Look how majestic I am.
PhD Student
• Permafrost carbon biogeochemistry • Atmospheric hydrological cycle • Polar ice cores
Geological Sciences

Stable Isotope Lab
Advisor: Tyler Jones

Bio

I work on several projects within INSTAAR's Stable Isotope Lab (SIL) and am the mission leader for SIL's drone program.

I work to develop UAV methods of constraining methane release from thermokarst lakes and help understand their role in abrupt carbon release in permafrost regions. This idea blossomed from my work in Greenland where I continue to use a fixed wing drone flying up to 1500m to sample water vapor. Water vapor isotopes above the surface of an ice sheet helps us understand how their signals are encoded into the ice and allows us to hone in on the uncertainty of future mass-balance.

Before I was a PhD sudent, I worked in collaboration with NOAA's Global Monitoring Division. I characterized the stable isotopic composition of methane and carbon dioxide from locations all around the world. We use this information to better understand the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in atmospheric models. These models in turn give us one of our best chances to understand climate change as it changes our world. Find out more here: NOAA GML

Past education

  • MS (Applied Physics): Colorado School of Mines, 2016
  • BS (Engineering Physics): Colorado School of Mines, 2015
  • St. Philip's Preschool, 1997

Awards

  • Deepest toilet dug at EGRIP camp (Greenland Ice Sheet), by like...a lot, 2019. If anyone tells you otherwise please let me know so I can correct their lies.

Research

Example publication

Rozmiarek, K., Vaughn, B. H., Jones, T., Morris, V., Skorski, W., Hughes, A. G., Elston, J., Wahl, S., Faber, A. K., Steen-Larsen, H. C., 2021: An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 14(11): 7045-7067. DOI: 10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021