Eñaut Izagirre

Originally from Elgoibar near the Basque Coast, Eñaut grew up on the rocky mountains of the Basque Country and the Pyrenees, where his fascination to the landscape and gorgeous mountains led him to study Geography at the University of the Basque Country.  Then, he continued his studies in Punta Arenas, Chilean Patagonia, where he lived from 2013 to 2016 studying a MSc in Glaciology and working as a researcher at the Universidad de Magallanes. He completed his MSc thesis on the neoglacial advances of the Marinelli glacier in the Cordillera Darwin and he participated in numerous sailing, kayaking and climbing expeditions into this remote mountain range and the Patagonian channels and fjords.

In 2015, Eñaut received support from National Geographic Society to conduct research in the southernmost unknown icefield in South America. He and the rest of the Incognita Patagonia team returned from Tierra del Fuego with an improved understanding of the region’s glacial history and an appreciation for adventure in ‘terra incognita’, having traversed the Cloue Icefield and ascended two previously unclimbed peaks.

Nowadays, he is back in the Basque Country working on a PhD research course at the University of the Basque Country, but still being linked to Patagonia. His thesis is focused on the glaciological status of the Cordillera Darwin Icefield under climate change effects. For that, he is exploring the link between glacier and glacial lakes variations, and the climate sensitivity and snow accumulation in the icefield, to provide the comprehension of GLOF regional disastrous events for future worldwide studies.