Glaciologist

Dr. Alison (Ali) Banwell is a glaciologist currently living in Boulder Colorado, but is originally from England UK. She moved to the United States in 2018 for a Research Scientist position at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is still based. Ali’s research interests revolve around investigating the impact of Earth’s past and future climate on the cryosphere, with a current focus on the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Using satellite data, field observations and numerical modeling, she investigates controls of ice sheet melt, snow accumulation and dynamics, which are key to understanding future global sea-level rise.

Ali has a PhD in Polar Studies from the University of Cambridge and is a National Geographic Explorer. She has led many field expeditions to Antarctica and has also conducted fieldwork in Greenland, Svalbard, the Himalayas, and the European Alps. Aside from glaciology, she’s a rock climber, skier, and mountain biker.