Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth

The section for the Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute studies the elements of the Earth and climate system – the atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets and glaciers, sea ice, and the solid Earth itself – and the interactions between them.
Research in Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute. Research in Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute. Research in Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute. Research in Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute. Research in Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute. Research in Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute. Forskning i Is, Klima og Geofysik på Niels Bohr Instutet. Research in Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the NBI section for the Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth, we are world leaders in drilling deep ice cores from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

We analyse the ice samples in our laboratories and study water stable isotopes, greenhouse gas, impurity concentrations, and ice properties. We interpret the data together with results from computer models of all parts of the climate system, including general circulation models and models of ice flow.

We also work with theoretical aspects of meteorology, oceanography and complex system dynamics to understand both gradual and abrupt climatic changes of the past, present, and future.

We study the physics of the solid Earth with seismic data, gravity and magnetic observations from satellites, inverse method theory and numerical modelling.

 

 

 

 

 

The research in the section for Ice, Climate and Earth deals with all elements of the climate system and the processes and feedbacks that connect them.

We perform field work to obtain samples and data and employ a combination of state-of-the-art measurements, computational methods, and novel theoretical approaches to improve our knowledge of past, present, and future climate. Choose a topic below to learn more.

Ice and Climate
We study the ice caps and the climate by drilling and analysing ice cores from Arctic and Antarctica. We investigate the physical properties of ice on all scales from the individual crystals to the entire ice sheet. We analyse greenhouse gasses and impurities caught in the ice to understand the climate of the past, present, and future. Our research combines field work and glaciology with computer modelling, laboratory work, and mathematical data analysis.

Climate Theory
The Climate Theory group is engaged in understanding the Earth's climate. The surface temperature on the planet depends on solar radiation, composition of the atmosphere, heat flow in the atmosphere and oceans, ice masses and many other factors. Further, fundamental research in turbulence, multi scale processes, bifurcation theory, critical transitions and complex systems is conducted.

Weather and Climate
We study and develop models of the physical processes of the atmosphere, e.g. for numerical weather prediction. Other topics are air quality and pollution.
 

Ocean Dynamics and the Carbon Cycle
The research is focused on ocean processes that contribute to water mass transformations and the large climate fluctuations observed in the last million years. 
  

Solid Earth Physics and Computational Geoscience
We study the solid Earth using field experiments, theory and numerical modelling based on seismic data and satellite measurements of gravity and magnetism.
  

Computing at Danish Center for Climate Computing
The DC3 (Danish Center for Climate Computing) provides High Performance Computing (HPC) resources to scientists and students at the Physics of Ice, Climate, and Earth section.DC3 web-page. 

PRECISEPREdicting Changes in Ice Sheets on Earth
In this 6-year research project, the researchers at PRECISE will develop and improve models for how the ice sheets contribute to raising the sea level in the world’s oceans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The diverse research in the section Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth is funded by the Niels Bohr Institute and a number of grants from both public and private foundations in Denmark and abroad.

List of current projects:

  • Arctic Science Partnership
  • Balzan Prize - Modelling the Mueller Ice Cap [01-08-2023 - 31-07-2025]
  • Beyond EPICA Oldest Ice [01-06-2019 - 31-05-2025]
  • CF Forskningspris [07-09-2022 - 06-09-2027]
  • CF Reintegration grant [01-09-2023 - 31-08-2025]
  • Chasing a Moving Target: Early Warning [01-09-2022 - 30-06-2026]
  • CLUVEX
  • Constraining rates in Earth's sediment [02-09-2022 - 02-09-2025]
  • CriticalEarth [01-03-2021 - 28-02-2025]
  • DEEPICE [01-01-2021 - 31-12-2024]
  • EastGRIP [01-04-2015 - 31-12-2024]
  • GEOAfrika [01-03-2021 - 28-02-2025]
  • GIOS [01-04-2021 - 31-12-2025]
  • GreenFeedBack [01-07-2022 - 30-06-2026]
  • GreenPlanning [01-01-2021 - 30-06-2025]
  • Green2Ice When was Greenland ‘green’? [01-04-2023 - 31-03-2029]
  • Highest resolution trace gas measurements from ice [01-04-2021 - 31-03-2024]
  • Holocene sea ice variability in the Arctic [01-12-2022 - 01-12-2025]
  • IceFlow + IceFlow Bedrock [01-09-2017 - 31-12-2025]
  • Innovative tools for decrypting a 1 million years old ice core from East Antarctica [01-02-2022 - 31-12-2025]
  • Isaaffik
  • Iso-DeepIce [01-01-2023 - 30-04-2026]
  • Mapping of Greenland Surface Temperature [01-12-2021 - 30-11-2024]
  • Metoder til klimatilpasning af det byggede miljø [01-09-2022 - 31-12-2025]
  • NextGEMS (Next Generation Earth Modelling Systems) [01-09-2021 - 31-08-2025]
  • Nonlinear-viscous flow with an evolving anisotropy [01-09-2022 - 31-08-2025]
  • OsteoMorph [01-09-2022 - 31-08-2024]
  • Outcrop Analog Studies of Chalk
  • Planetary Vision [01-07-2023 - 30-06-2025]
  • PRECISE (PREdiction of Changes in Ice Sheets on Earth) [01-09-2023 - 31-08-2029]
  • Prediction of atmospheric dispersion ... [01-02-2021 - 31-01-2024]
  • Probabilistic approach for risk assessment of CO2 Storage


Read more about current projects or former projects here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit us
High school classes and other groups can request a visit at the section. The most common topic is climate change with focus on ice-core science, but other topics are possible.

Please fill in the form in Danish or write an e-mail to the section secretary at pice@nbi.ku.dk

Web pages, movies, popular science papers about our research

Under Research you will find A lot of the section’s ice-core-based climate research described for non-specialists. You can also find information about our available high-school projects “studieretningsprojekter”. Finally, we provide a list of popular science texts in Danish.

Frozen Annals

Willi Dansgaard founded the world’s first research group focused on climate research based on ice-core analysis (read a short version of the background story here).

After his retirement in 1992, Willi Dansgaard wrote an autobiograhic book in Danish, Grønland i Istid og Nutid (Rhodos, 2000, ISBN 8772457996). It is available for download here (note the file size: ~180 MB) Later, he compiled an English version, Frozen Annals, which focuses more on the scientific part of the story. The book can be downloaded here as a pdf file or viewed online here (opens in a new window)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section for the Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth (PICE)
Niels Bohr Institute
University of Copenhagen
Tagensvej 16
DK-2200-Copenhagen
Fax: +45 35 32 06 21
VAT.no./CVR. no.: 29979812
General inquiries and press contact: pice_secretary@nbi.ku.dk 

Contact persons:
Section leader: Bo Møllesøe Vinther
Deputy section leader: Thomas Blunier
Section secretary: Maria Caso Bramsen
Section coordinator: Susanne Lilja Buchardt
Inquiries about Greenland field work: Marie Kirk and Iben Koldtoft

School and high school visits: See the “outreach” tab above.

 

Link to travel directions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff

Name Title
Search in Name Search in Title
Aksel Walløe Hansen Associate Professor Emeritus Billede af Aksel Walløe Hansen
Alexander Baklanov Professor Billede af Alexander Baklanov
Anders Svensson Associate Professor Billede af Anders Svensson
Andrea Vang Administrative Officer Billede af Andrea Vang
Aslak Grinsted Associate Professor Billede af Aslak Grinsted
Bo Møllesøe Vinther Associate Professor Billede af Bo Møllesøe Vinther
Christine Schøtt Hvidberg Professor Billede af Christine Schøtt Hvidberg
Clément Emmanuel Fabien Cherblanc Enrolled PhD Student Billede af Clément Emmanuel Fabien Cherblanc
Dina Rapp PhD Fellow Billede af Dina Rapp
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen Professor Billede af Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
Eigil Kaas Professor Billede af Eigil Kaas
Gary Shaffer Emeritus Billede af Gary Shaffer
Grant Vernon Boeckmann Engineer Billede af Grant Vernon Boeckmann
Helle Astrid Kjær Associate Professor Billede af Helle Astrid Kjær
Iben Koldtoft Coordinator Billede af Iben Koldtoft
Iris Fernandes Postdoc Billede af Iris Fernandes
Ivanka M Orozova Bekkevold External Billede af Ivanka M Orozova Bekkevold
Jacob Svensmark Postdoc Billede af Jacob Svensmark
Jade Omotoyosi Nina Brauns Research Assistant Billede af Jade Omotoyosi Nina Brauns
Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen Professor Billede af Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen
Jeppe Brøndum Bach Laboratory Assistant Billede af Jeppe Brøndum Bach
Johanne Kristine Haandbæk Øelund PhD Student Billede af Johanne Kristine Haandbæk Øelund
Johannes Jakob Lohmann Assistant Professor Billede af Johannes Jakob Lohmann
Josephine Yolanda Lindsey-Clark PhD Fellow Billede af Josephine Yolanda Lindsey-Clark
Julien Westhoff Postdoc Billede af Julien Westhoff
Jørgen Peder Steffensen Professor Billede af Jørgen Peder Steffensen
Kevin Michael Nikolaus Special Consultant Billede af Kevin Michael Nikolaus
Klaus Mosegaard Professor Billede af Klaus Mosegaard
Kolja Leon Kypke Enrolled PhD Student Billede af Kolja Leon Kypke
Larissa Nora Van der Laan Postdoc Billede af Larissa Nora Van der Laan
Maher Sahyoun Postdoc Billede af Maher Sahyoun
Majbritt Kristin Eckert PhD Fellow Billede af Majbritt Kristin Eckert
Maria Caso Bramsen Research Secretary Billede af Maria Caso Bramsen
Marie Kirk Coordinator Billede af Marie Kirk
Markus Jochum Professor Billede af Markus Jochum
Matthias Hüther Special Consultant Billede af Matthias Hüther
Meg Harlan PhD Student Billede af Meg Harlan
Michael Döring Academic Research Staff Billede af Michael Döring
Miguel Angel Sánchez Moreno PhD Fellow Billede af Miguel Angel Sánchez Moreno
Mikkel Langgaard Lauritzen Research Assistant Billede af Mikkel Langgaard Lauritzen
Mohammad Youssof Research Assistant Billede af Mohammad Youssof
Nanna Andreasen PhD Fellow Billede af Nanna Andreasen
Nicholas Mossor Rathmann Assistant Professor Billede af Nicholas Mossor Rathmann
Niels Fabrin Nymand Research Assistant Billede af Niels Fabrin Nymand
Nils Bochow External, Ph.d Student Billede af Nils Bochow
Peter Ditlevsen Professor Billede af Peter Ditlevsen
Robin Vinther Nielsen Postdoc Billede af Robin Vinther Nielsen
Ruben Häberli PhD Fellow Billede af Ruben Häberli
Ruth Rhiannon Chapman Postdoc Billede af Ruth Rhiannon Chapman
Sepp Kipfstuhl External Consultant Billede af Sepp Kipfstuhl
Steffen Bo Hansen Research Technician. Billede af Steffen Bo Hansen
Sune Olander Rasmussen Associate Professor Billede af Sune Olander Rasmussen
Susanne Lilja Buchardt Special Consultant Billede af Susanne Lilja Buchardt
Svenja Frey Academic Research Staff Billede af Svenja Frey
Thomas Blunier Professor Billede af Thomas Blunier
Vasileios Gkinis Associate Professor Billede af Vasileios Gkinis

Students

Name Title E-mail Picture
Annika Stratidaki MSc. student

vzq776@alumni.ku.dk

annika
Asger Thormann BSc. student

kfw373@alumni.ku.dk

Ask Hammer MSc. student

ask.hammer@nbi.ku.dk

Athene Elizabeth Stuart Demuth MSc. student

athene.demuth@nbi.ku.dk

Cairui Duan MSc. student

plz296@alumni.ku.dk

Carl Ivarsen Askehave MSc. student

wfq585@alumni.ku.dk

Chenhan Di Kandidat studerende

zht431@alumni.ku.dk

Esben Skovhus Ditlefsen Kandidat studerende

xtw288@alumni.ku.dk

Esben
Isabel Schwermer MSc. student

xlv103@alumni.ku.dk

Jonathan Ortved Melcher MSc. student

xfk351@alumni.ku.dk

Jonathan
Josephine Gondán Kande MSc. student

josephine.kande@nbi.ku.dk

Luisa Elisabeth Hirche MSc. student

jrf788@alumni.ku.dk

Maria Friis Greiße Bsc. student

rkq216@alumni.ku.dk

Pai (Praifar) Intawong MSc. student

vnp730@alumni.ku.dk

Qi-fan Wu MSc. student

gtj420@alumni.ku.dk

Sophia Natasha Wilson MSc. student

sophia.wilson@nbi.ku.dk

Sune Halkjær MSc. student

sune.halkier@nbi.ku.dk

Sune Halkjær
Theo Häußler MSc. student

sdj837@alumni.ku.dk

Weiyuan Chen MSc. student

wtx237@alumni.ku.dk

Positions at PICE

Read about the current ice core drilling project in Greenland.

Field diaries, bloggs etc.

Link to field diaries, bloggs etc. from the camp life

 


Travel directions to the section of Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth and useful information related to your visit to Copenhagen