Ng, Felix, Dr

Dr Felix Ng

DPhil

School of Geography and Planning

Reader in Theoretical Glaciology

F.Ng@91ֱ��.ac.uk
+44 114 222 7949

Geography and Planning Building

Full contact details

Dr Felix Ng
School of Geography and Planning
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
91ֱ��
S3 7ND

Profile

Felix grew up in Hong Kong and attended middle school in the UK. After graduating in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford in 1994, he moved to the Mathematical Institute there to study the doctoral degree, completing his DPhil thesis on mathematical glaciology in 1998.

Felix then held a Junior Research Fellowship at St. John's College, University of Oxford from 1998 to 2002. He spent 2001 visiting the University of Washington, Seattle, as Royal-Society/Fulbright postdoctoral fellow.

From 2003 to 2005, Felix was the Leavitt Research Fellow in Geosciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was appointed as Lecturer in Glaciology at 91ֱ�� in 2005, and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2012, and Reader in January 2018.

In 2017, Felix visited the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand as William Evans Visiting Fellow to collaborate with glaciologists there.

He was awarded the Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship for the 2017-18 academic year.

He was the winner of the . For this competition, he submitted a stunning image created from his research findings on Antarctic ice streams.

Fieldwork and short visits with collaborators have taken Felix to Iceland, the Alps, West Antarctica, and Central Asia.

In 1999 he accompanied Robert Hoyland in his archaeological expedition to Syria where we hunted for early-Islamic Safaitic inscriptions in the desert (no ice there!).

Other interests: mountaineering and exploration, Central Asian culture and history, horse-riding.

Research interests

Large-scale behaviour of glaciers and ice sheets, and their environmental interactions
Mathematical models of glacial processes and landforms
Polar ice on Mars

My research is centred around glaciology, and concentrates on three areas:

Ice dynamics
Glacier hydrology
Glacial geomorphology

I am interested in supervising PhD students who wish to research the cryosphere by combining mathematical modelling and observational data.

My past PhD students include: (Durham Uni.), (Columbia Uni.), Becky Coles, (MMU).

Publications

Edited books

Fowler A & Ng F (Ed.) (2021) . Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Journal articles

Ng F (2024) . The Cryosphere, 18(10), 4645-4669.
Ng FSL (2023) . The Cryosphere, 17(7), 3063-3082.
Woodley SZ, Butcher FEG, Fawdon P, Clark CD, Ng FSL, Davis JM & Gallagher C (2022) . Icarus, 386.
Livingstone SJ, Li Y, Rutishauser A, Sanderson RJ, Winter K, Mikucki JA, Björnsson H, Bowling JS, Chu W, Dow CF , Fricker HA et al (2022) . Nature Reviews Earth and Environment.
Ng FSL (2021) . The Cryosphere, 15, 1787-1810.
Bartlett OT, Ng FSL & Rowan AV (2021) . EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, 46(3), 525-539.
Hepburn AJ, Ng FSL, Holt TO & Hubbard B (2020) . Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125(11).
Livingstone SJ, Lewington ELM, Clark CD, Storrar RD, Sole AJ, McMartin I, Dewald N & Ng F (2020) . The Cryosphere, 14(6), 1989-2004.
Hepburn AJ, Ng FSL, Livingstone SJ, Holt TO & Hubbard B (2020) . Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125(2).
Hepburn AJ, Holt T, Hubbard B & Ng F (2019) . Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems, 8(2), 293-313.
Lewington E, Livingstone S, Sole A, Clark C & Ng F (2019) . Geomorphology.
Ng FSL & Hughes ALC (2019) . Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44(4), 861-876.
Ng FSL, Igneczi A, Sole AJ & Livingstone SJ (2018) . Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 123(10), 2319-2340.
Ng FSL, Gudmundsson GH & King EC (2018) . Frontiers in Earth Science, 6, ---.
Igneczi A, Sole A, Livingstone S, Ng F & Yang K (2018) . Frontiers in Earth Science, 6, ---.
Carrivick JL, Tweed FS, Ng F, Quincey DJ, Mallalieu J, Ingeman-Nielsen T, Mikkelsen AB, Palmer SJ, Yde JC, Homer R , Russell AJ et al (2017) . Frontiers in Earth Science, 5, 1-16.
Drews R, Pattyn F, Hewitt IJ, Ng FSL, Berger S, Matsuoka K, Helm V, Bergeot N, Favier L & Neckel N (2017) . Nature Communications, 8(1).
Ely JC, Clark CD, Ng FSL & Spagnolo M (2017) . Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 122(4), 961-972.
Häusler H, Ng F, Kopecny A & Leber D (2016) . Geomorphology, 273, 292-307.
Ng FSL (2016) . Acta Materialia, 120, 453-462.
Jowett AE, Hanna E, Ng F, Huybrechts P & Janssens I (2015) . The Cryosphere Discussions, 9(5), 5327-5371.
Ng FSL (2015) . Nature Geoscience, 8(11), 847-850.
Kingslake J, Ng F & Sole A (2015) . Journal of Glaciology, 61(225), 185-199.
Ng F & Jacka TH (2014) . Journal of Glaciology, 60(221), 463-477.
Ng FS & King EC (2013) . Annals of Glaciology, 54(64), 90-96.
Kingslake J & Ng F (2013) . Annals of Glaciology, 54(63), 25-31.
Kingslake J & Ng F (2013) . Journal of Glaciology, 59(217), 805-818.
Li H, Ng F, Li Z, Qin D & Cheng G (2012) . Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 117(1).
Li H, Ng F, Li Z, Qin D & Cheng G (2012) An extended "perfect-plasticity" method for estimating ice thickness along the flow line of mountain glaciers. Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface, 117(1).
Ng F & King EC (2011) . Journal of Glaciology, 57(206), 1119-1134.
Porter PR, Vatne G, Ng F & Irvine-Fynn TDL (2010) . Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography, 92(4), 437-449.
Ng FSL, Barr ID & Clark CD (2010) . Quaternary Science Reviews, 29(23-24), 3240-3255.
Clark CD, Hughes ALC, Greenwood SL, Spagnolo M & Ng FSL (2009) . QUATERNARY SCI REV, 28(7-8), 677-692.
Ng F & Liu S (2009) . Journal of Glaciology, 55(192), 1-15.
Hodson A, Anesio AM, Ng F, Watson R, Quirk J, Irvine-Fynn T, Dye A, Clark C, McCloy P, Kohler J & Sattler B (2007) . J GEOPHYS RES-BIOGEO, 112(G4).
Ng F, Liu S, Mavlyudov B & Wang Y (2007) . Geophysical Research Letters, 34(21).
Ng F (2006) . The Geographical Journal, 172(4), 351-351.
Ng FSL & Zuber MT (2006) . Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets, 111(2).
Ng F, Hallet B, Sletten RS & Stone JO (2005) . Geology, 33(2), 121-121.
Ng F & Conway H (2004) . Geology, 32(6), 481-481.
Ng F & Björnsson H (2003) . Journal of Glaciology, 49(165), 161-172.
Ng F & Hallet B (2002) Patterning mechanisms in subglacial carbonate dissolution and deposition. Journal of Glaciology, 48(162), 386-400.
Fowler AC, Murray T & Ng FSL (2001) . Journal of Glaciology, 47(159), 527-538.
Ng FSL (2000) . Journal of Glaciology, 46(155), 580-598.
Alean J (2000) . Journal of Glaciology, 46(155), 700-700.
Ng FSL (2000) . Annals of Glaciology, 30, 146-152.
Fowler AC & Ng FSL (1996) . Annals of Glaciology, 22, 255-259.
Livingstone S, Björnsson H, Bowling J, Chu W, Dow C, Fricker H, Li Y, McMillan M, Mikucki J, Ng F , Ross N et al () .
Curry CS, Rowan AV & Ng FSL () .
Livingstone S, Li Y, Rutishauser A, Sanderson R, Winter K, Mikucki J, Björnsson H, Bowling J, Chu W, Dow C , Fricker H et al () . Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.

Chapters

Fowler A & Ng F (2021) , Springer Textbooks in Earth Sciences, Geography and Environment (pp. 47-78). Springer International Publishing
Ng FSL (1990) , Ice Physics and the Natural Environment (pp. 325-327). Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Conference proceedings papers

Woodley SZ, Butcher FEG, Clark CD, Ng F, Davis JM & Gallagher C (2021) Multiple Sites of Amazonian Wet-Based Glaciation Identified in West Tempe Terra, Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. online, 15 March 2021 - 19 March 2021.
Livingstone S, Lewington ELM, Clark CD, Storrar RD, Sole AJ, McMartin I, Dewald N, Ng F, Vérité J & Ravier E (2021) . Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs
Hepburn A, Ng F, Holt T & Hubbard B (2020) . Sharing Geoscience Online

Software / Code

Lewington E, Livingstone S, Sole A, Ng F & Clark C .

Datasets

Ng F (2021) .
Ng F (2021) .
Ng FSL (2015) .
Livingstone S, Lewington E, Clark C, Storrar R, Sole A, Mcmartin I, Dewald N & Ng F .
Ng FSL .

Other

Ng FSL (2024) .
Fowler A, Ng F & Kember G (2024) .
Ng FSL (2024) .
Ng FSL (2023) .

Preprints

Bingham RG, Bodart JA, Cavitte MGP, Chung A, Sanderson RJ, Sutter JCR, Eisen O, Karlsson NB, MacGregor JA, Ross N , Young DA et al (2024) , Copernicus GmbH.
Ng FSL (2024) , https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-1012/.

Teaching activities

My teaching encompasses the theoretical, empirical and skill elements of physical geography. Breaking down complex things and explaining them simply is difficult, and this is what I try to do with our students. Thus I emphasise a structured approach in exploring knowledge.

I am fortunate in my own education to have been taught by people who are truly inspirational; now I try to follow in their footsteps by launching students into the fun of thinking, problem-solving, and discovery. I do this by a range of methods, including getting our students to push ideas around in words and drawings with me, and doing experiments in the classroom.

For my contributions I won one of the University's Senate Awards for Excellence in Learning and Teaching in 2010.

I teach on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

I am also the Director of the MSc(Res) Polar and Alpine Change and have been an invited lecturer on the International Summer School on "Glaciers and Ice Sheets in the Climate System" in Karthaus, Italy.

My MSc research students in recent years include: Beth Nelson, Anwesha Sharma (Durham Uni, PhD student), (BAS, PhD student), (Northumbria Uni., PhD student), Adam Hepburn, (Uni. Hertfordshire), Clement Hutin (Met Office), (Oslo Uni.), Chris Goodwin, Wil Poole.

Polar and Alpine Change MSc(Res)

Postgraduate taught

September 2025 start
1 year Full-time

Prepare for a research career in cold-regions science with our MSc(Res). You’ll develop key analytical skills and research techniques, conduct a year-long independent research project, and have the opportunity to become an active member of the department's Ice and Climate research group.

Additional research projects

Ice Dynamics

I had earlier investigated the surge behaviour of sub-polar glaciers with Tavi Murray (Leeds) and Andrew Fowler (Oxford) and recently turned my attention to the Antarctic ice streams, whose variable flow exerts strong control on ice-sheet mass balance.

With Howard Conway (Seattle), I used the radar structures in Kamb Ice Stream to infer its flow speed before it stopped ~150 years ago. Ongoing work considers the general problem of deciphering the history of ice flow from englacial radar layers.

Graph showing the radar X-section of Kamb Ice Stream, showing undulating layers in ice ~1800 m deep

Radar X-section of Kamb Ice Stream, showing undulating layers in ice ~1800 m deep (horizontal axis in km)

Model of isochrone-layer deformation along a flow band in an ice stream

Glacier Hydrology

Catastrophic outburst floods from ice-dammed lakes, known as jökulhlaups, can deliver several cubic kilometres of water suddenly with a peak discharge ranging up to 10⁵ m³ s^-1, causing severe environmental and economic impact.

In order to identify factors that regulate their timing and magnitude, I am studying the mechanics of these floods worldwide and also locally, using examples from Iceland and from the Tian Shan.

Image of the moraine-dammed lake at Grinnell Glacier, Rocky Mountains where fieldwork took place

Fieldwork on the moraine-dammed lake at Grinnell Glacier, Rocky Mountains

Glacial Geomorphology

Glaciation leaves behind a variety of bedforms on the Earth surface. Part of my research explores how they form, with an aim to reconstruct the conditions of past ice flow using them and to learn something about the processes that operate at the glacier bed.

The following images show two examples which I have studied.

Pins of calcite precipitate protruding from the leeside of a limestone bed specimen (collected by Bernard Hallet from Castleguard Glacier, Canada)

Centimetre-scale: Pins of calcite precipitate protruding from the leeside of a limestone bed specimen (collected by Bernard Hallet from Castleguard Glacier, Canada)

Kilometre-scale: Drumlins of the Puget Sound, Washington State, USA. This LIDAR image is about 6 km wide. Image courtesy: Ralph Haugerud.

When sediment-laden ice sublimates, a debris layer (an ablation till) forms on the surface and it can become thick enough to obscure the ice.

This situation is found in central Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Together with collaborators at the University of Washington, I have studied the cosmogenic.

He systematics of the debris accretion process and applied our model to understand how the till layer in Beacon Valley developed while it also became spectacularly patterned by contraction-crack polygons

Beacon Valley (photo by Ron Sletten)

Polygonal pattern on the sublimation till that covers relict ice Beacon Valley. The polygon diameter is about 10m.

Polygonal pattern on the sublimation till that covers relict ice (not visible) in Beacon Valley. The polygon diameter is about 10m.