German glaciologist Dr Reinhard Drews was tonight presented with the prestigious €150,000 InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Fellowship, by His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium, for his proposal to investigate how the potential disintegration of Antarctic floating ice shelves could contribute to increased ice flow from inland glaciers, and a resulting rise in global sea levels.
The presentation took place in Brussels during a gala dinner celebrating ten years of achievements by the International Polar Foundation, of which HRH Prince Philippe is Honorary President.
Dr. Reinhard Drews, based at the Laboratoire de Glaciologie, at Université Libre de Bruxelles, was recognised by the InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Fellowship Committee for his submission “Be:Wise -The Buttressing Effect: Why ice shelves are essential” which aims to improve understanding of ice-shelf flow dynamics by focusing on the buttressing role of ice rises and pinning points – small offshore mountains which support Antarctic ice shelves from underneath.
Dr Drews is studying the flow dynamics of the Roi Baudouin ice-shelf, which buttresses ice flow from East-Antarctica’s ice sheet. His project is expected to provide important insights into the rapid fluctuations of historical ice discharges, and provide data for improving capacity of ice-flow models, in order to better forecast the balance of the Antarctic ice sheet mass balance in a warming world.
“The InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Fellowship is a great opportunity for young researchers to carry out important scientific work in Antarctica”, said Drews. “Thanks to the Fellowship, I will now be able to carry out fieldwork along the Antarctic coast, where I hope to learn more about how grounded features enclosed by the ice shelf - such as ice rises and pinning points - buttress the ice sheet”.
A joint initiative between the International Polar Foundation and the InBev-Baillet Latour Fund, with the support of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Fellowship promotes science and scientific excellence in Antarctica by young scientists under 35. The fellowship recognises the importance of science carried out in Antarctica for improving the understanding of the Earth system, and encourages scientific research at, or close to Princess Elisabeth Antarctica polar research station.
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