Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Geospatial Analysis of Alpine Glacial Variability

本博士论文研究改进项目将使用地理空间分析来评估从世纪初到现在的偏远高山冰川的变化程度。 分析将使用卫星图像和最近从历史探险中恢复的航空照片档案。 这项研究的结果将有助于对偏远地区高山冰川历史的有限了解，并对未来冰损失和全球海平面变化的估计产生影响。这项研究将利用一套独特的历史航空照片，这些照片作为数据来源没有得到充分利用，从而提供了一个在区域范围内评估高山冰川变化的机会。 这项研究将促进与丹麦自然历史博物馆的新的国际合作，并使本科生参与极地地理空间研究。 博士生和她的导师将为来自芝加哥公立学区的K-12 STEM教师举办研讨会。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将为有前途的学生提供支持，使其能够建立强大的独立研究事业。大多数以前对偏远冰川的研究仅限于20世纪末和21世纪初的卫星时代。因此，尽管这些冰川和冰盖对全球海平面很重要，但它们的长期全新世历史通常并不为人所知。与未来特别相关的是，它们对过去持续变暖的敏感性知之甚少。为了促进对过去冰川活动以及未来冰川变化的更好估计，博士生将利用历史航空照片，Landsat和Worldview卫星数据以及几个开源数字分析工具来重建历史冰川范围和面积，并模拟冰川平衡线高度（ELA）。 结合使用同一地区湖泊沉积物重建长期全新世冰川历史的相关研究，这种互补的地理空间分析将把20和21世纪冰川变异置于更长期的视角。虽然该研究项目将侧重于南格陵兰的高山冰川，但它与更广泛地了解全球环境变化的影响具有高度相关性。 该研究的目的是开发更好的方法来进行冰川变化的历史分析，这将有助于许多其他地方的自然资源管理，包括在美国。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.