Quaternary ice ages, and their rapid terminations, altogether provide an incredible natural experiment played out by the earth system that can be studied to understand the underlying dynamics of Earth’s climate. To this end, I examine the history of Earth’s mountain glaciers, ice sheets, and hydrological systems in order develop insights into how interactions among Earth’s systems produce glacial cycles and abrupt climate change.  I study these interactions from the ‘ground up’ by targeting the geomorphological footprints of glaciers, ice-sheets, and closed-basin lakes. My approach involves surface mapping, geochronology, and numerical modeling. Using this approach, I hope to develop insights into the fundamental operation of Earth’s climate system and to clarify how the system responds to natural and human forcing factors.