thesis looked at the provenance of glacially transported marine sediment from the East Antarctic coast, which sadly involved no voyages to the Antarctic, just plenty of lab-work! I also undertook a summer research project at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton as part of a NERC Research Experience Placement. I worked on a project examining ice-sheet extent during Pliocene intensification of northern hemisphere glaciation. Again more lab-work, but I got to use lasers on rocks this time. With each project I was trying to edge further into polar research, and luckily it worked, as I’ve essentially focused on glacial and polar research through all my academic life. Another interest of mine has been science engagement, including media productions (read as Youtube videos) to portray our work and taking a huge model volcano to the Green Man music festival in the Welsh hills! It’s often great fun, but I think it’s very important to engage the public about the important work we do, especially when something as important as the Arctic region is involved.

Current Research

I began my PhD in 2014 as part of the Oxford NERC doctoral training program. My current research focuses on the Arctic environment, and specifically the interaction of climate and sea ice extent throughout the Holocene. I also finally found a fieldwork-based project, as I am using driftwood as a proxy for sea ice by tracking its age and path across the Arctic Ocean while caught up in the ice, therefore enabling the concurrent ice sheet dynamics to be reconstructed. So far I have helped to develop the methodology for this quite novel project, travelled to Svalbard for sample collection, and attended courses around Europe including the Alps and Iceland. Slightly less exotically, I discovered and joined the UKPN after an Arctic Science conference in Sheffield, and it’s a great organisation for meeting others just as crazy about cold places as you are!

Contacts

Email: Georgia.Hole@polarnetwork.org 

Twitter: @GeorgiaMelodie