Specialty
Thermal geophysics, polar sciences, climate change
Research Interests
Heat-transfer processes in earth & planetary systems, polar climate-change detection (past and present), the cryosphere, planetary studies
Bio
My research focuses on high-precision temperature measurement, analysis, and modeling to better understand processes in cold earth & planetary systems. This research focuses on climate-change detection, both past and present, the environmental conditions controlling various features of the cryosphere (e.g., permafrost, ice-covered lakes, cryovolcanoes), and the response of those features to climate change. In support of these investigations, I have done extensive field work in Antarctica, Greenland, and arctic Alaska. Modeling studies range from the earth's polar regions to Mars and the outer solar system.
Awards
- Excellence in Partnering Award, National Oceanographic Partnership Program, 2010
- USGS Science Strategy Success Stories Award, U.S. Geological Survey, 2008
- Clow Island named in recognition of superior research contributions in Antarctica, U.S. Board on Geographic Names, 2000
- Superior Service Award, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1998
- Antarctic Service Medal of the United States, U.S. Department of Defense, 1986