Evolution of the cryosphere over time

Assessing the response of mountain glaciers and polar ice caps during the Quaternary sheds important light on the terms and conditions of the dynamics of deglaciationon both regional and global scales. Our work focuses on glaciated areas at high, medium and low latitudes in both hemispheres (Greenland, Antarctica, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Kerguelen Islands, the Andes, etc.) and is based on the dating glacial formations by cosmogenic nuclides and the glacier and climate modelling. Our team is also working on older glaciations (Palaeozoic and Proterozoic), as well as on thesea level change associated with glaciation and deglaciation cycles.
This area of research has developed significantly in recent years with the arrival of Vincent Jomelli, Deborah Verfaillie and Vincent Rinterknecht. The emulation between old and new members of the team can be seen in the participation in several ANR funded in 2022 (ANR DELTA and ANR MARGO). The first project deals directly with East Antarctic glacier dynamics and their impact on sea levels. The second concerns theThe impact of melting glaciers on the Kerguelen Islands on the biochemistry of the Southern Ocean. The recent construction of a 14C measurement in situ (Irene Schimmelpfennig) will soon make it possible to extend cosmogenic nuclide dating approaches to periods of marked glacial retreat.