Elizabeth Mary Morris, (born 7 September 1946), also known as Liz Morris, is a

glaciologist Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...

and Senior Associate at the

Scott Polar Research Institute The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south o ...

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

.‘MORRIS, Dr Elizabeth Mary’, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 31 March 2013
/ref> She has been a visiting professor at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

since 1995. She was head of the ice and climate division at the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

, from 1986 to 1999, and president of the

International Glaciological Society The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in glaciology, practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. It was originally known as the "Association for the Study of Snow an ...

, from 2002 to 2005.

Career

Morris was among the first women scientists to work in Antarctica. Her research focused on accumulation and loss of ice and snow from the continent. This required measuring snowfall and ambient temperature. As a consequence, she went on several land crossings of the southern

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

and the

Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, also known as Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf, is an Antarctic ice shelf bordering the Weddell Sea. Description The seaward side of the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf is divided into Eastern (Filchner) and the larger West ...

. As satellite mapping and measurement remote sensing replaced human recording, her measurements were important to

ground truth Ground truth is information that is known to be real or true, provided by direct observation and measurement (i.e. empirical evidence) as opposed to information provided by inference. Etymology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (s.v. "ground t ...

satellite observations of the ice sheet. While she was head of the ice and climate division at the

from 1986-1999 the importance of Antarctic research to understanding the

ozone hole Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone la ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

became apparent and she led development of research directions to meet this need. Morris was brought up in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

, near London. Her parents taught English, but while they were studying at

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, they had become friends with

Cecil Powell Cecil Frank Powell, FRS (5 December 1903 – 9 August 1969) was a British physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for heading the team that developed the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and for the resulting discovery of ...

, a physicist. She was inspired to study physics, and also to follow her interest in mountains. She studied physics as an undergraduate and for her Ph.D. (awarded 1972) at

modelled how ice flowed over mountains, supervised by John Nye. After working briefly in X-ray crystallography at

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

, and then as a researcher at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

with

Geoffrey Boulton Geoffrey Stewart Boulton (born 28 November 1940) is a British geoscientist, and Regius Professor Emeritus of the University of Edinburgh. He was awarded the 2006 Lyell Medal, by the Geological Society. He was awarded the 2011 James Croll Medal. ...

, she joined the Institute of Hydrology for 11 years from 1975. She enjoyed fieldwork and was able to carry it out in mountains in Scotland, Norway, Austria and Canada. However, until the late 1980s only men were permitted at the UK station in Antarctica or distant arctic field sites. Morris's next post was as head of the Ice and Climate Division at the

in 1986, and then its Research Activities Coordinator from 1999-2000. She was subsequently seconded to the

as their NERC Arctic Science Adviser from 2000- 2006, and was simultaneously a visiting professor at

from 1995 until 2010. She was able to do seven traverses of the

Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( da, Grønlands indlandsis, kl, Sermersuaq) is a vast body of ice covering , roughly near 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is sometimes referred to as an ice cap, or under the term ''inland ice'', or its Danish equiva ...

between 2004 and 2011 and made temperature and snow-depth measurements essential for calibrating satellite remote sensing. She continued to have academic appointments at University of Reading and the Scott Polar Research Institute, becoming an Emeritus Associate in 2016. She was president the International Commission on Snow and Ice from 1995-2001 and president of the

from 2002-05 the two major scientific societies involved in her area of science. She has also been extensively involved in the organisation of the latter society.

Awards

She was awarded an OBE in 2000 and the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

in 2003 for her services to Antarctic science. She was awarded the Richardson Medal of the

in 2016. In 2015 she was awarded D.Sc. by University of Bristol. In 2020 the Antarctic Place-names Committee announced that a glacier in Antarctica had been named after her.

References

External links

Veco Polar Resources article on Liz Morris, 30 August 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Elizabeth Living people 1946 births 21st-century British women scientists 21st-century British physicists British women physicists British Antarctic scientists Women Antarctic scientists British women earth scientists British glaciologists Women glaciologists Female recipients of the Polar Medal Officers of the Order of the British Empire People of the Scott Polar Research Institute