Fabien Maussion

Associate Professor
Bristol Glaciology Centre
School of Geographical Sciences
University of Bristol
University Road, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK
fabien.maussion@bristol.ac.uk
Personal website: fabienmaussion.info
ORCID: 0000-0002-3211-506X • GitHub: fmaussion • Twitter: FabClimate

Last updated: January 2024. Blue font indicates clickable links.

Professional career

From July 2023
Associate professor at the School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol
2021-2023

Associate professor at the Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences (ACINN), University of Innsbruck

Habilitation obtained in 2021 with the title “Numerical modelling of global glacier change”. The habilitation is the highest university degree in Germany and Austria. It certifies the ability to be a full professor in these countries.

2021
3 months research stay as “invited professor” (funded) at Université Grenoble Alpes & Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement
2015–2021
Assistant professor at ACINN, University of Innsbruck
2014–2015
Post-doc at ACINN, University of Innsbruck
2008–2014
PhD then Post-doc at the Chair of Climatology, Technische Universität Berlin
2006–2007
Interim year as engineering trainee – Space mechanics at C-S Group, Toulouse

Education

2008–2014

Technische Universität Berlin - Chair of Climatology – PhD thesis

PhD Thesis defended in February 2014 with the title “A new atmospheric dataset for High Asia : development, validation and applications in climatology and in glaciology” (highest honors). Supervisor: Dieter Scherer.

2007–2008
Technische Universität Berlin – International exchange year and Master degree
2008
Master degree at SUPAÉRO – Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, Toulouse (aerospace engineering school)

Awards

Wilhelm-Lauer-Preis 2014 (Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz): Prize for an outstanding, original PhD dissertation in the field of mountain geography.

Research projects conducted as PI or Co-I

2021–2024
PROVIDE – Paris Agreement Overshooting – Reversibility, Climate Impacts and Adaptation Needs (H2020, 230k€). Co-I (total consortium 6M€).
2022–2024
A future-ready Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) (DFG, 180k€, co-PI)
2023–2025
HYdro power: iMpact on the ELecTricity sector in Austria due to Climate Change in glaciated high alpine areas (HyMELT-CC) (Austrian Climate Research Programme, 50k€). Co-I (total consortium 300k€).
2021–2024
UNCERTAIN – Certainties and uncertainties in the future surface mass balance of mountain glaciers (ÖAW, 120k€, together with PhD student Lilian Schuster)
2019–2023
AgroClim - Huaraz, “Water availability and water demand in the Peruvian Andes” (ÖAW, PI, 443k€)
2022
UNESCO, IACS and WGMS support for the Randolph Glacier Inventory (PI, 20k€)
2020–2022
Scaling regional sea-level changes with climate forcings (FWF, replacing previous PI Kristin Richter)
2018–2021
Modelling glacier length changes in Alps on the base of tree-ring based temperature reconstructions (Universtität Innsbruck, 120k€, Co-I)
2019–2020
“Glaciers on the Cloud: OGGM-Edu” (PI, University of Innsbruck, 20k€)
2018–2019
The Upper Grindelwald Glacier as indicator for Holocene climate variability (Tiroler Wissenschaftsförderung - PI, TWF, 10k€)

Student supervision

PhD theses (current)

PhD theses (completed)

Visiting PhD students

24 completed master and bachelor theses. For a full list, visit my personal website.

Contributions to open source software and open data

OGGM
Open-source global glacier evolution modelling framework (oggm.org). In active development since 2016, used by several research groups worldwide and in more than 25 publications, 3 completed and 8 ongoing PhD projects. Project leader.
OGGM-Edu
Educational platform about glaciers based on the OGGM model (edu.oggm.org). Interactive applications, open-source graphics and computational notebooks applicable for teaching at the university level and for workshops. Project leader.
xarray
Array manipulation software (xarray.pydata.org) very commonly used in all fields of geosciences. Core developer since 2015.
salem
Map visualization and WRF model analysis software based on xarray (salem.readthedocs.io). Main developer.
HAR
High Asia Refined analysis (HAR), openly accessible high-resolution climate dataset for the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions, which has facilitated an estimated several dozens of peer-reviewed publications. Main developer.
RGItools
Suite of scripting tools and data accompanying the production process of the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI). Topography data (RGI-TOPO), data processing chain (RGI-scripts), and more. Project leader.

Administration and leadership

Other activities & services to the community

Teaching

For a full list of past classes and links to annual student evaluations, visit my personal website.

List of publications

52 peer-reviewed publications, h-index 29 (google scholar May 2023)

Publications written by a student under my supervision are indicated with (*), and my 10 most relevant publications are indicated with (#)

Submitted / in review

  1. Aguayo, R., Maussion, F., Schuster, L., Schaefer, M., Caro, A., Schmitt, P., Mackay, J., Ultee, L., Leon-Muñoz, J., and Aguayo, M.: Assessing the glacier projection uncertainties in the Patagonian Andes (40–56° S) from a catchment perspective, EGUsphere preprint, 2023.
  2. Hanus, S., Schuster, L., Burek, P., Maussion, F., Wada, Y., and Viviroli, D.: Coupling a large-scale glacier and hydrological model (OGGM v1.5.3 and CWatM V1.08) – Towards an improved representation of mountain water resources in global assessments, EGUsphere preprint, 2024.

Peer-reviewed

  1. Bolibar, J., Sapienza, F., Maussion, F., Lguensat, R., Wouters, B., and Pérez, F. (2023). Universal differential equations for glacier ice flow modelling. Geoscientific Model Development, 16(22), 6671–6687. doi:10.5194/gmd-16-6671-2023.
  2. Klein, C., Potter, E. R., Zauner, C., Gurgiser, W., Cruz Encarnación, R., Cochachín Rapre, A., and Maussion, F.: Farmers’ first rain: investigating dry season rainfall characteristics in the Peruvian Andes, Environmental Research Communications, 5(7), 071004, doi:10.1088/2515-7620/ace516.
  3. *Schuster, L., Rounce, D., Maussion, F.: Glacier projections sensitivity to temperature-index model choices and calibration strategies, Ann. Glaciol., 1 - 16, doi:10.1017/aog.2023.57.
  4. *Malles, J., Maussion, F., Ultee, L., Kochtitzky, W., Copland, L. and Marzeion, B.: Exploring the impact of a frontal ablation parameterization on projected 21st-century mass change for Northern Hemisphere glaciers, J. Glaciol., 1–16, doi:10.1017/jog.2023.19, 2023.
  5. Recinos, B., Maussion, F. and Marzeion, B.: Advances in data availability to constrain and evaluate frontal ablation of ice-dynamical models of Greenland’s tidewater peripheral glaciers, Ann. Glaciol., 1–7, doi:10.1017/aog.2023.11, 2023.
  6. # Rounce, D. R., Hock, R., Maussion, F., Hugonnet, R., Kochtitzky, W., Huss, M., Berthier, E., Brinkerhoff, D., Compagno, L., Copland, L., Farinotti, D., Menounos, B. and McNabb, R. W.: Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matters, Science (80)., 379(6627), 78–83, doi:10.1126/science.abo1324, 2023.
  7. Hock, R., Maussion, F., Marzeion, B. and Nowicki, S.: What is the global glacier ice volume outside the ice sheets?, J. Glaciol., 69(273), 204–210, doi:10.1017/jog.2023.1, 2023.
  8. Klein, C., Hänchen, L., Potter, E. R., Junquas, C., Harris, B. L. and Maussion, F.: Untangling the importance of dynamic and thermodynamic drivers for wet and dry spells across the Tropical Andes, Environ. Res. Lett., 18(3), 034002, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/acb72b, 2023.
  9. Windnagel, A., Hock, R., Maussion, F., Paul, F., Rastner, P., Raup, B. and Zemp, M.: Which glaciers are the largest in the world?, J. Glaciol., 69(274), 301–310, doi:10.1017/jog.2022.61, 2023.
  10. Gangadharan, N., Goosse, H., Parkes, D., Goelzer, H., Maussion, F. and Marzeion, B.: Process-based estimate of global-mean sea-level changes in the Common Era, Earth Syst. Dyn., 13(4), 1417–1435, doi:10.5194/esd-13-1417-2022, 2022.
  11. *Li, F., Maussion, F., Wu, G., Chen, W., Yu, Z., Li, Y. and Liu, G.: Influence of glacier inventories on ice thickness estimates and future glacier change projections in the Tian Shan range, Central Asia, J. Glaciol., 1–15, doi:10.1017/jog.2022.60, 2022.
  12. *Hänchen, L., Klein, C., Maussion, F., Gurgiser, W., Calanca, P. and Wohlfahrt, G.: Widespread greening suggests increased dry-season plant water availability in the Rio Santa valley, Peruvian Andes, Earth Syst. Dyn., 13(1), 595–611, doi:10.5194/esd-13-595-2022, 2022.
  13. # Furian, W., Maussion, F. and Schneider, C.: Projected 21st-Century Glacial Lake Evolution in High Mountain Asia, Front. Earth Sci., 10, doi:10.3389/feart.2022.821798, 2022.
  14. Azam, M. F., Kargel, J. S., Shea, J. M., Nepal, S., Haritashya, U. K., Srivastava, S., Maussion, F., Qazi, N., Chevallier, P., Dimri, A. P., Kulkarni, A. V, Cogley, J. G. and Bahuguna, I.: Glaciohydrology of the Himalaya-Karakoram, Science (80-. )., 373(6557), eabf3668, doi:10.1126/science.abf3668, 2021.
  15. Edwards, T. L., Nowicki, S., Marzeion, B., Hock, R., Goelzer, H., Seroussi, H., Jourdain, N. C., Slater, D. A., Turner, F. E., Smith, C. J., McKenna, C. M., Simon, E., Abe-Ouchi, A., Gregory, J. M., Larour, E., Lipscomb, W. H., Payne, A. J., Shepherd, A., Agosta, C., Alexander, P., Albrecht, T., Anderson, B., Asay-Davis, X., Aschwanden, A., Barthel, A., Bliss, A., Calov, R., Chambers, C., Champollion, N., Choi, Y., Cullather, R., Cuzzone, J., Dumas, C., Felikson, D., Fettweis, X., Fujita, K., Galton-Fenzi, B. K., Gladstone, R., Golledge, N. R., Greve, R., Hattermann, T., Hoffman, M. J., Humbert, A., Huss, M., Huybrechts, P., Immerzeel, W., Kleiner, T., Kraaijenbrink, P., Le clec’h, S., Lee, V., Leguy, G. R., Little, C. M., Lowry, D. P., Malles, J.-H., Martin, D. F., Maussion, F., Morlighem, M., O’Neill, J. F., Nias, I., Pattyn, F., Pelle, T., Price, S. F., Quiquet, A., Radić, V., Reese, R., Rounce, D. R., Rückamp, M., Sakai, A., Shafer, C., Schlegel, N.-J., Shannon, S., Smith, R. S., Straneo, F., Sun, S., Tarasov, L., Trusel, L. D., Van Breedam, J., van de Wal, R., van den Broeke, M., Winkelmann, R., Zekollari, H., Zhao, C., Zhang, T. and Zwinger, T.: Projected land ice contributions to twenty-first-century sea level rise, Nature, 593(7857), 74–82, doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03302-y, 2021.
  16. *Eis, J., van der Laan, L., Maussion, F. and Marzeion, B.: Reconstruction of Past Glacier Changes with an Ice-Flow Glacier Model: Proof of Concept and Validation, Front. Earth Sci., 9(March), 1–16, doi:10.3389/feart.2021.595755, 2021.
  17. Rounce, D. R., Hock, R., McNabb, R. W., Millan, R., Sommer, C., Braun, M. H., Malz, P., Maussion, F., Mouginot, J., Seehaus, T. C. and Shean, D. E.: Distributed global debris thickness estimates reveal debris significantly impacts glacier mass balance, Geophys. Res. Lett., doi:10.1029/2020GL091311, 2021.
  18. # *Recinos, B., Maussion, F., Noël, B., Möller, M. and Marzeion, B.: Calibration of a frontal ablation parameterisation applied to Greenland’s peripheral calving glaciers, J. Glaciol., 1–13, doi:10.1017/jog.2021.63, 2021.
  19. *Schuster, L., Maussion, F., Langhamer, L. and Moseley, G. E.: Lagrangian detection of precipitation moisture sources for an arid region in northeast Greenland: relations to the North Atlantic Oscillation, sea ice cover, and temporal trends from 1979 to 2017, Weather Clim. Dyn., 2(1), 1–17, doi:10.5194/wcd-2-1-2021, 2021.
  20. Marzeion, B., Hock, R., Anderson, B., Bliss, A., Champollion, N., Fujita, K., Huss, M., Immerzeel, W., Kraaijenbrink, P., Malles, J., Maussion, F., Radić, V., Rounce, D. R., Sakai, A., Shannon, S., Wal, R. and Zekollari, H.: Partitioning the Uncertainty of Ensemble Projections of Global Glacier Mass Change, Earth’s Futur., 8(7), doi:10.1029/2019ef001470, 2020.
  21. Pelto, B. M., Maussion, F., Menounos, B., Radić, V. and Zeuner, M.: Bias-corrected estimates of glacier thickness in the Columbia River Basin, Canada, J. Glaciol., 1–13, doi:10.1017/jog.2020.75, 2020.
  22. # Zemp, M., Huss, M., Thibert, E., Eckert, N., McNabb, R., Huber, J., Barandun, M., Machguth, H., Nussbaumer, S. U., Gärtner-Roer, I., Thomson, L., Paul, F., Maussion, F., Kutuzov, S. and Cogley, J. G.: Global glacier mass changes and their contributions to sea-level rise from 1961 to 2016, Nature, 568(7752), 382–386, doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1071-0, 2019.
  23. *Recinos, B., Maussion, F., Rothenpieler, T. and Marzeion, B.: Impact of frontal ablation on the ice thickness estimation of marine-terminating glaciers in Alaska, Cryosph., 13(10), 2657–2672, doi:10.5194/tc-13-2657-2019, 2019.
  24. # Maussion, F., Butenko, A., Champollion, N., Dusch, M., Eis, J., Fourteau, K., Gregor, P., Jarosch, A. H., Landmann, J., Oesterle, F., Recinos, B., Rothenpieler, T., Vlug, A., Wild, C. T. and Marzeion, B.: The Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) v1.1, Geosci. Model Dev., 12(3), 909–931, doi:10.5194/gmd-12-909-2019, 2019.
  25. Horak, J., Hofer, M., Maussion, F., Gutmann, E., Gohm, A. and Rotach, M. W.: Assessing the added value of the Intermediate Complexity Atmospheric Research (ICAR) model for precipitation in complex topography, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23(6), 2715–2734, doi:10.5194/hess-23-2715-2019, 2019.
  26. *Eis, J., Maussion, F. and Marzeion, B.: Initialization of a global glacier model based on present-day glacier geometry and past climate information: an ensemble approach, Cryosph., 13(12), 3317–3335, doi:10.5194/tc-13-3317-2019, 2019.
  27. *Zolles, T., Maussion, F., Galos, S. P., Gurgiser, W. and Nicholson, L.: Robust uncertainty assessment of the spatio-temporal transferability of glacier mass and energy balance models, Cryosph., 13(2), 469–489, doi:10.5194/tc-13-469-2019, 2019.
  28. # Farinotti, D., Huss, M., Fürst, J. J., Landmann, J., Machguth, H., Maussion, F. and Pandit, A.: A consensus estimate for the ice thickness distribution of all glaciers on Earth, Nat. Geosci., 12(3), 168–173, doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0300-3, 2019.
  29. Strasser, U., Marke, T., Braun, L., Escher-Vetter, H., Juen, I., Kuhn, M., Maussion, F., Mayer, C., Nicholson, L., Niedertscheider, K., Sailer, R., Stötter, J., Weber, M. and Kaser, G.: The Rofental: a high Alpine research basin ( 1890–3770 m a.s.l.) in the Ötztal Alps (Austria) with over 150 years of hydrometeorological and glaciological observations, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10(1), 151–171, doi:10.5194/essd-10-151-2018, 2018.
  30. Goosse, H., Barriat, P.-Y., Dalaiden, Q., Klein, F., Marzeion, B., Maussion, F., Pelucchi, P. and Vlug, A.: Testing the consistency between changes in simulated climate and Alpine glacier length over the past millennium, Clim. Past, 14(8), 1119–1133, doi:10.5194/cp-14-1119-2018, 2018.
  31. # Marzeion, B., Kaser, G., Maussion, F. and Champollion, N.: Limited influence of climate change mitigation on short-term glacier mass loss, Nat. Clim. Chang., 8, doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0093-1, 2018.
  32. Mölg, T., Maussion, F., Collier, E., Chiang, J. C. H. and Scherer, D.: Prominent mid-latitude circulation signature in High Asia’s surface climate during monsoon, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 1–11, doi:10.1002/2017JD027414, 2017.
  33. Galos, S. P., Klug, C., Maussion, F., Covi, F., Nicholson, L., Rieg, L., Gurgiser, W., Mölg, T. and Kaser, G.: Reanalysis of a 10-year record (2004–2013) of seasonal mass balances at Langenferner/Vedretta Lunga, Ortler Alps, Italy, Cryosph., 11(3), 1417–1439, doi:10.5194/tc-11-1417-2017, 2017.
  34. Farinotti, D., Brinkerhoff, D. J., Clarke, G. K. C., Fürst, J. J., Frey, H., Gantayat, P., Gillet-Chaulet, F., Girard, C., Huss, M., Leclercq, P. W., Linsbauer, A., Machguth, H., Martin, C., Maussion, F., Morlighem, M., Mosbeux, C., Pandit, A., Portmann, A., Rabatel, A., Ramsankaran, R., Reerink, T. J., Sanchez, O., Stentoft, P. A., Singh Kumari, S., van Pelt, W. J. J., Anderson, B., Benham, T., Binder, D., Dowdeswell, J. A., Fischer, A., Helfricht, K., Kutuzov, S., Lavrentiev, I., McNabb, R., Gudmundsson, G. H., Li, H. and Andreassen, L. M.: How accurate are estimates of glacier ice thickness? Results from ITMIX, the Ice Thickness Models Intercomparison eXperiment, Cryosph., 11(2), 949–970, doi:10.5194/tc-11-949-2017, 2017.
  35. Spiess, M., Schneider, C. and Maussion, F.: MODIS-derived interannual variability of the equilibrium line altitude across the Tibetan Plateau, Ann. Glaciol., 57(71), 140–154, doi:10.3189/2016AoG71A014, 2016.
  36. Otto, M., Höpfner, C., Curio, J., Maussion, F. and Scherer, D.: Assessing vegetation response to precipitation in northwest Morocco during the last decade: an application of MODIS NDVI and high resolution reanalysis data, Theor. Appl. Climatol., 123(1–2), 23–41, doi:10.1007/s00704-014-1344-3, 2016.
  37. Biskop, S., Maussion, F., Krause, P. and Fink, M.: Differences in the water-balance components of four lakes in the southern-central Tibetan Plateau, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci, 20, 209–225, doi:10.5194/hess-20-209-2016, 2016.
  38. Zhu, M., Yao, T., Yang, W., Maussion, F., Huintjes, E. and Li, S.: Energy- and mass-balance comparison between Zhadang and Parlung No. 4 glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, J. Glaciol., 61(227), 595–607, doi:10.3189/2015JoG14J206, 2015.
  39. Spiess, M., Maussion, F., Möller, M., Scherer, D. and Schneider, C.: Modis derived equilibrium line altitude estimates for purogangri ice cap, tibetan plateau, and their relation to climatic predictors (2001–2012), Geogr. Ann. Ser. A, Phys. Geogr., 97(3), 599–614, doi:10.1111/geoa.12102, 2015.
  40. Huintjes, E., Sauter, T., Schröter, B., Maussion, F., Yang, W., Kropáček, J., Buchroithner, M., Scherer, D., Kang, S. and Schneider, C.: Evaluation of a Coupled Snow and Energy Balance Model for Zhadang Glacier, Tibetan Plateau, Using Glaciological Measurements and Time-Lapse Photography, Arctic, Antarct. Alp. Res., 47(3), 573–590, doi:10.1657/AAAR0014-073, 2015.
  41. Curio, J., Maussion, F. and Scherer, D.: A 12-year high-resolution climatology of atmospheric water transport over the Tibetan Plateau, Earth Syst. Dyn., 6(1), 109–124, doi:10.5194/esd-6-109-2015, 2015.
  42. Collier, E., Maussion, F., Nicholson, L. I., Mölg, T., Immerzeel, W. W. and Bush, a. B. G.: Impact of debris cover on glacier ablation and atmosphere–glacier feedbacks in the Karakoram, Cryosph., 9(4), 1617–1632, doi:10.5194/tc-9-1617-2015, 2015.
  43. # Maussion, F., Gurgiser, W., Großhauser, M., Kaser, G. and Marzeion, B.: ENSO influence on surface energy and mass balance at Shallap Glacier, Cordillera Blanca, Peru, Cryosph., 9(4), 1663–1683, doi:[10.5194/tc-9-1663-2015, 2015.
  44. # Mölg, T., Maussion, F. and Scherer, D.: Mid-latitude westerlies as a driver of glacier variability in monsoonal High Asia, Nat. Clim. Chang., 4(1), 68–73, doi:10.1038/nclimate2055, 2014.
  45. # Maussion, F., Scherer, D., Mölg, T., Collier, E., Curio, J. and Finkelnburg, R.: Precipitation Seasonality and Variability over the Tibetan Plateau as Resolved by the High Asia Reanalysis, J. Clim., 27(5), 1910–1927, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00282.1, 2014.
  46. Dietze, E., Maussion, F., Ahlborn, M., Diekmann, B., Hartmann, K., Henkel, K., Kasper, T., Lockot, G., Opitz, S. and Haberzettl, T.: Sediment transport processes across the Tibetan Plateau inferred from robust grain-size end members in lake sediments, Clim. Past, 10(1), 91–106, doi:10.5194/cp-10-91-2014, 2014.
  47. Collier, E., Nicholson, L. I., Brock, B. W., Maussion, F., Essery, R. and Bush, a. B. G.: Representing moisture fluxes and phase changes in glacier debris cover using a reservoir approach, Cryosph., 8(4), 1429–1444, doi:10.5194/tc-8-1429-2014, 2014.
  48. Kropacek, J., Maussion, F., Chen, F., Hoerz, S., Hochschild, V. and Kropáček, J.: Analysis of ice phenology of lakes on the Tibetan Plateau from MODIS data, Cryosph., 7(1), 287–301, doi:10.5194/tc-7-287-2013, 2013.
  49. Collier, E., Mölg, T., Maussion, F., Scherer, D., Mayer, C. and Bush, a. B. G.: High-resolution interactive modelling of the mountain glacier–atmosphere interface: an application over the Karakoram, Cryosph., 7(3), 779–795, doi:10.5194/tc-7-779-2013, 2013.
  50. Mölg, T., Maussion, F., Yang, W. and Scherer, D.: The footprint of Asian monsoon dynamics in the mass and energy balance of a Tibetan glacier, Cryosph., 6(6), 1445–1461, doi:10.5194/tc-6-1445-2012, 2012.
  51. Maussion, F., Scherer, D., Finkelnburg, R., Richters, J., Yang, W. and Yao, T.: WRF simulation of a precipitation event over the Tibetan Plateau, China – an assessment using remote sensing and ground observations, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15(6), 1795–1817, doi:10.5194/hess-15-1795-2011, 2011.
  52. Bolch, T., Yao, T., Kang, S., Buchroithner, M. F., Scherer, D., Maussion, F., Huintjes, E. and Schneider, C.: A glacier inventory for the western Nyainqentanglha Range and the Nam Co Basin, Tibet, and glacier changes 1976-2009, Cryosph., 4(3), 419–433, doi:10.5194/tc-4-419-2010, 2010.

Field work

Invited presentations (selection)

Press (selection)

Other