What we do

We seek to answer some of the biggest questions in polar research

iC3 produces ground-breaking insights into how the links between ice sheets, carbon cycles and ocean ecosystems are impacting life on earth.

We collaborate with leading researchers worldwide on research projects that seek to answer some of the biggest questions in polar research and provide essential data and models to underpin future assessments of greenhouse warming (IPCC) and biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES). We welcome enquiries from potential research fellows, postdoctoral researchers and PhD students who want to join our team.

Please find more information on our five research streams and two impact themes below.

iC3

Research Units

Photo By Henry Patton

RU1: Carbon and ice sheets

Nobody knows how much carbon is stored beneath ice sheets or how much will be released as the earth continues to warm.

Photo By Eva Lisa Doting

RU2: Methane, nutrients and carbon

Melting ice sheets discharge large volumes of organic and inorganic matter to surrounding land fringes and the oceans, but current scientific understanding of these dynamics is very limited.

Photo By Philipp Assmy

RU3: Ice sheets and the oceans

Most water from melting ice sheets will eventually end up in the sea, but it is unclear how this will affect the oceans and the many life forms that inhabit them.

Photo By Henry Patton

RU4: Impact of past changes in ice

Over millions of years, the earth’s ice sheets have repeatedly expanded and retreated. To predict what the future holds, we first need to understand past ice sheet changes.

Photo By iC3

RU5: Future climate and oceans

The impact of retreating ice sheets on the earth’s future carbon cycle and ocean ecosystems is a major unknown.

iC3

Impact Themes

Photo By Philipp Assmy

iT1: Novel technologies

Developing cutting-edge modelling and measurement technologies that will take polar research to the next level.

Photo By Jochen Knies

iT2: Mentoring & training

Training and supporting the next generation of interdisciplinary polar scientists is a core part of iC3’s mission.

Early Career Scientists

Postdoctoral Fellowships

iC3 offers a friendly and supportive working environment to early career researchers who are passionate about polar science.