Associate Professor

Mette Kusk Gillespie

Field of work

I am a geophysicist with specialty in ground penetrating radar measurements of snow and ice thickness on glaciers. I have a strong background in geophysical and glaciological field studies and have collected data in Antarctica, the Andes, Greenland, Svalbard and Norway.

Today, my professional focus is mainly on Norwegian glaciers. I am a work package leader on a comprehensive research project on Jostedalsbreen Glacier (JOSTICE, www.jostice.no) and have overseen all radar measurements of snow- and ice thickness on the glacier. In addition, I supervise several student projects investigating glacier mass balance, thickness, dynamics and geohazards on smaller, more local glaciers.

Besides measurements on glacier, I also apply geophysical techniques on mapping of peatlands in order to estimate total carbon content and to further our understanding of peatland management (REPEAT, www.hvl.no/forsking/prosjekt/repeat).

I teach courses in applied geophysics, climate change and chemistry.

 



Courses taught
  • Applied geophysics
  • Climate change (GE483)
  • Natural science 2 (MGUNA301-1)

Research areas
  • Glacier dynamics as measured in geophysical field investigations and modelled by numerical ice flow models
  • Recent changes in climate and associated variations in ice masses and global sea level
  • Glacier hydrology, in particular seasonal changes in glacier drainage systems
  • Glacier surface processes, in particular conditions leading to the development of blue ice areas

Research groups

Glacier - Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (hvl.no)

Courses taught
  • GE407, Applied Geophysics, Fall 2024
  • GE483, Climate Change, Spring 2025
  • GE491, Bachelor Thesis in Geology, Spring 2025

Publications

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