Dr Ross A. W. Slater

Profile

My research investigates changes in the flow of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS), analysing ice velocity data derived from Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery. By using these satellite observations in conjunction with other environmental data sets I aim to investigate drivers of ice speed variability to help improve our understanding of the processes controlling short- and long-term ice speed change.

Using ‘big data’ particularly interests me. I perform analysis of high-resolution data cubes at a continental scale using the Pangeo software stack and have a strong interest in modern geospatial tools and file formats.

I graduated with an Integrated Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Edinburgh in 2020, where I researched future extreme temperature climatology in CMIP6 model output. Prior to beginning my PhD, I spent a year in the Earth observation sector working as a data scientist.

Research interests

• Earth observation
• Synthetic aperture radar
• Ice sheet remote sensing
• Ice Sheet – climate interactions
• Cloud-native geospatial data science
• Big data processing in the Pangeo ecosystem
• Data cubes and cloud optimised data formats (Zarr and Icechunk)

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Leeds (2026)
• MPhys (Hons) Physics, University of Edinburgh (2020)

Professional memberships

• European Geosciences Union
• International Glaciological Society
• Institute of Physics

Research groups and institutes

• Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science
• Physical Climate and Cryosphere