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20世纪初至今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。这项研究的发现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。这项研究将利用一组独特的历史航空照片，这些照片作为数据来源尚未得到充分利用，从而为在区域范围内评估高山冰川的变化提供了机会。这项研究将促进与丹麦自然历史博物馆的新的国际合作，并吸引本科生参与极地地理空间研究。这位博士生和她的导师将为芝加哥公立学区的K-12 STEM教师举办研讨会。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。以前对偏远冰川的研究大多局限于20世纪末和21世纪初的卫星时代。因此，尽管这些冰川和冰帽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，人们对它们对过去持续变暖时期的敏感性知之甚少。为了改进对过去冰川活动和未来冰川变化的估计，博士生将利用历史航空照片、Landsat和Worldview卫星数据，以及几个开源的数字分析工具来重建历史冰川的范围和面积，并模拟冰川平衡线高度（ELA）。结合利用同一地区湖泊沉积物重建全新世冰川历史的相关研究，这一互补的地理空间分析将把20世纪和21世纪的冰川变化置于一个更长远的视角。虽然这个研究项目将集中在南格陵兰的高山冰川上，但它与更广泛地理解全球环境变化的影响高度相关。这项研究旨在为冰川变化的历史分析开发改进的方法，这将对包括美国在内的许多其他地方的自然资源管理有用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.