Research Foci

Ice sheet modeling / Inverse modeling

Further development of PISM (Parallel Ice Sheet Model) and its application to the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet, and Finite Element modeling of ice flow and crystal fabric evolution in central regions of ice sheets.

Glacier mass balance and the response of glaciers to climate change

including observations of glacier mass changes using laser altimetry, LIDAR and GRACE, and development of mass-balance/runoff models to hindcast past and project future glacier changes using climate scenarios on local, regional and global scales.

Glacier dynamics/Ocean-glacier interactions

Focusing on fast flow (e.g. Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica), process understanding and modeling of calving dynamics at marine (e.g. Yahtze Glacier, Columbia Glacier, Alaska, and Jakobshavn, Greenland), lake-terminating glaciers (Yakutat Glacier, Alaska) and ice shelf disintegration (Antarctic Peninsula).

Glacier seismicity and underwater acoustics

Focusing on use of seismic and acoustic data to make inferences on ice dynamics, calving dynamics, subglacial hydrology, and fjord dynamics.

Ice Core Paleoclimate Studies

Ice flow and ice physical properties near ice core sites (Siple Dome, WAIS Divide, Dome C, Antarctica and Mt. Waddington, British Columbia), interpreting past climate from physical properties of ice in ice cores (especially through borehole logging).

Currently funded projects

Operation IceBridge Alaska 2013-15
2013-2015 (NASA).
C.F. Larsen, M. Truffer

Development and Evaluation of Airborne LIDAR as a Tool for Measuring the Depth and Distribution of Shallow Snow Covers
2012-2014 (CRREL).
C.F. Larsen, M. Sturm

Development and validation of an updated hydrological model for Prince William Sound, Alaska.
2012-2014. (Oil Spills Recovery Institute)
D. Hill (OSU), A. Arendt, E. Hood (UAS).

The role of tributaries in glacier surges
2011-2014 (NSF).
M. Truffer, C.F. Larsen

Assessing the Sensitivity of Alaska's Coastal Rainforest Ecosystems to Changes in Glacier Runoff.
2011-2013. (DOI/USGS Alaska Climate Science Center)
S. O'Neel (USGS), A. Arendt, E. Hood (UAS), S. Pyare (UAS).

Estimating future flood frequency and magnitude in basins affected by glacier wastage
2012-2013 (Department of Transportation)
A. ArendtR. Hock, A. Liljedahl (INE),

Future glacier and runoff changes in the Susitna drainage basin
2012-2013 (Alaska Energy Authority through DGGS)
R. Hock, A. Liljedahl (INE), G. Wolken (DGGS)

Girls on Ice: Using Immersion to Teach Fluency in Science
2011-2015 (NSF)
E. Pettit

Mass budget closure on the global inventory of mountain glacier and ice caps: Past and future sea-level rise and streamflow variability
2011-2014 (NASA)
R. Hock, J. Box (U. Ohio), R. Lammers (U. New Hampshire)

Contribution of Western Antarctic Peninsula Glaciers to Sea Level Rise: Separation of the Dynamic and Climatic Components
2011-2013 (NSF)
R. Hock, M. Braun (Uni Erlangen, Germany)

Mass budgets of Alaskan glaciers: an assessment of the dynamic contribution to sea level rise
2011-2013 (NASA)
R. Hock, A. Arendt M. Braun (Erlangen)

Volume Change of Glaciers in Alaska’s National Parks
2010-2013 (National Park Service and USGS).
C.F. Larsen, N. Murphy

Collaborative Research: Crops, climate, canals, and the cryosphere in Asia – changing water resources around the Earth’s third pole
2010-2013 (NSF) [Abstract]
R. Hock, S. Frolking (U. New Hampshire), M. Friedl (Boston U.), K. Fisher-Vanden (Penn State)

Collaborative research: Present and future contribution of glacial runoff to freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Alaska
2010-2013 (NSF), Hock, E. Hood (UAS), J. Zhang (ARSC)

A glacier-ocean observatory for tidewater glaciers
2010-2012 (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation)
M. Truffer , M. Fahnestock

The Relationship between Climate and Ice Rheology at Dome C, East Antarctica
2010-2013 (NSF)
E. Pettit

Status and Trends of Alaska NPS Glaciers
2010-2012 (NPS)
A. Arendt, B. Giffen (NPS), M. Loso (APU)

Contributions of Precipitation and Glacial Processes to Freshwater Fluxes into the Gulf of Alaska
2010-2012 (NPRB)
D. Hill (PSU), A. Arendt

P2C2 -- Ice Core Paleoclimate Records from Combatant Col, British Columbia, Canada
2009-2012 (NSF)
E. Pettit, Eric Steig (U. Washington), Doug Clark (Western Washington U.), Joe McConnell (Desert Research Institute)

Quantifying Glacier-Fjord-Ocean Interactions and Their Impact on Changing Ice Discharge: Kangia Nunata Sermia and Other Outlets, West Greenland.
2009-2012 (NSF-OPP)
M. Truffer, R. Motyka and M. Fahnestock

Investigating Hydrologic Loading in Southeast Alaska Using GRACE and GPS Data
2009-2012 (NSF)
J. Freymueller, A. Arendt

Collaborative Research: Present and future contribution of glacial runoff to freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Alaska
2009-2012 (NSF) [Abstract]
R. Hock, J. Zhang (ARSC), E. Hood (UAS)

A high resolution Parallel Ice Sheet Model including fast, sliding flow: advanced development and application
2009-2012 (NASA)
E. Bueler, R. Hock, M. Truffer, D. Maxwell, A. Aschwanden, D. DellaGiustina

The causes and future direction of the rapid thinning and acceleration of Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland
2009-2012 (NSF)
M. Truffer, M. Fahnestock (UNH), R. Motyka, M. Lüthi (ETH-Zürich), J. Amundson, J. Brown (ETH-Zürich), D. Podrasky

Relating Glacier-Generated Seismicity to Ice Motion, Basal Processes and Iceberg Calving at Yahtse Glacier, Icy Bay, Alaska
2009-2013 (NSF) [Abstract]
C.F. Larsen, Michael West, Shad O'Neel (USGS), Timothy Bartholomaus

Ocean-Ice Sheet Interaction in the Amundsen Sea: The Keystone of West Antarctic Stability.
2008-2013 (NSF OPP). Collaborators: Robert Bindschadler (NASA), Tim Stanton (Naval Postgraduate School), Sridhar Anandakrishnan and Leo Peters (Penn State), David Holland (New York University), David Vaughn (British Antarctic Survey)

LARISSA: Abrupt Environmental Change in the Larsen Ice Shelf System, a Multidisciplinary Approach -- Cryosphere and Oceans
2008-2012 (NSF)
E. Pettit, href="http://www.gi.alaska.edu/~truffer">M. Truffer, Ted Scambos (U. Colorado, NSIDC), Ellen Mosley-Thompson (Ohio State U.), Bruce Huber (Columbia LDEO), Eugene Domack (Hamilton College), Maria Vernet (Scripps Inst. Oceanography), Amy Leventer (Colgate College), and others (http://www.hamilton.edu/expeditions/larissa)

Quantifying recent mass changes of mountain glaciers in the Canadian high Arctic, the Patagonian icefields, and Eastern Greenland: An integrated approach using GRACE, airborne, and field observations
2008-2011 (NSF)
A. Arendt, W. Abdalati (U. Colorado), S. Luthcke, D. Rowlands (NASA GSFC), W. Krabill (NASA WFF)

A New Method for Observing Variability in Freshwater Discharge from Arctic and Antarctic Marine-Terminating Glaciers using Passive Acoustic Measurements
2008-2011
E. Pettit, Shad O’Neel (U. Colorado), Jeff Nystuen (U. Washington)

Anisotropy, Abrupt Climate Change, and the Deep Ice in West Antarctica
2007-2012 (NSF)
E. Pettit, Ed Waddington (U Washington)