Curriculum Vitae

APPOINTMENTS

Postdoctoral Research Associate, British Antarctic Survey(2025 - present)

  • Project: Processes, Impacts and Changes of ANTarctic Extreme Weather (PICANTE)

  • Funding: Natural Environment Research Council grant no. NE/Y503290/1

  • Topic: Performing high-resolution simulations of extreme weather in Antarctica using the Met Office Unified Weather Model, diagnosing relationship between storm structure and resultant impacts.

  • Line Manager: Dr. Andrew Orr

  • Location: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, United Kingdom

EDUCATION

PhD, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (2020 – 2024)

  • University of Colorado Boulder

  • Thesis Title: “Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in the Present and Future Climates”

  • Advisor: Prof. Andrew Winters, Synoptic Meteorology Group (formerly Prof. Jan Lenaerts, Ice Sheets and Climate Group)

  • Graduate Fellowship: NASA FINESST Future Investigator

  • PhD defended on October 9th, 2024

  • Masters in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences received May 2024 (part of PhD program)

  • PhD candidacy achieved in April 2022

Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, summa cum laude (2015 – 2019)

  • University of Colorado Boulder

  • Honors Thesis Topic: “Large-Scale Atmospheric Drivers of Snowfall on Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica”

  • President Joseph A. Sewall Awardfor merit scholarship

  • Sieglinde Talbott Haller Scholarshipfor exceptional mathematical promise

FELLOWSHIPS

Collaborative Antarctic Science Scheme (NERC CASS, 2026 - 2027)

  • Grant received June 2026 for 2 months of fieldwork on the Sir David Attenborough from January - March 2027 (approximately £5,700 for kit, training, and lodging)

  • Research topic: “LiDAR Targeted Observations of Dominant Weather Patterns in the Amundsen Sea”

Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (NASA FINESST, 2021 - 2024)

  • Grant received June 2021 for 3 years of graduate funding ($135,000)

  • Research topic: “Climatology of West Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers and their Impacts on the Surface Mass Balance of Thwaites Glacier”

FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship, Belgium (2024, withdrawn)

  • Submitted fellowship application in December 2023, invited to final interview stage in spring 2024 prior to withdrawal (upon acceptance of postdoctoral research associateship at the British Antarctic Survey)

  • Research topic: “Quantifying the Atmospheric Triggers of Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse”

FIELDWORK

Amundsen Sea, Antarctica (upcoming: January - March 2027)

  • This year I’ll be sailing on the Sir David Attenborough to the Amundsen Sea, where I’ll be taking vertical and horizontal wind profiles using a novel lidar which will be installed on the ship for the first time.

Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, Antarctica (November 2022 - February 2023)

  • Member of the Thwaites Amundsen Regional Survey and Networking (TARSAN) team in 2022/2023 field season

  • Retrieved two firn cores to 8m on Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf: collected density profiles and water samples at 3-10 cm resolution

    • Performed water isotope analysis and firn modelling (using SNOWPACK)

  • Set up a Local Area Network (LAN) on the ice to expedite the download of key oceanographical data on the basal melting of Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Cruise (August - September 2018)

  • Leveraged data from an Acoustic Doppler Profiler Radar (ADCP) to assess the location and type of fish populations along the Oregon - Washington coastline

  • Took measurements of keystone species Pacific Hake length, weight, liver, and otoliths (ear bones)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

  • Snow pits and firn structure demonstrations, Antarctica (November 2022 - February 2023)

    • Led multiple demonstrations for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) contractors on how to dig snow pits and assess the structure of near-surface layers, including identifying ice lenses, crusts, and meltwater flow paths

  • Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Atmospheric Science (January – May 2022)

    • Assisted in teaching introductory atmospheric science, including grading and office hours, to undergraduate students at the University of Colorado.

  • Course Assistant for Stratospheric Explorations (January 2018 – December 2019)

    • Assisted in teaching introductory stratospheric science and satellite data analysis to undergraduate students in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

SKILLS

Technical:

  • Regional climate modelling

  • Linux and bash scripting

  • Python (scientific programming and data visualization)

  • LaTeX (scientific writing)

  • Basic experience with the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), Mathematica and C++

Languages:

  • Native proficiency in English and German

  • Limited working proficiency in French

SELECTED ORAL PRESENTATIONS

  • Michelle L. Maclennan: The Future of Extreme Weather in the Polar Regions. Invited talk for Pint of Science festival, Cambridge, May 2026.

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Michael Haigh, Haosu Tang, and Andrew Orr: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers and the Drivers of Mass Gain and Loss. Invited talk at the University of Exeter, Storm Risk Group, October 2025.

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Jimmy Butler, Grant LaChat, Becca Baiman, Christine A. Shields, and Andrew Orr: Identifying Antarctic Atmospheric River Families. European Geophysical Union General Assembly, 2 May 2025. (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Rudradutt Thaker, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, and Jonathan D. Wille: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in Present and Future Climates. Invited talks at Scott Polar Research Institute (February 2025) and the University of East Anglia (March 2025).

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Rudradutt Thaker, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, and Jonathan D. Wille: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in Present and Future Climates. Cyclone Workshop, Saint-Sauveur, QC, Canada, 23 October 2024 (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan).

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, PhD defense: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in the Present and Future Climates. University of Colorado Boulder, 9 October 2024 (Oral presentation).

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Rudradutt Thaker, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, and Jonathan D. Wille: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in Present and Future Climates. British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, England, September 2024 (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Invited talk

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, Rudradutt Thaker, Sophie de Roda Husman, and Jonathan D. Wille: Impacts of Atmospheric Rivers on Thwaites Glacier. International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration Science Meeting, Cambridge, England, September 2024 (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Panelist for media briefing on “Grim outlook for Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier”

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, Rudradutt Thaker, Sophie de Roda Husman, and Jonathan D. Wille: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in Present and Future Climates. International Atmospheric Rivers Conference, 24 June 2024. (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Keynote talk

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, Rudradutt Thaker, and Jonathan D. Wille: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in Present and Future Climates. European Geophysical Union General Assembly, 18 April 2024. (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, and Jonathan D. Wille: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in Present and Future Climates. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 14 December 2023 (Poster presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Received Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA) from Global Environmental Change section.

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Jonathan D. Wille, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, and Vincent Favier: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in the Past and Future Climates. European Geophysical Union General Assembly, 26 April 2023. (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Highlight talk

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, Christine A. Shields, Andrew O. Hoffman, Nander Wever, Megan Thompson-Munson, Erin C. Pettit, Theodore A. Scambos, and Jonathan D. Wille: Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers in the Past and Future Climates. West Antarctic Ice Sheet Workshop, 28 September 2022. (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Received award for best student oral presentation.

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, Christine A. Shields, Andrew O. Hoffman, Nander Wever, Megan Thompson-Munson, Erin C. Pettit, Theodore A. Scambos, and Jonathan D. Wille: Climatology and Surface Impacts of Atmospheric Rivers on West Antarctica. European Geophysical Union General Assembly, 26 May 2022. (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Solicited talk

    • Received award for an Outstanding Student and PhD Candidate Presentation (OSPP) from the Cryosphere Division.

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, Christine A. Shields, Megan Thompson-Munson, Eric Martinez, and Jonathan Wille: West Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers: Impacts on Thwaites Glacier Surface Mass Balance. West Antarctic Ice Sheet Workshop, 22 September 2021. (Oral presentation; presenting author Michelle Maclennan)

    • Received award for best student oral presentation.

PUBLICATIONS

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Michael Haigh, Caroline Holmes, Meghan Sharp, Grant LaChat, Rebecca Baiman, Andrew Orr, Haosu Tang, Shujie Wang, Paul R. Holland, Sihan Li, and Julie Jones. Month-long wintertime sea ice retreat in the Amundsen Sea.In preparation.

  • Kyle S. Mattingly, Michelle L. Maclennan, Joseph Schnaubelt, Christine Shields, Rebecca Baiman, Alexander Y. Massa, Kyle Nardi, Serena Scholz, Rudradutt Thaker, Chen Zhang, Seung H. Baek, Tobias Braun, Victoire Buffet, James Butler, Bo Dong, Vincent Favier, Irina Gorodetskaya, Bin Guan, Marlen Kolbe, Melanie Lauer, Gabrielle Linscott, Juan Lora, Mengqian Lu, Weiming Ma, Sophia Macarewich, Gudrun Magnusdottir, Travis A. O'Brien, Sofie Tiedeck, Sara M. Vallejo-Bernal, Carolina Viceto, Jonathan D. Wille, Jing Yang, Zhenhai Zhang, and Xun Zou. The ARTMIP Tier 2 Polar Synthesis: A comparative analysis of polar atmospheric river tracking methods in historical and future climate states.In preparation.

  • Haosu Tang, Sihan Li, Julie Jones, Michelle L. Maclennan, et al. Climate warming pushes the May 2025 atmospheric river-driven heatwave beyond the melting threshold in West Antarctica.In preparation.

  • Susheel Adusumilli, Helen Fricker, and Michelle L. Maclennan. Surface Height Increases from Extreme Snowfall Events Obscure Dynamic Thinning Across Antarctica.In preparation.

  • Phoebe Jackson, Rebecca Dell, Ian Willis, and Michelle L. Maclennan. Atmospheric river drives extreme surface melt event on Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica.In preparation.

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Michael Haigh, Siddharth Gumber, Andrew Orr, Grant LaChat, Rebecca Baiman, Haosu Tang, Thirza N. Feenstra, Paul R. Holland, Tony Phillips, Sihan Li, and Julie M. Jones. Mesoscale structure and ocean impacts of a powerful May 2025 storm at the West Antarctic sea ice margin.Submitted to JGR Atmospheres.

  • Susheel Adusumilli, Helen Fricker, and Michelle L. Maclennan. Surface Height Increases from Extreme Snowfall Events Obscure Dynamic Thinning Across Antarctica.Submitted.

  • Rebecca Dell, Michelle L. Maclennan, Luke Trusel, and Mahsa Bahrami. Lateral Meltwater Export from Bach Ice Shelf Resumes After 9-Year Hiatus.In review at The Cryosphere.

  • Irina Gorodetskaya, Michelle Maclennan, Sergi Gonzalez-Herrero, Claudio Durán-Alarcón, Matilde Rafacho, Brice Boudevilain, Vincent Favier, and Sangjong Park. Observed and Projected Changes in Zero-Degree and Melting-Layer Height over the Antarctic Peninsula and its Ice Shelves.In review at Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

  • T. A. O’Brien, K. T. Quagraine, C. Shields, S. R. Scholz, J. M. Lora, S. M. Vallejo-Bernal, S. H. Baek, T. Braun, A. Collow, B. Dong, K. Mattingly, K. Nardi, R. Thaker, Y. Zhou, I. Gorodetskaya, S. Brands, B. Guan, D. Kamnani, R. Leung, M. Lu, M. L. Maclennan, A. Y. Massa, J. G. Pinto, A. M. Ramos, P. A. Ullrich, J. Rutz, J. Schnaubelt, E. J. Shearer, M. F. Wehner, C. M. Zarzycki, C. Zhang, Z. Zhang, K. J. Reid, X. Zou, M. Viale, N. Tilinina, A. Gavrikov, M. Krinitsky, and O. Zolina. Lessons from Ten Years of the Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project.In review at Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

  • Mohamed Adjou, Susheel Adusumilli, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2026). Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in “State of the Climate in 2025”.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-26-0127.1

  • Haosu Tang, Sihan Li, Julie M. Jones, Sergi González-Herrero, Friederike E. L. Otto, Andrew Orr, James A. Screen, Kyle R. Clem, Deniz Bozkurt, Jennifer L. Catto, Charlie C. Suitters, Michelle L. Maclennan, and Yiming Sun (2026). Unprecedented 2024 East Antarctic winter heatwave driven by polar vortex weakening and amplified by anthropogenic warming.npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. DOI: 10.1038/s41612-026-01392-x

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Andrew C. Winters, Christine A. Shields, Rudradutt Thaker, Léonard Barthelemy, Francis Codron, and Jonathan D. Wille (2025). Rising atmospheric moisture escalates the future impact of atmospheric rivers in the Antarctic climate system.Nature Communications Earth & Environment. DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02333-x

    • Feature article on Comms E&E homepage

  • Rudra Thaker, Stephen Vavrus, Christine Shields, Alice DuVivier, Michelle Maclennan, Marika Holland, and Laura Landrum (2025). Arctic atmospheric rivers in a changing climate and the impacts on sea ice.JGR Atmospheres. DOI: 10.1029/2024JD042521

  • Andrew O. Hoffman, Michelle Maclennan, Jan Lenaerts, Kristine M. Larson, and Knut Christianson (2025). Amundsen Sea Embayment accumulation variability measured with GNSS-IR.The Cryosphere. DOI: 10.5194/tc-19-713-2025

  • Marilyn Raphael, Kyle Clem, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2025). Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in “State of the Climate in 2024”.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-25-0087.1

  • Jonathan Wille, Vincent Favier, Irina Gorodetskaya, Cécile Agosta, Rebecca Baiman, Jeb Barrett, Léonard Barthelemy, Burcu Boza, Deniz Bozkurt, Mathieu Casado, Anastasiia Chyhareva, Kyle Clem, Francis Codron, Rajashree Datta, Claudio Durán-Alarcón, Diana Francis, Andrew Hoffman, Marlen Kolbe, Svitlana Krakovska, Gabrielle Linscott, Michelle Maclennan, Kyle Mattingly, Ye Mu, Benjamin Pohl, Christophe Santos, Christine Shields, Emir Toker, Andrew Winters, Ziqi Yin, Xun Zou, Chen Zhang, and Zhenhai Zhang (2025). Atmospheric rivers in Antarctica.Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. DOI: 10.1038/s43017-024-00638-7

  • Ella Gilbert, Denys Pishniak, José Abraham Torres, Andrew Orr, Michelle Maclennan, Nander Wever, and Kristiina Verro (2025). Extreme precipitation associated with atmospheric rivers over West Antarctic ice shelves: insights from kilometre-scale regional climate modelling.The Cryosphere. DOI: 10.5194/tc-19-597-2025

  • Naomi E. Ochwat, Ted A. Scambos, Alison F. Banwell, Robert S. Anderson, Michelle L. Maclennan, Ghislain Picard, Julia A. Shates, Sebastian Marinsek, Liliana Margonari, Martin Truffer, and Erin C. Pettit (2024). Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice break-out and initial glacier response.The Cryosphere. DOI: 10.5194/tc-2023-88

  • Kyle Clem, Marilyn Raphael, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2024). Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in “State of the Climate in 2023”.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0099.1

  • Jonathan D. Wille, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2024). The extraordinary March 2022 East Antarctica “heat” wave. Part II: impacts on the Antarctic ice sheet.Journal of Climate. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0176.1

  • Jonathan D. Wille, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2024). The extraordinary March 2022 East Antarctica “heat” wave. Part I: observations and meteorological drivers.Journal of Climate. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0175.1

  • Michelle L. Maclennan, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, Christine A. Shields, Andrew O. Hoffman, Nander Wever, Megan Thompson-Munson, Andrew C. Winters, Erin C. Pettit, Theodore A. Scambos, and Jonathan D. Wille (2023). Climatology and Surface Impacts of Atmospheric Rivers on West Antarctica.The Cryosphere. DOI: 10.5194/tc-2022-101

    • Highlight Paper

  • Kyle Clem, Marilyn Raphael, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2023). Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in “State of the Climate in 2022”.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0077.1

  • Michelle L. Maclennan*, Jan T. M. Lenaerts*, Christine A. Shields, and Jonathan D. Wille (2022). Contribution of Atmospheric Rivers to Antarctic Precipitation.Geophysical Research Letters. DOI: 10.1029/2022GL100585

    • *co-first authors

  • Christine A. Shields, Jonathan D. Wille, Allison B. Marquardt Collow, Michelle Maclennan, and Irina V. Gorodetskaya (2022). Evaluating Uncertainty and Modes of Variability for Antarctic Atmospheric Rivers.Geophysical Research Letters. DOI: 10.1029/2022GL099577

  • Kyle Clem, Marilyn Raphael, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2022). Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in “State of the Climate in 2021”.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0078.1

  • Karen E. Alley, Christian T. Wild, Adrian Luckman, Ted A. Scambos, Martin Truffer, Erin C. Pettit, Atsuhiro Muto, Bruce Wallin, Marin Klinger, Tyler Sutterley, Sarah F. Child, Cyrus Hulen, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, Michelle Maclennan, Eric Keenan, and Devon Dunmire (2021). Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf.The Cryosphere. DOI: 10.5194/tc-15-5187-2021

  • Michelle L. Maclennan and Jan T. M. Lenaerts (2021). Large-Scale Atmospheric Drivers of Snowfall Over Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica.Geophysical Research Letters. DOI: 10.1029/2021GL093644

  • Sharon Stammerjohn, Theodore Scambos, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2021). Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in “State of the Climate in 2020”.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-21-0081.1

  • E. Povl Abrahamsen, Sandra Barreira,, …, Michelle Maclennan, et al. (2020). Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in “State of the Climate in 2019”. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0090.1

  • Natalie M. Freeman, Nicole S. Lovenduski, David R. Munro, Kristen M. Krumhardt, Keith Lindsay, Matthew C. Long, and Michelle Maclennan (2017). The variable and changing South Ocean Silicate Front: Insights from the CESM Large Ensemble.Global Biogeochemical Cycles. DOI: 10.1029/2017GB005816