Thomas Gölles

Associated SVALI Phd student

Thomas Gölles was employed in a PhD position in September 2010. He is working on the transport and effects of aerosols on glaciers at the University Centre in Svalbard.

Emissions of black carbon (BC) are the second strongest contributor to current global warming, after carbon dioxide emissions. This is mainly because it is the dominant absorber of visible solar radiation in the atmosphere.
Another effect of BC in conjunction with other aerosols is the albedo decrease due to darkening of ice surfaces such as sea ice and glaciers. Black carbon is transported over long distances from its source and is deposited on ice surfaces. An ice dynamics model will be used to improve understanding and prediction of the impact of specific processes linked to aerosols on ice masses. The overall goal of this PhD project is to increase the knowledge of the impacts of aerosols on different scales of glacier sizes.

Short CV:
2010 - MSc from the University of Graz in cooperation with WegCenter and the Alfred Wegener Institute. Thesis: Modeling Oxygen Isotopes in Polythermal Ice Sheets.
Autumn 2009 - Participant in the scientific cruise ANT-XXVI/2 with FS Polarstern from Punta Arenas to Wellington

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