Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Geospatial Analysis of Alpine Glacial Variability

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation research improvement project will use geospatial analysis to evaluate the extent of changes in remote alpine glaciers from the early 20th century to the present. The analysis will use satellite images and an archive of recently recovered air-photos from historical expeditions. Findings from the study will contribute to the limited knowledge of alpine glacier histories in remote regions, with implications for future estimates of ice loss and global sea-level change. The research will capitalize on a unique collection of historical air-photos, which have been underutilized as a source of data, thereby providing an opportunity to assess alpine glacier change on a regional scale. This study will foster a new international collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Denmark and engage undergraduate students in polar geospatial research. The doctoral student and her advisor will develop workshops for K-12 STEM teachers from the Chicago public-school district. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career. Most previous studies of remote glaciers have been restricted to the satellite era of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Thus, the long-term, Holocene, history of these glaciers and ice caps is generally not well known, despite their importance to global sea level. Of particular relevance to the future, their sensitivity to sustained periods of past warming is poorly understood. To facilitate improved estimates of past glacier activity as well as future glacier change, the doctoral student will utilize historical air-photos, Landsat and Worldview satellite data, as well as several open-sourced digital analytical tools to reconstruct historical glacier extent and area, and model glacier Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA). In combination with the related research which reconstructs long-term Holocene glacier histories using lake sediments in the same region, this complementary geospatial analysis will place 20th and 21th century glacier variability into a longer-term perspective. Although this research project will focus on alpine glaciers in South Greenland, it is highly relevant to understanding the impacts of global environmental change more broadly. The study aims to develop improved approaches for the historical analysis of glacial change, which will be useful for natural resource management in many other locations, including within the United States. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.