Dr William Harcourt

Biography

My research aims to understand environmental change through the lens of remote sensing. I develop new remote sensing techniques to probe the mysteries of our landscape, with a major focus on glaciers and ice sheets across the Arctic. I work closely with partners in Svalbard and Greenland, as well as with space agencies and space companies.

External Memberships

• European Geosciences Union (EGU)
• American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• Royal Geographical Society (RGS)
• Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc)

Research Overview

My research is highly interdisciplinary and covers subject areas in geographical sciences, computer sciences, physics and more! My research can be grouped into three main area:

Glaciology

• Glacier Dynamics: Processes influencing ice flow and its changes in a warming climate.
• Ice-Ocean Interactions: The process of iceberg calving and its contribution to mass loss across the Arctic.
• Arctic: I environments across the Arctic, particularly in Greenland and Svalbard, with a focus on glaciers and their interactions with the surrounding environment (terrestrial, marine, atmosphere)

Data Science/AI

• Digital Twins: Developing digital twins for chaotic environment systems such as glaciers (e.g. the Greenland Ice Sheet)
• Machine learning: Application of Artificial Intelligence (e.g. Machine Learning and Deep Learning) to study environmental systems (e.g. glaciers), often using remote sensing data.
• Observing Systems: Construction of inter-connected systems to observe environmental processes and document their changes over time.
• Data Science and Statistics: Development of data processing/analysis techniques for understanding environmental systems, error/uncertainty in environmental data.

Remote Sensing/Earth Observation (EO)

• Remote Sensing: Development of different sensors and techniques for mapping/monitoring environmental systems, particularly glaciers.
• Earth Observation: Harnessing large-scale satellite data for regional/global analysis of the Earth system.
• Database: Cataloguing available data for environmental research, particularly across the cryosphere.

Current Research

• Greenland Ice Sheet Digital Twin (new for 2023!)
• Glacier and Ice Sheet Remote Sensing
• High-resolution Satellite Sensors (Small Satellites & Cubesats)
• Arctic Tidewater Glacier Dynamics (big focus right now on Ice Mélange and Sea Ice)