Research
Fracture Formation and Propagation
The processes that control fracture formation, propagation, and calving events are not well constrained, due largely to a lack of available observations. I use the wealth of data collected by satellites to study the stress states present in fractured and unfractured ice to determine its material properties. Check out my recent paper in Journal of Glaciology!
Ice Shelf Stability: A Case Study on Pine Island Glacier
What factors lead to the collapse of an ice shelf? The dramatic collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002 spawned many questions and theories about how such a large chunk of ice could rapidly disintegrate. I use recent observations of changes over the Pine Island Ice Shelf to analyze the response of an ice shelf to increasing damage in its shear margins. By comparing observations to models, we can begin to detangle some of the complex processes that contribute to loss of buttressing and ice shelf collapse.
Publications
Submitted and In Preparation:
Wells-Moran, S. (2025). Putting Lipstick on a PIG: Modeling Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Shear Margin Collapse with Compressive Arch Failure and Observations. Masters Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology submitted
Published:
Wells-Moran, S., Ranganathan, M., & Minchew, B. (2025). Fracture criteria and tensile strength for natural glacier ice calibrated from remote sensing observations of Antarctic ice shelves. Journal of Glaciology, 71, e47. doi:10.1017/jog.2024.104
Wells-Moran, S., Castro, A., Ranganathan, M., & Minchew, B. (2023). When PIGs Fly: Investigating Stress States and Rift Propagation on Antarctica’s Fastest-Flowing Glacier. Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Wellesley College https://repository.wellesley.edu/object/ir2033