معرفی
Dr. Sara Benetti is a Visiting Associate Professor at University College Dublin's School of Earth Sciences and Senior Lecturer in Environmental Change at Ulster University. She specializes in marine geosciences, with expertise in glacial geomorphology, ice sheet dynamics, and submarine geohazards. Her research focuses on reconstructing the extent and behavior of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS), particularly through geophysical and sedimentological analyses. She has led over ten research cruises and secured funding from NERC, the EU, and Irish government initiatives, including the BRITICE-CHRONO project. Dr. Benetti also evaluates proposals for European and Italian research programs and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Her work integrates field studies, marine geophysical surveys, and sediment core analyses to understand ice sheet retreat mechanisms, such as those influencing the Malin Sea and Celtic Sea regions. Key contributions include refining deglaciation timelines and documenting the role of meltwater systems and calving events in ice dynamics. She has collaborated with institutions like the National Oceanography Centre, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the British Antarctic Survey.
Dr. Benetti’s research outputs emphasize the Atlantic continental shelf’s geomorphology, submarine landforms, and the interplay between glacial processes and marine environments. Recent studies highlight early BIIS deglaciation driven by glacio-isostatic effects and high relative sea levels. Her articles frequently address ice stream behavior, grounding line dynamics, and subglacial hydrology, supported by multidisciplinary datasets including radiocarbon dating and cosmogenic nuclides.
As an educator, she pioneered the BSc in Marine Science and MSc in Remote Sensing and GIS at Ulster University, securing £1.2M for spatial data analytics initiatives. Her grants include leadership roles in projects like BRITICE-CHRONO, advancing understanding of ice sheet decay and climate impacts.
