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Ginny Catania

Ginny Catania
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences
Research Professor, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences


Email: gcatania@ig.utexas.edu
Work: +1 512 471 0403
Office: ROC 2.212, EPS 3.128
Mailcode: R2200

Ice sheets and glaciers are one of the most changeable environments on our planet. These changes arise from both natural and forced (climate-change induced) variations and manifest in heterogeneous patterns of ice flow velocity, surface elevation, and terminus position change. Such variability highlights the need for deeper understanding of the critical boundary conditions of ice sheets, where the ice interacts with the atmosphere, ocean, and subglacial substrate. Working in these regions is challenging, as direct observations are difficult to obtain. Our group uses a range of techniques that include a suite of in-situ geophysical tools, remote-sensing observations, machine learning, and numerical modeling. Our approach is observation-driven and aimed at unravelling the physical processes that control ice motion.

Areas of Expertise

Ice sheet mass balance, ice dynamics, subglacial hydrology, ice sheet stratigraphy, radar, GPS methods, uncertainty in ice sheet response to climate, satellite observations, remote-sensing observations, outlet glaciers, Greenland, glaciology, Antarctica, sea level, ice-ocean interactions. UT Cryosphere.


Research Locations



I am always looking for enthusiastic students who have an interest in understanding glacier dynamics for Earth's present-day ice sheets. I am particularly interested in students with strong skills in quantitative methods, technical data science, remote sensing, and modeling. That said, ambitious students willing to dig in and teach themselves these skills should also write to me.


Graduate Students

Evan Carnahan , Ph.D., expected 2024 (Supervisor)

Kevin W Shionalyn (Supervisor)
ice-ocean interactions, glaciology, machine learning, acoustics, geophysics

Mikayla A Pascual (Supervisor)

Matthew Zeh, Ph.D. (Supervisor)
Mechanical Engineering

Sophie Goliber, Ph.D., 2023 (Supervisor)
Jackson School of Geosciences


YearSemesterCourse
2024Spring GEO 303E Earth In 2100-Wb
2023Spring GEO 391 Understanding Sea Level
2023Spring GEO 371T Understanding Sea Level
2022Fall GEO 291 Preparing Future Faculty
2022Spring GEO 303E Earth In 2100-Wb
2021Summer GEO s303E Earth In 2100-Wb
2020Fall GEO 303E Earth In 2100-Wb
2020Fall GEO 291 Preparing Future Faculty-Wb
2020Summer GEO s303E Earth In 2100-Wb
2020Spring GEO 191 Proposal Writing
2019Fall GEO 371T Dynamics Of Polar Systems
2019Fall GEO 391 Dynamics Of Polar Systems
2019Spring GEO 303E Earth In 2100-Wb
2019Spring GEO 191 Proposal Writing
2018Fall GEO 291 Preparing Future Faculty
2018Spring GEO 191 Proposal Writing
2018Spring GEO 302K Earth In 2100-Wb
2017Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2017Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2016Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2016Fall GEO 349C Intro To The Cryosphere
2016Fall GEO 191 Prep Future Geosci Faculty
2016Fall GEO 391 Introduction To The Cryosphere
2016Spring GEO 191 Cryosphere Reading Seminar
2016Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Glaciology
2015Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2015Fall GEO 391 Ice Dynamics
2015Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Glaciology
2014Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Glaciology
2014Fall GEO 371T Introduction To The Crysophere
2014Fall GEO 391 Introduction To The Cryosphere
2014Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Glaciology