Owen Kirkham

MSc student studying the morphology and evolution of the Milne Ice Shelf channel using ROV and imaging sonar to build 3D models of this unique Arctic system.

I am an M.Sc. Geography student in the Water and Ice Research Lab (WIRL), supervised by Dr. Derek Mueller. My research investigates the morphology and evolution of the Milne Ice Shelf channel, a water-filled conduit that cuts directly through the ice shelf and supports a uniquely isolated benthic and pelagic ecosystem found nowhere else on Earth. I use a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and a low‑cost imaging sonar to create 3D models and bathymetric surfaces of the channel, with the goal of advancing our understanding of its geometry and dynamics.