PhD new year resolutions

1. Write more

This encompasses a whole load of things including writing up findings, reading and summarising articles, blogging more, and generally documenting more of my PhD and research. I am beginning the third year of my PhD now, and I have very little written down to show for it. Blogging has really encouraged me to reflect, condense and write about my work. So as well as my goal to write more blog posts in the coming year, I want to begin writing my thesis. I’m hoping this will make it easier in the future.

2. Publish something

This is an ambitious one, and unlikely to be achieved because of the tortuous amount of time it takes an idea to become a paper, to become accepted, to become published. It would be comforting to know that I have a paper waiting in the wings by the end of the year though.

One of our time-lapse cameras installed at Tunabreen, Svalbard, a personal highlight of my year - great living (on a boat), great work, great company

3. Continue our time-lapse work at Kronebreen glacier in Svalbard

At the time of writing this, the prospect of re-installing our time-lapse cameras at Kronebreen in May 2016 is looking good. We aim to continue the monitoring of the ice front, examining surface velocities, surface lake levels, calving rate, and calving behaviours. The cameras will be installed at different locations to last year, with the intention to derive a three-dimensional model series using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) time-lapse. At the moment we are in discussion about where exactly our cameras will need to be positioned to achieve this.

4. Attend a big conference, along with some smaller ones

Two of the biggest annual geoscience conferences are the European Geophysical Union (EGU) General Assembly and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, and I hope to attend one of them. Because I have often been busy with fieldwork in the past, I normally don’t get time to go to big conferences, present my work and network with others. I hope that as my fieldwork begins to die down this year, I can attend either AGU or EGU along with the International Glaciological Society British Branch Meeting and Nordic Branch Meeting.

Post-doc researcher Sarah Thompson (UNIS) at one of our time-lapse cameras at Kronebreen glacier, Svalbard. This was another highlight of my year as it was the first time I was in charge of fieldwork coordination, and Sarah was such a fantastic companion to bring along with me

5. Take a holiday... for God's sake

The curse of being a workaholic. Last year was so busy, fast-paced and exciting, and I couldn’t tear myself away from it all. One of the things I have been noticing recently is how much more I have been run-down, ill and/or bed-ridden because I have worked myself too hard. I need a holiday at some point this year… and somewhere warm please!