Degrees

PhD in Earth System Science (University of Minnesota, USA) 

BSc (Hons) first class (University of Edinburgh, UK) 

Research interests

I am an Assistant Professor in Natural Hazards in the departments of Geography and Earth Sciences, and head of the Cambridge Complex and Multihazard research group (CoMHaz). I work broadly on multihazard, in particular focusing on landslides, volcanoes, cryospheric hazards, and the interactions between these. I have wide ranging research interests, in particular integrating remote sensing, numerical modelling, and fieldwork to understand the interactions between multiple hazards.

Some specific area I am currently working on are:

- Evaluating hazard and risk at ice-clad volcanoes. Despite being by far the most deadly type of volcanic eruption over the past century, many aspects of glaciovolcanic systems remain poorly understood. This is particularly important and timely to study given the rapid changes these areas are undergoing in a warming climate.

- Large scale landslide detection using satellite imagery, including development of new methods for detecting landslides and assessing the quality of inventories.

- Developing novel methods to detect movement in digital imagery, in particular applied to the mapping of ice velocities and detection of slow-moving landslides.

- Understanding the two-way interactions between glacial retreat and landsliding. Glacier retreat can increase landslide frequency and magnitude, but also be affected by landslide emplacement in various ways.

Teaching Interests

I teach broadly on natural hazards at both an undergraduate and masters level.

Awards and prizes

Grove Karl Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research, American Association of Geographers (2022) 

Doctoral dissertation Fellowship, University of Minnesota (2021)

Outstanding Student Poster and Presentation, European Geophysical Union (2021)            

College of Science and Engineering Fellowship, University of Minnesota (2018-2021)

Outstanding Student Presentation Award, American Geophysical Union (2020) 

Outstanding Student Presentation Award, American Geophysical Union (2019)

Geological Society of America student research award (2020)

Discover Magazine top 100 science stories of the year (2018)

Publications

Van Wyk de Vries M., Arrell K., Basyal G., Densmore A., Dhital M., Dunant A., Harvey E., Jimee G., Kincey M., Li S., Pujara D., Shrestha R., Rosser N., Dadson S. (2024) Detection of slow-moving landslides through automated satellite monitoring of surface deformation. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5775

Geyer A., Di Roberto A., Smellie J., Van. Wyk de Vries M., Panter K., Martin A., Cooper J., Young D., Pompilio M., Kyle P., Blankenship D. (2023) Volcanism in Antarctica: An assessment of the present state of research and future directions. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2023.10794

Vibhor A., Van Wyk de Vries, M., Haritashya U., Chen Y., Garg S., Kargel J., Shugar D. (2023) Long-term analysis of glaciers and glacier lakes in the Central and Eastern Himalaya. Science of The Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165598

Jó, V., Van Wyk de Vries, M., Ignéczi, A., Mari, L., Nagy, B. (2023) Glacier surface velocity fluctuation and ice thickness change reveal massive ice volume loss in the Tinguiririca basin, Central Andes of Chile. Global and Planetary Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104287

Zheng, W., Bhushan, S., Van Wyk De Vries, M., Kochtitzky, W., Shean, D., Copland, L., Dow, C., Jones-Ivey, R., and Pérez, F. (2023): GLAcier Feature Tracking testkit (GLAFT): A statistically- and physically-based framework for evaluating glacier velocity products derived from satellite image feature tracking, The Cryosphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4063-2023.

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Ito, E., Shapley M., Romero M., Brignone G. (2023) Investigating paleoclimate and current climatic controls at Lago Argentino using sediment pixel intensity time series. Journal of Paleolimnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-023-00296-7.

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Romero, M., Penprase S., Wickert, A., Ng, C. G.-H. (2023) Accelerating 21st century mass-loss of the Patagonian Icefields from proglacial river discharge. Journal of Glaciology, 1-16. doi:10.1017/jog.2023.9.

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Ito, E., Shapley M., Romero M., Brignone G. (2023) Periodicity of the Southern Annular Mode in Southern Patagonia. Quaternary Science Reviews. 304, 108009, doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108009

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Lea, J., Ashmore, D. (2023) Crevasse density, orientation, and temporal variability at Narsap Sermia, Greenland. International Glaciological Society. Journal of Glaciology. doi:10.1017/jog.2023.9

Singh, H., Varade, D., Van Wyk de Vries, M., Manish Rawat, M., Awasthi, S., Rawat, D. (2023) Present and future glacial lake outburst flood hazards in the Hunza valley. Science of the Total Environment. 868, 161717, doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161717

Van Wyk de Vries M., Carchipulla-Morales D., Wickert A., Minaya V. (2022) Glacier thickness and ice volume of the Northern Andes. Nature Scientific Data. 9, 342. doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01446-8

Van Wyk de Vries M., Wickert A., Rada C., MacGregor K., Willis M. (2022) Aypical landslide and-induced surge of a tidewater glacier. Geology. 50 (7), 806-811. doi.org/10.1130/G49854.1

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Bhushan, S., Jacquemart, M., Deschamps-Berger, C., Berthier, E., Gascoin, S., Shean, D. E., Shugar, D. H., and Kääb, A. (2022)  Pre-collapse motion of the February 2021 Chamoli rock-ice avalanche, Indian Himalaya, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Ito, E., Shapley M., Brignone G., Romero M., Wickert A., Miller L., MacGregor K. (2022) Limnology and sediment dynamics of Lago Argentino, the world's largest ice-contact lake. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. 127(3). doi.org/10.1029/2022JF006598

Shugar, D. H., Jacquemart, M., Shean, D., Bhushan, S., Upadhyay, K., Sattar, A., McBride, S., Schwanghart, W., Van Wyk de Vries, M. et al. (2021). A massive rock and ice avalanche caused the 2021 disaster at Chamoli, Indian Himalaya. Science. doi.org/10.1126/science.abh4455

Leger T. P. M., Hein A. S., Goldberg D., Schimmelpfennig I., Van Wyk de Vries M., Bingham R. G. (2021) Northeastern Patagonian glacier advances (43°S) reflect northward migration of the Southern Westerlies towards the end of the last glaciation. Frontiers in Earth Science. doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.751987

Van Wyk de Vries M., and Rambabu L., (2021) Interaction between COVID-19 and natural disasters: results from an agent-based epidemiology model. Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling. doi.org/10.1186/s12976-021-00151-0

Van Wyk de Vries M. and Wickert A. (2021) Glacier Image Velocimetry: an open-source toolbox for easy and rapid calculation of high-resolution glacier-velocity fields. The Cryosphere. doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2115-2021

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Ito, E., Shapley M., Brignone G. (2021) Semi-automated counting of complex varves through image autocorrelation: an open-source toolbox. Quaternary Research. doi.org/10.1017/qua.2021.10

Rodriguez, I., Páez, J., Godoy, B., Van Wyk de Vries, M., Van Wyk de Vries, B. (2020). Dynamics and physical parameters of the Lastarria debris avalanche, Central Andes. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 402, 106990. doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2020.106990

Van Wyk de Vries, M. (2018). A glacial control on the eruption rate of Mt Erebus, Antarctica. Advances in Polar Science, 165-180. doi.org/10.13679/j.advps.2018.3.00165

Van Wyk de Vries, B., & Van Wyk de Vries, M. (2018). Tectonics and Volcanic and Igneous Plumbing Systems. In Volcanic and Igneous Plumbing Systems (pp. 167-189). Elsevier. doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809749-6.00007-8

Van Wyk de Vries, M., Bingham, R. G., & Hein, A. S. (2018). A new volcanic province: an inventory of subglacial volcanoes in West Antarctica. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 461(1), 231-248. doi.org/10.1144/SP461.7

Other interests

I have collaborated widely with museums, media professionals, and policymakers on outreach, education, and policy development. I have raised funding for outreach and education projects, including school visits in the US and UK, the production of a short film on Scotland's glacial heritage (https://www.dundeeglacier.com/), the filming of a 90-minute documentary on volcano-ice interactions in Iceland (https://www.cocottesminute.fr/documentaire/cataclysmes-les-grands-regul…), and an outreach book on volcanoes in Antarctica (https://scar.org/scar-news/antvolc news/antvolc-book/).