
Professor Jemma Wadham
B.A.(Cantab.), PhD
Current positions
Professor of Glaciology
School of Geographical Sciences
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I am interested in all hydrological and biogeochemical processes that occur within glaciers and ice sheets and their fore-fields and which have a potential regional or global impact.
My research interests span three primary fields:
1) Determining the role of glaciers and ice sheets in regulating global biogeochemical cycles, including evaluating the impacts of nutrients/carbon exported from ice sheets upon marine productivity and the impact of methane emission from subglacial and permafrost wetlands upon the atmosphere;
2) Understanding survival mechanisms for extremophile life in icy ecosystems; and the development and validation of in situ sensing technologies and autonomous platforms for the survey of icy ecosystems, including subglacial lakes and ice stream beds;
3) Determining the water quality impacts of glacier retreat, and their solutions, in the high mountains of Asia and the Andes.
For more information, please see my personal website - https://jemmawadham.com
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Accelerated carbon dioxide release from sedimentary rocks in a warming world
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
01/09/2024 to 31/08/2027
Can Glacial Flour Stimulate Nitrogen Cycling in Cropland?
Principal Investigator
Role
Principal Investigator
Description
- GRF acts to increase Red Clover yield over the growth period compared to controls, particularly Icelandic GRF. This in turn enhances the amount of fixed nitrogen by amended legume…Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
24/09/2020 to 22/09/2022
CASCADAS
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
01/02/2019 to 31/03/2022
RS Wolfson Merit Award - Jemma Wadham
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
01/08/2018 to 31/07/2023
Greening of the Himalaya: impacts of melting ice
Principal Investigator
Description
This event is to develop an international community aimed at researching the human impacts of melting ice in the Himalaya. The project will fund non ODA partners to attend this event.Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
22/06/2018 to 31/07/2018
Thesis supervisions
Assessing the impact of glacier retreat on organic matter export and cycling in Chilean Patagonia
Supervisors
A microbial approach to subglacial biogeochemistry Methane export, microbial assemblages, and geochemical energy sources of a Greenland subglacial catchment
Supervisors
An investigation into the potential of glacial flour as a novel soil treatment for crops
Supervisors
Modelling Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Discharge in the Rio Huemules, Northern Patagonian Icefield
Supervisors
Silicon Cycling in Subglacial Environments
Supervisors
Of Metals and Matter
Supervisors
Out of the Blue
Supervisors
Nitrogen cycling in the glacier-fed rivers of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru
Supervisors
The Influence of Glacial Cover on Riverine Geochemistry in Chilean Patagonia
Supervisors
Trace gases in glaciated environments
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
17/01/2025The potential for glacial flour to impact soil fertility, crop yield and nutrition in mountain regions
iScience
Using thermal UAV imagery to model distributed debris thicknesses and sub-debris melt rates on debris-covered glaciers
Journal of Glaciology
Benthic Dissolved Silicon and Iron Cycling at Glaciated Patagonian Fjord Heads
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Cryoegg
Journal of Glaciology
Measuring pH in low ionic strength glacial meltwaters using ion selective field effect transistor (ISFET) technology
Limnology and Oceanography: Methods