Professor Liz Morris, glaciologist
Summary
Glaciologist Professor Liz Morris joins Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs, sharing her pioneering career in polar science and breaking barriers for women in the field. She recounts thrilling expeditions, including a tense encounter with a polar bear in the Arctic and becoming the first British woman to camp in Antarctica. Morris reflects on her upbringing, her love for Bach and Tom Waits, and her enduring passion for climate research.
Topics discussed
Introduction to Desert Island Discs and guest Liz Morris
The beauty and isolation of the polar environment
Encounter with a polar bear in a crate in Spitsbergen
Childhood, parents, and early influences
First choice: Paul Robeson's Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Father's wartime service and early reading habits
Second choice: Bach's Goldberg Variations
Physics studies at Bristol and glacier research
Third choice: Carol Nunn and Welsh heritage
Postdoc work under a glacier in Greenland
Fourth choice: Handel's Messiah and mentoring scientists
Leading the Ice and Climate Division and ozone hole
Fifth choice: Tom Waits' Old 55
Later expeditions and training younger colleagues
Extreme cold and danger in Greenland
Morris Glacier and final choice: Beethoven's Fifth
Book choice, luxury item, and closing remarks
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