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The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is an important and growing contributor to global sea level rise. However, the long-term influence of meltwater hydrology on GrIS dynamics (i.e. hydro-dynamics) and mass balance in a warming climate remains uncertain, partly due to our limited understanding of controls governing the large-scale spatial structure of surface drainage. Although the bed-to-surface transfer of basal topographical variations is thought to exert a key influence on surface hydrology, this is yet to be tested at the ice sheet-scale. Focussing on the contemporary GrIS, I use recent developments in the theory of bed-to-surface transfer to demonstrate that bed properties can be used to predict the surface relief of the ice sheet. Although the approach is approximate, the magnitude and spatial pattern of discrepancies with real topography are consistent with the limitations of the theory and known uncertainties of the input datasets. Additional analyses show that surface relief, which is predominantly controlled by the bed-to-surface transfer of basal topography, preconditions the large scale spatial structure of surface drainage. It follows that the spatial structure of surface drainage depends strongly on the transfer of basal topography to the ice surface. Based on these findings, I estimate the changing future distribution of surface lakes on the GrIS, which is crucial for hydro-dynamics as lakes can initiate surface-to-bed hydraulic connections through thick ice. The total volume of surface lakes is projected to increase sharply - by 172-270% - during the 21st century though the rate of increase slows between 2100 and 2300. The regional distribution of surface lakes is also projected to shift on the GrIS, from the SW to the W, NW and NE. Effects of the changing surface relief on surface lake distribution can be neglected during the 21st century, but projections beyond 2100 should incorporate them.

During the Quaternary, repeated glacial cycles left widespread deposits across Britain. These deposits hold an archive of terrestrial responses to changes in climate over the last 2.6 Ma. One such archive is the Vale of Pickering in North Yorkshire: A low-lying depression bounded on all sides save the east end by large hills comprised of Jurassic and Cretaceous bedrock. During the Late Quaternary, this natural basin was blocked by ice sheets forming large proglacial lakes. To understand the advance and retreat of the surrounding ice lobes in the Vale of York to the west and the North Sea Lobe to the east – the deposits of the Vale of Pickering are crucial; however, limited work in the area has failed to ascertain an accurate history of Lake Pickering. Using newly available high-resolution LiDAR data, field observations, historic borehole records and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, a new chronological model for Lake Pickering has been established. This shows that 1) previously estimated lake levels are too high and that during the LGM, Lake Pickering was no more than 33 m O.D. 2) Ice invaded the eastern coast of the Vale of Pickering on more than one occasion, potentially earlier than the LGM. 3) Several iterations of Lake Pickering exist with a lake during the LGM, but at least one older than 30 ka. 4) The drainage of Lake Pickering is very complex and seaward drainage likely prevailed until the eastern end became blocked by continued deposition of glacial material. This reversed the drainage through the Kirkham Gorge. 5) The use of newer geoscientific techniques like OSL and LiDAR mapping are crucial to the understanding of the palaeoenvironment of the Vale of Pickering and the continued development of these techniques are vital to further work.