Korea Polar Research Institute · Principal Research Scientist

Won Sang Lee이원상

Antarctic ice–ocean interaction. Principal Investigator of LIONESS K-NOW. Chief Scientist on LIONESS TG. Field operations aboard the research vessel Araon.

About

I am a geophysicist of the cryosphere, working at the intersection of field science, technology, and international polar collaboration. My research focuses on how warm ocean water reaches grounding zones, drives ice-shelf basal melting, and contributes to future sea-level rise — with current focus on Terra Nova Bay, Thwaites Glacier, and the Getz Ice Shelf system.

Beyond the science, I am building infrastructure that outlasts any single expedition: observational systems, scientific knowledge, and a generation of early-career researchers who will carry both forward.

More about my work
The New York Times · 11 May 2026

The Hole in the Ice at the End of the Earth

An eight-week embedded narrative of the 2025–26 Thwaites Glacier hot-water drilling expedition, of which I served as Chief Scientist.

Read the feature