Current Student Researchers:

Elle Anderson, Dartmouth College Senior Thesis (May, 2011) Elle is a senior Earth Science major working on her honors thesis with me analyzing part of an ice core from Greenland drilled in the summer of 2010 as part of our Greenland spatial variability project. Elle is investigating the signature of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) using sea-salt concentrations in the core. The ultimate goal is to evaluate the behavior of the NAO during the Medieval Warm Period. The ice core is being melted in the Dartmouth Ice Core Lab using discrete sampling, and will be analyzed by ion chromatography. Elle is from Vermont, races for the Dartmouth Cycling team, skis and dabbles in clothing design. Amy Burzynski, Dartmouth College Senior Thesis (May, 2011) Amy is working on her senior honors thesis with me investigating the relationship between aerosol concentration and snow chemistry at two ice core sites in Denali National Park; Mt. Hunter Plateau (3900 m) and Kahiltna Pass Basin (3050 m). These cores were collected as part of our North Pacific paleoclimate research in 2008 and 2010. Amy is comparing the ice core chemistry records to nearby aerosol station records, which have recorded data every three days since 1988. The relationships that Amy quantifies will be used to improve our paleoclimate interpretations from a deep core that we plan to collect from Mt. Hunter in the near future (proposal pending with NSF P2C2). Amy will also use back-trajectory analysis to investigate the aerosol source regions for these sites. Gifford Wong, Dartmouth College PhD (expected 2012) I am working closely with Giff as a member of his PhD research with Bob Hawley investigating the chemical and physical properties of the near-surface snow and firn on the north-central Greenland Ice Sheet. Giff is analyzing samples from a series of snow pits and shallow cores (up to 100 m deep) collected along a logistics traverse route from Thule to Summit, Greenland. Giff made two trips to Greenland in the summer of 2010, and is currently the Science Coordination Office Field Representative at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide Ice Core site in Antarctica. Giff previously spent several seasons at McMurdo Station in Antarctica as a Helicopter Technician. Giff is investigating the influence of surface melting on the upper snow/firn chemistry and physical properties for his summer research project. Dom Winski, University of Maine MSc (May, 2011) I am a member of Dom's MSc committee for his research with Karl Kreutz at UMaine investigating Arctic and North Pacific paleoclimate using ice cores and snow pits from Denali. Dom's research at UMaine has only recently begun, but he is interested in the formation and evolution of surface melt layers due to above-freezing conditions on the glacier, their use as a proxy for past temperature changes, and their impact on glaciochemical records. Dom was a member of the Denali field expedition in May, 2010, where he collect snow pit samples, melt layer observations, and download automated weather station data. Seth Campbell, University of Maine PhD (expected 2013) I am a memeber of Seth's PhD committee for his research with Karl Kreutz at UMaine and Steve Arcone at CRREL investigating the volume, velocity, and flow characterists of the Kahiltna Glacier on the Denali Massif using ice penetrating radar, GPS data, and ice flow modeling. This research has important implications for selecting a site for a potential deep (250 m long) ice core from this glacier, where we hope to find a 500+ year-long record of Arctic paleoclimate variability and atmospheric composition. Seth was a member of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 expeditions to Denali to collect data for his research as part of his MSc research, also at UMaine. Seth is also affiliated with the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, NH. EriC Kelsey, University of New Hampshire PhD (expected 2011) I am on EriC's PhD committee for his dissertation work with Cameron Wake at UNH on Late Holocene climate change in the North Pacific using ice core stable isotope and precipitation records from the Saint Elias (Eclipse site) and Alaska (Denali) Ranges. Eric will be developing an understanding of the synopic conditions that contibute to the isotope and accumulation records in the North Pacific so as to interpret the 1000+ year ice core records from this region. With a background in meteorology, EriC hopes to gain a better understanding of how synoptic scale pressure patterns and storms are related to circulation changes on annual to millennial timescales. EriC was able to collect ice cores, snowpit, and ice geophysical data on the Denali massif during our reconaissance expedition in the summer of 2008.

Recent Student Researchers: Tom Callahan, Dartmouth College Senior Thesis (May, 2010) Tom used the Mt. Logan and Eclipse ice cores to investigate the behavior of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) over the past 300 years by calibrating local meteorological station data to accumulation rate and d18O data from the two sites. Tom was also part of our expedition to Denali in May, 2009, where he assisted in collecting snow pit samples, ice penetrating radar data, downloading weather station data, and reseting the station for another year of data collection. Tom is currently working as a Laboratory Assistant in the Dartmouth Ice Core Lab.

Matthew Siegfried, Dartmouth College MSc (May, 2010) I was a member of Matt's MSc committee for his research with Bob Hawley calibrating and validating satellite laser altimetry data from the ICESat satellite. He used monthly DGPS data from Summit, Greenland in the middle of the Greenland Ice Sheet to determine the errors associated with ICESat measurements of the ice surface, which are essential for understanding the present rate of ice volume loss or accumulation in Greenland. He evaluated the cross-track slope correction algorithms, and the estimates of return energy bias from the ice surface. Mstt is currently a PhD student at Scripps working with Helen Fricker on the WISSARD project.

Anna Lugosch-Ecker, Dartmouth College Senior Thesis (May, 2010) Anna investigated the climatological controls on the mobilization and trans-Pacific transport of dust from Asian deserts to the North Pacific region using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, instrumental dust data, and the Mt. Logan PR Col ice core dust concentration dataset. By understanding the modern controls on dust concentration in the ice core, Anna used the ice core record to better understand climate conditions in Asia and the North Pacific over the Holocene. She is currently working on a publication based on her thesis research.

Tina Praprotnik, Dartmouth College Senior Thesis (May, 2009) Tina completed a senior thesis project investigating sources and trends of Asian lead (Pb) pollution in the North Pacific atmosphere based on Pb concentration and Pb isotope data from the Mt. Logan and Eclipse Icefield ice cores (Yukon, Canada). These samples were analyzed using ICP-MS and TIMS techniques, and Tina also used an airmass back-trajectory model (HYSPLIT) as part of her analyses. Tina was a member of our research expedition to Peyto Glacier (Alberta, Canada) in July, 2008, where she collected glaciochemical samples and helped Dom Winski collect ice penetrating radar and GPS data for his thesis project. Tina is currently a JD and master's of environmental management student at the Duke University Nicholas School for the Environment.

Dom Winski, Dartmouth College Senior Thesis (May, 2009) I co-advised Dom on his senior thesis project with Dr. Hawley at Dartmouth. Dom investigated recent changes in the volume of Peyto Glacier in Alberta, Canada. He used ice penetrating radar, generously loaned by Dr. Arcone from CRREL, to determine the modern volume of the glacier tounge and compare it with two previous published volume estimates from the 1980s and the 1960s collected by Gerry Holdsworth. Dom was able to collect his own ice-penetrating radar and GPS data from the Peyto Glacier during our July, 2008 expedition. Bob Hawley is presenting this research at the 2009 AGU Fall Meeting. Dom is currently a master's student working with Karl Kreutz, Cameron Wake and myself investigating North Pacific and Arctic paleoclimate variability at the University of Maine.

Ben Gross, University of Maine MSc (May, 2009) I worked with Ben, who was advised by Dr. Kreutz at UMaine, on his Master's project investigating the history and sources of Pb pollution in the North Pacific. Ben measured Pb isotopes on ice core samples from the Eclipse Site in the Saint Elias Mountains to determine if they have a similar Asian source as the nearby Mt. Logan summit plateau, or if the source is more Eurasian (former USSR) in origin. Ben collected samples for his research from Mt. Logan on an expedition with Gerry Holdsworth in 2007, and was part of the Denali ice core site reconaissance team in the summer of 2008. Ben is currently spending the winter at Summit Greenland Obervatory in the middle of the Greenland Ice Sheet as a Science Technician.

Sarah Stearn, Dartmouth College Senior Project (May, 2008) Sarah helped Mukul Sharma and I develop our laboratory and TIMS instrumental methodoligy for measuring lead isotope ratios on small volumes (~3-5 ml) of very low-concentration snow and ice samples from Mt. Logan. Sarah is currently working in the Boston area for a pharmaceutical and biotech consulting firm.