Clara Henry

About

I am currently doing a postdoc in the Mathematics department at Stockholm University where I work on ice sheet modelling. More specifically, I am interested in gaining a better understanding of physical processes such as rheology and anisotropy, model validation using observational data and the development of numerical methods.

I became interested in Earth system modelling while studying Applied Mathematics at the University of St Andrews, UK. I then completed my PhD in ice sheet modelling as a joint collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the Department of Geosciences at the University of Tübingen in Germany.

When I am not working, you can find me playing the fiddle, hiking or running.

Research

My research interests lie in geophysical fluid dynamics and numerical analysis, with a focus on understanding coastal ice-flow dynamics and improving the efficiency of numerical models without compromising on physical complexity.

The simulation of coastal areas of ice sheets is made complicated due to the grounding-line contact problem, where grounded ice starts to float to form ice shelves. At the grounding line, models are sensitive to mesh resolution as well as the numerical representation of friction and ocean pressure. Furthermore, the stress balance in ice shelves is influenced by the presence of pinning points, which are isolated areas of ice shelves where the otherwise floating ice comes into contact with the bathymetry. The two types of pinning points, ice rises and ice rumples, regulate the flow of ice and are sensitive to the model representation of ice flow.

Thus far, my work has involved full Stokes and shallow-shelf approximation modelling of coastal Antarctic pinning points in idealised and real-world settings. This has allowed for investigation of the regulation of ice flow through stress incurred by pinning points, referred to as buttressing, as well as investigation of the long-term hysteretic evolution of pinning points. Furthermore, due to the similarity between the flow patterns in ice rises and ice sheets, ice rises are ideal for the investigation of model physics on a significantly smaller scale. In particular, this has allowed for investigation of the non-linearity of Glen’s flow law and the crystal orientation of ice, otherwise known as ice fabric.

CV

Research Experience and Education

• Postdoctoral Researcher in Numerical Analysis - Computational Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, Stockholm University, Sweden (2024 -)
• PhD - Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Germany (2020 - 2024)
• MMath - Master of Mathematics, University of St Andrews, UK (2014-2019)

Skills

• Programming: Python, Fortran, shell scripting, CSS, html, Latex, git, HPC computing, data processing and visualisation (matplotlib, seaborn, pandas), MATLAB.
• Numerical modelling: Elmer/Ice numerical ice sheet software; FEniCS finite element software; icepack numerical ice sheet model; two-layer, quasi-geostrophic shallow water model.
• Applied mathematics: Geophysical fluid dynamics, (partial) differential equations, dynamical systems, electromagnetism, classical mechanics, solar theory.

Teaching

• Numerical Modelling of Ice Sheets (lecturer), Karthaus Summer School, Italy, 19-30 May 2025
• Programming for Physicists, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Sweden, 2024 and 2025
• Introduction to Scientific Programming (Teaching Assistant), , Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Germany, 2022
• Dynamical Systems (Teaching Assistant), Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany, 2020

Courses and summer schools attended

• Glaciological Methods Course, Vernagtferner, Austria, 6-13 July 2022
• Summer School on Ice Sheets and Glaciers in the Climate System, Karthaus, Italy, 25 May-3 June 2022
• Advanced Scientific Writing, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, 7–11 March 2022
• Advanced Fortran Topics, Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, Munich, 23-26 November 2021
• Iterative Solvers for Linear Systems, Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, Munich, 8-10 September 2021
• Machine Learning for Earth System Modelling and Analytics Workshop, German Climate Computing Center, Hamburg, 3-4 May 2021
• Introduction to Earth Systems Science and Modelling, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, 21-29 June 2021
• Programming with Fortran, Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, Munich, 22-24 February 2021
• Elmer/Ice Beginner’s Course, Institute of Environmental Geosciences, Grenoble, 23-27 November 2020

Publications

• Bingham, R. G., et al. (inc. Henry, A. C. J.), Review Article: Antarctica’s internal architecture: Towards a radiostratigraphically-informed age–depth model of the Antarctic ice sheets, The Cryosphere, 2024 [accepted].
• Henry, A. C. J., Martín, C., Drews, R.: Modelling the three-dimensional, diagnostic anisotropy field of an ice rise, Journal of Glaciology, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2025.14, 2025.
• Henry, A. C. J., Schannwell. C., Višnjević, V., Millstein, J., Bons, P. D., Eisen, O., Drews, R.: Predicting the three-dimensional stratigraphy of an ice rise, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JF007924, 2025.
• Ershadi, M. R., Drews, R., Tison, J.-L., Martín C., Henry, A. C. J., et al., Investigating the Dynamic History of a Promontory Ice Rise using Radar Data, Journal of Glaciology, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2024.70, 2025.
• Višnjević, V., Drews, R., Moss, G., Henry, A. C. J., Wild, C., Steinhage, D., Mapping the Composition of Antarctic Ice Shelves as a Metric for their Susceptibility to Future Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112585, 2025.i
• Henry, A. C. J., Drews, R., Schannwell, C., and Višnjević, V.: Hysteretic evolution of ice rises and ice rumples in response to variations in sea level, The Cryosphere, 16, 3889–3905, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3889-2022, 2022.
• Henry, A. C. J.: Modelling the Evolution, Rheology and Buttressing of Antarctic Pinning Points (PhD thesis). University of Tübingen, Germany. http://dx.doi.org/10.15496/publikation-95530, 2024.

Presentations

• Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany, 13 May, 2025 [invited]
• Modelling ice sheets and glaciers Session, European Geosciences Union , Vienna, Austria, 1 May, 2025
• Elmer/Ice Users Meeting, European Geosciences Union Meeting, Vienna, Austria, 1 May, 2025
• Workshop on Land and Sea Ice Modelling, Department of Mathematics, Stockholm University, Sweden, 7 March, 2025
• ScientiFika Seminar, , Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Sweden, 28 February, 2025 [invited]
• Numerical Analysis Seminar, Department of Mathematics, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, 6 February, 2025 [invited]
• Computational Mathematics Seminar, Department of Mathematics, Stockholm University, Sweden, 22 January, 2025
• International Polar Conference, Rauris, Austria, 17 September, 2025 [invited]
• Niels Bohr Institute, Department of Physics, Copenhagen, Denmark, 5 December, 2025 [invited]
• International Glaciological Society Nordic Branch Meeting, Hellisandur, Iceland, 31 October, 2024
• International Glaciological Society Seminar Series, Online presentation, 8 May, 2024 [invited]
• PhD Defense, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, 18 January, 2024
• Department of Mathematics, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, 15 December, 2023
• Department of Mathematics, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden, 12 December, 2023
• Anisotropy of Ice Workshop, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, 20 July, 2023
• Applied Geometric Mechanics AGM Meeting, Department of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK, 5 June, 2023 [invited]
• Department of Mathematics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 10 May, 2023 [invited]
• British Antarctic Survey Seminar, Cambridge, UK, 4 May, 2023 [invited]
• European Geosciences Meeting, Vienna, Austria, 26 April, 2023
• American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Chicago, USA, 13 December, 2022
• Elmer/Ice Meeting, 7 December, 2022
• GeoEnviron Department Seminar, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Germany, 4 November, 2022
• German Research Foundation, Priority Programme: Antarctic Research Coordination Workshop, Bielefeld, Germany 12 September, 2022
• International Max Planck Research School Retreat, Bad Segeberg, Germany, 7 September, 2022
• International Glaciological Society British Branch Meeting and UK Antarctic Science Conference, Edinburgh, UK, 30 August, 2022
• European Geosciences Union Meeting, Vienna, virtual presentation, 24 May, 2022
• Elmer/Ice Workshop, 2 February 2022
• American Geosciences Fall Meeting, New Orleans, virtual presentation, 17 December 2021
• Earth Surface Dynamics Seminar, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 30 November, 2021
• International Max Planck Research School Retreat, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany, 11 September 2020

Reviews

• ESA Climate Variable Report, The Cryosphere

Supervision

• Tilda Westling Dolling, BSc. thesis, Project topic: Investigating a numerical stabilization method for the shallow shelf approximation, 2025
• Oskar Hogman, BSc. thesis, Project topic: Addressing Minimum Thickness Constraints in relation to the Free-Surface Stabilization Algorithm in Glacier Simulation, 2024
• Anne Hermann, MSc. thesis, Project topic: Development of a shallow ice approximation numerical model and prediction of surface accumulation using simulation based inference, 2024.

Funding

• Bolin Centre for Climate Research grant: Funding acquired to host a workshop for sea-ice and ice-sheet modellers.
• Research visit to the British Antarctic Survey, funding source: Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

Outreach

• CryoHackathon, International Glaciological Society Early Career Glaciologist's Group, 17-19 February, 2023: Organisation, mentoring and co-hosting during a weekend long hackathon on topics related to the cryosphere
• Skype a Scientist: Presentations followed by questions and discussion with school-age students.
• The Last Glaciers Invited Panelist, 23 April, 2022: Invited panelist for a discussion with the director of The Last Glaciers and other guests after a screening of the film.

Contact

Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';