Portrait of Michelle Maclennan
Graduate Student
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

I use she/her/hers pronouns.听

Biography

Bachelor of Arts

Mathematics and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences,听summa cum laude, SM调教所 (2019)

Research Interests: Thwaites Glacier, surface mass balance, extreme snowfall events, Antarctic听atmospheric rivers

I听research听the impacts of snowfall and extreme precipitation events on the听surface mass balance of听West Antarctica, in particular Thwaites Glacier. I examine how large-scale atmospheric circulation over the Southern Ocean, including the coupling of low- and high-pressure systems, helps to drive warm and moist air masses onto the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. On Thwaites Glacier, I study the surface mass balance impacts of extreme snowfall events by looking at observations from automatic weather stations, atmospheric reanalysis, and climate models.听My research is part of the , TARSAN project.听Recently, I have started looking into the impact of听atmospheric rivers (narrow bands of warm and moist air that travel south from the midlatitudes) on听Thwaites Glacier and Antarctic precipitation.

In December 2019 I graduated from the University of Colorado with an honors thesis on the Large-Scale Atmospheric Drivers of Snowfall over Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica. I am now a second-year PhD student in the Ice Sheets and Climate group, working with Prof. Jan Lenaerts.听

In my free time听I love bouldering,听hiking,听skiing, and cooking.听