Kejdi Lleshi

I am a geophysicist and a PhD candidate at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. My academic journey has taken me from Albania to France and now to Switzerland, where I am pursuing my passion for studying the Earth’s dynamics. My research interests include: Numerical modeling of wave propagation in the crust of the Earth Inverse problem theory and its applications to geophysical data Machine learning and its potential to enhance geophysical modeling and interpretation.

My current research project aims to develop a novel methodology that uses observed glacier footprints from the last glacial maximum (LGM) to infer the paleo climate that led to the formation of the glaciers. The LGM was a period of global cooling that occurred about 24,000 years ago, when ice sheets covered large parts of the Earth’s surface. By analyzing the shape and size of the glacier footprints, I hope to reconstruct the climate that influenced the glacier growth and retreat. The main tools I am using for this project are: Applied physics, to understand the physical processes that govern glacier dynamics Computational fluid dynamics, to simulate the flow of ice and air over complex terrain Machine learning, to optimize the inverse problem of estimating paleo climate parameters from glacier footprints. This project will contribute to the understanding of the past climate variability and the evolution of the cryosphere, which is the frozen component of the Earth system. This knowledge is essential for assessing the impacts of climate change on the present and future state of the glaciers and their role in the global water cycle.