Dr Rosemary Willatt
Sea ice, cryosphere, climate, laboratory experiments, remote sensing, Earth observation, radar, satellites, calibration and validation, polar fieldwork
Lecturer in Experimental Ice and Rock Physics for the Environment
Appointment: | Room: |
|---|---|
| Lecturer in Experimental Ice and Rock Physics for the Environment | Kathleen Lonsdale, G15 |
Courses Taught: | |
| GEOL0007 The Earth | |
| GEOL0013 Principes of Climate | |
Research Group(s): | |
| Polar Science | |
| Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) | |
Email Address: | Telephone Number: |
| r.willatt@ucl.ac.uk | via Ms Teams |
Research Summary
Rosemary Willatt became a Lecturer in the department in 2024. She studies sea ice in the polar oceans which plays key roles in Earth’s climate. She conducts experiments in cold laboratories as well as on Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to advance our understanding of the physical properties of snow and ice and capability to monitor polar Essential Climate Variables via remote sensing, for example using satellite radar altimetry data used to estimate sea ice and snow thickness. She plans and conducts polar field campaigns, analyses geophysical and radar data from surface-based, airborne and satellite instruments and advises space agencies on Earth Observation satellite mission development.
One of her current focuses is on development of a novel technique for estimation of snow depth on sea ice, and the European Space Agency (ESA) awarded her the inaugural Konrad Steffen award for a presentation on the early stages of this work. She is now Principal Investigator (PI) of an ESA-funded project developing the Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (PoSARA) concept.
Rosie is also the PI for Sea Ice Earth Observation at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, and a champion for EDI and sustainability.