Ginny Catania

Ginny Catania is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and a Research Professor at the Institute for Geophysics within the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on ice sheet dynamics, particularly the interactions between glaciers, oceans, and subglacial environments. She leads the Ice Dynamics Lab, which employs advanced geophysical tools, remote sensing, and machine learning to study glacial processes. Her work addresses critical questions about ice flow variability, climate change impacts, and the development of predictive models for sea-level rise.

Dr. Catania’s research spans Greenland and Antarctica, with a focus on understanding how boundary conditions (e.g., ice-ocean interfaces, bed topography) influence ice motion. She has pioneered techniques to monitor subglacial hydrology, meltwater plumes, and terminus stability using in-situ observations and satellite data. Her lab has developed automated tools like AutoTerm for glacier terminus tracking and collaborates on initiatives such as the Greenland Ice Sheet-Ocean Observing System (GrIOOS).

Her recent work emphasizes machine learning applications to analyze large datasets of glacier termini changes and probabilistic frameworks to assess human-driven climate impacts. She has contributed to major projects like BedMachine, which maps Greenland’s bedrock topography, and has published extensively on topics including submarine melt processes, fjord dynamics, and ice-sheet stability.