FALL 2012 The Icebreaker - University of Kansas · 2014-04-22 · The Icebreaker // Fall 2012 2 The...

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C E N T E R F O R R E M O T E S E N S I N G O F I C E S H E E T S

FALL 2012

The Icebreaker

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// by Bill Daehler

Dr. Dahl-Jensen Publishes Paper in Prominent Journal

(article continues on page 3)

Dahl-Jensen delivers her lecture on Nov. 1, 2012 at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Dorthe Dahl-Jensen recently visited

the University of Kansas (KU) to discuss

research presented in a new article in

Nature; the research was significantly

supported by CReSIS researchers

and technology.

“CReSIS has been a really, really

important part of the project,” said

Dahl-Jensen, a professor at the Niels Bohr

Institute at the University of Copenhagen

and Chairperson of the Scientific Steering

Committee, which runs the NEEM project.

NEEM—or The North Greenland Eemian

Ice Drilling—is an international research

project that drills ice cores to study the

climactic history of the Earth. NEEM is

managed by the Danish Centre for Ice and

Climate and is supported by international

partners, including the National Science

Foundation (NSF). The research conducted

at NEEM is truly an international effort

with 14 partner nations sending scientists

and students to participate. In a presenta-

tion at KU, Dahl-Jensen showed a video of

busy researchers studying ice cores and

said that no two of the researchers in the

lab “are from the same nation.”

The “Eemian” part of the NEEM acro-

nym refers to the previous interglacial

period, which ended about 115,000 years

ago. By studying this period, researchers

are able to develop better projections of

how our current climate will evolve. The

NEEM camp is located in Northwest Green-

land and has hosted CReSIS researchers

multiple times. CReSIS was most recently at

the NEEM camp from June to July this sum-

mer to collect seismic measurements and

ground-based radar measurements.

“The site was selected based on findings

from CReSIS,” said Dahl-Jensen.

According to Dahl-Jensen, the selection

was made based on radio-echo layers from

CReSIS, and since then CReSIS has made

significant contributions by making a grid

around the NEEM camp. The grid—created

by a team led CReSIS’ Dr. Carl Leuschen in

2008—makes it “possible both to make a very

detailed detection of where the bedrock is,”

said Dahl-Jensen, “and to map the base lay-

ers.”

Nature Paper

Nature, one of the most prestigious scientific

journals in the world, published the research

findings from the NEEM project on (insert

publication date here). Though Dahl-Jen-

sen leads the NEEM projects, the Nature

paper is a community paper with contri-

butions from various NEEM partners.

“The paper covers several different find-

ings,” said Dahl-Jensen.

First, they did find ice from the Eemian

period, but it has been disturbed. Using

radio-echograms from CReSIS, research-

ers can look at why this is happening.

Second, by using climate parameters,

researchers can measure ice cores from


The students Gillette mentored were

mathematics students pursuing careers as

K-12 math teachers. Gillette said that work-

ing with future educators was a great oppor-

tunity, and he hopes to have more of them in

next summer’s program.

“We’ve been trying to get some pre-service

teachers to give them some strategies they

can use before getting into the classroom,”

said Gillette. “We wanted to take them away

from memorization and get them focusing on

the thought process.”

Malcom McConner was just one of three

students mentored by Gillette during this

summer’s REU program. A senior at Eliza-

beth City State University majoring in edu-

cation with a math concentration, McCon-

ner plans on pursuing a career teaching

math following his graduation. His research

project looked at how precipitation and tem-

perature contribute to the decreasing

of glacier mass.

“Brandon spent a lot of time work-

ing with them,” said Cheri Hamilton, the

CReSIS K-12 Education Coordinator. “He

spent time working with them one-on-

one; I think that was very helpful.”

In addition to McConner, Gillette also

mentored Marvin Elder II, a senior at Mis-

sissippi Valley State University, and Erica

Peterson, a sophomore at Mississippi Val-

ley State University.

“Thanks to his efforts the students now

have an elevated understanding of how

precipitation and temperature contribute

to the decrease of Glacier Mass Balance

and have developed CReSIS lesson plans

to share this information with the next

generation,” said Hayden.

// by Bill Daehler

CSO Honors CReSIS GRA with Mentor Award

Brandon Gillette, a CReSIS Graduate Re-

search Assistant at the University of Kan-

sas, has been awarded the CSO Mentoring

Award for his exemplary work with three

undergraduate students in this summer’s

CReSIS REU Program.

“The CReSIS Graduate Student Mentor-

ing Award was enacted to recognize the

outstanding contribution that our gradu-

ate students make to the CReSIS educa-

tion and outreach efforts,” said Dr. Linda

Hayden, CReSIS Associate Director of

Education and Operations at Elizabeth City

State University.

“This award is for M.A. and Ph.D. stu-

dents who put forth the extra effort to sup-

port their students,” said Gillette. “So, to

be selected is pretty cool!”

The CSO award acknowledges Master’s

and Ph.D. graduate students at CReSIS

institutions who have greatly contributed

to the research and professional develop-

ment of future scientists and engineers.

Gillette, a Ph.D. student in Geography,

will receive a certificate and $500 from

the CReSIS Student Organization, or CSO,

in recognition of his efforts. Recipients of

this award must meet a number of quali-

fications established by CReSIS, including

the following:

The awardee has worked collaborative-

ly for four or more weeks with a team of

one or more undergraduate students on a

CReSIS related project.

The awardee must have the recommen-

dation of a CReSIS faculty member to be

considered for this award.

Awardees agree to give a talk with

their mentees as part of the All-Hands

lecture series.

Brandon Gillette, 2012 CSO Mentor Award recipient, in Antarctica.


Dr. Dahl-Jensen Publishes Paper in Prominent Journal

(article continued from page 1)

Prof. Dorthe Dahl-Jensen of the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen.

For CReSIS data featured in Dr. Dahl-Jensen’s paper, please click on the three links below:

ftp://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/2011_Greenland_P3/pdf/20110329_01.pdfftp://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/2011_Greenland_P3/pdf/20110329_02.pdfftp://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/2011_Greenland_P3/pdf/20110506_01.pdf

both Greenland and Antarctica, which al-

lows scientists to compare and date ice to

create an ice core record.

“When we reconstruct the records and

make the climate interpretation, we’re

capable of producing a climate record

through the Eemian period,” said Dahl-

Jensen, “we had temperatures as high

as 8 degrees above the present and that’s

very high compared to other paleo-climate

records of this period.”

They have also found variations in the el-

evation and volume of ice that comprises the

Greenland ice sheet. This allowed NEEM re-

searchers to examine how these factors in-

fluence sea level rise.

“The final finding is that when we go into

the very warm part of the Eemian period we

see that there has been significant surface

melt,” said Dahl-Jensen.

She said researchers identified surface

melt by ice layers that don’t have any air

bubbles, meaning there is lower air content.

They were also able to identify parameters

like methane, which shows large spikes that

correspond with lower air content.

KU VISIT

Dahl-Jensen spent about a week in Law-

rence, Kansas visiting with University of

Kansas faculty, staff, and students. She was

invited to KU by the University’s Provost

and Executive Vice Chancellor Jeffrey S.

Vitter. During her visit, Dahl-Jensen gave

a presentation at Spooner Hall on the KU

campus as part of the University’s “Bold

Aspirations Visitor and Lecture Series.”

Her lecture, entitled Greenland Ice Cores

Inform on Past Warm Climate Periods, at-

tracted an audience of more than 60 fac-

ulty, students, and local community mem-

bers. A reception followed the lecture.

In her presentation, Dahl-Jensen high-

lighted many of the findings from the

NEEM projects and cited CReSIS contri-

butions multiple times.

To read Dr. Dahl-Jensen’s paper in

Nature please click on the link below:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7433/full/na-ture11789.html

CReSIS’ Education Outreach Strengthen Science-teaching Skills in Future Educators

// by Darryl Monteau & Jennifer Salva

Cheri Hamilton, CReSIS K-12 Education

Outreach Coordinator, typically gives “Ice

Ice, Baby” lessons to elementary, middle

and high school students to spread aware-

ness of our Earth’s changing climate and

inspire future scientists. Recently, Ham-

ilton presented the same lessons to stu-

dents at Haskell Indian Nations Univer-

sity who are training to become educators

themselves.

Hamilton worked with students in the El-

ementary Teacher Education Program (ETEP)

in Haskell’s School of Education. According

to the Haskell Indian Nations University web-

site, this program prepares students for pro-

fessional teacher licensure for kindergarten

through sixth grade.

Her lessons not only taught Haskell’s ed-

ucation students the principles of glaciol-

ogy, but also introduced them to methods of

teaching science to elementary school stu-

dents. “Many elementary teachers are un-

comfortable teaching science and don’t know

how to ask proper science questions,” Ham-

ilton said.

Hamilton teaches the future educators

how to pose thought-provoking questions to

young students. “No yes or no questions, and

don’t ask why,” Hamilton said. She teaches

the importance of making students feel

comfortable answering questions about

science. Instead of searching for a cor-

rect answer, it is important to get elemen-

tary students thinking and talking to their

peers.

Haskell Indian Nations University, lo-

cated in Lawrence, Kansas, educates

members of federally-recognized Ameri-

can Indian and Alaska Native Nations. The

University offers baccalaureate programs

in American Indian studies, business ad-

ministration and elementary teacher edu-

cation. The University also has an envi-

ronmental science program that partners

with CReSIS to help integrate Geographic

Information Systems into the Center’s re-

search.


Christine Butcher and Alexis Moyer wrote

the following story about their time in the

CReSIS REU program, a National Science

Foundation-sponsored summer internship

that is hosted by CReSIS partner institu-

tions across the country. The REU program

provides undergraduate students with the

opportunity to conduct research that they

can then carry into graduate school, their

careers and beyond. Each REU student

works with a faculty advisor and other stu-

dent researchers throughout the eight-week

summer program.

Christine and Alexis spent the sum-

mer of 2012 in the REU program hosted by

the University of Kansas. Alexis is now a se-

nior at Gettysburg College, and Christine is a

senior at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Thanks to each of them for sharing their

experiences.

Our Project

This summer we did projects that focused

on the mass budget and force balance of

two glaciers on the Greenland Ice Sheet

(Nioghalvfjordsfjorden and Upernavik). When

we first received our project assignments we

were a bit cautious, not knowing exactly how

we would go about accomplishing them. Af-

ter extensive literature reviews and meetings

with our advisors, Leigh Stearns and Kees

Van der Veen, we began to understand the ba-

sics of our projects and how to go about mea-

suring mass budget and force balance. We

also had the opportunity to learn the basics

of different computer programs, including

Surfer and Matlab. It was great to work in a

guided environment while having the oppor-

tunity to figure things out on our own.

Jayhawk Hunt

On our first day in Lawrence, as we explored

the University of Kansas campus, we noticed

there were Jayhawk statues everywhere.

The Jayhawk is the popular mascot of the

University of Kansas. We thought it was awe-

some they had different themes and made

it our goal to take a picture with every Jay-

hawk statue we could find. Our hunt was a

Photo: Christine Butcher and Alexis Moyer with the Jayhawk in-front of the Kansas Union.

The REU Experience: Alexis and Christine

// by Christine Butcher & Alexis Moyer

great success, and we ended up getting

a ton of pictures with Jayhawks on and

off campus.

Preparation for Presentation

/Presentation

Memories from presentation practices

and our actual presentations will stick

with us forever. Many in our REU group

had never done a poster session or a

presentation of this magnitude. It was

great how our group pulled together and

helped each other prepare. We practiced

our presentations over and over in front of

each other, giving feedback and making

sure everyone felt comfortable with their

work. As a whole our presentations and

poster session experiences were a great

success. We all learned a lot and enjoyed

these new experiences.

To learn more about Christine and

Alexis’ projects, this summer’s REU

students, and the REU program, please

visit: https://www.cresis.ku.edu/education/undergraduate/reu-pro-gram/2012


Throughout much of this fall, CReSIS

faculty, staff and students were deployed

on an Antarctic mission with NASA re-

searchers where they provided support

for the continuing Operation IceBridge

(OIB) project, which will produce the

largest-ever airborne survey of Earth’s

polar regions.

The mission is led by NASA with ex-

tensive support from organizations like

CReSIS. The OIB missions will produce a

groundbreaking three-dimensional view

of Arctic and Antarctic polar ice. The

project generates yearly data on the be-

haviors of ice sheets, ice shelves and sea

ice to contextualize our planet’s rapidly

changing climate.

“Remote sensing plays a key role in

characterizing the world’s major ice

sheets due to their size and the scale of

change that they undergo,” says NASA’s

Cryoshere Program.

Indeed, remote sensing is among the

invaluable technologies that are needed

to understand how our planet functions.

CReSIS is on the forefront of these tech-

nologies and has provided its expertise

to many of the OIB missions.

CReSIS researchers were deployed

from October 9 to November 20, 2012.

First, however, CReSIS personnel went

to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Facil-

itylocated in Edwards, California. Once

at Dryden, teams installed the Multi-

channel Coherent Radar Depth Sounder

(MCoRDS) antenna and Airborne Topo-

graphic Mapper (ATM). After installation,

they conducted tests of these instru-

ments.

// by Bill Daehler

CReSIS Deploys with NASA on Operation IceBridge Mission

Dr. John Paden and the MCoRDS radar. Photo courtesy of NASA.

On October, 8 CReSIS researchers, led by

Dr. John Paden, flew on a DC-8 to Santiago,

Chile and then onto Punta Arenas, Chile. The

team included Daniel Gomez-Garcia, Brian

Townley, Carson Gee and Peng-Seng Tan

from the University of Kansas. They were

joined by Matt Standish from Indiana Univer-

sity.

The CReSIS team, along with NASA re-

search crews, set up base at the University of

Magallanes in Punta Arenas to conduct their

missions flying over Antarctica. The CRe-

SIS team included deployment veterans Dr.

A photo of snow-covered mountains taken from the plane by Carson Gee.

Paden and graduate research assistant

Daniel Gomez-Garcia, as well as some

first-timers, such as IT Manager Carson

Gee and graduate researcher Peng-Seng

Tan.

“It was a blast,” said Gee of his first

deployment. “It shows what CReSIS is re-

ally all about.”

This mission was not only a first for

some researchers, but also for tests of

new research strategies.

“It was our first deployment where we

decided to put processing and back-up on

the plane,” said Gee.

On previous missions, data processing

was done in the lab following each flight

mission. This innovation represents an

important milestone in the evolution of

data processing, as analyses can now be

turned out faster and more efficiently than

ever before.

“Onboard data processing of MCoRDS,

Ku-band and Snow radars on the DC8

(article continues on page 6)


Ulrik Nielsen, a Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), will be visiting

CReSIS during the spring 2013 semester. Nielsen earned his M.S. in Electrical Engineering

from DTU in 2011, and throughout his undergraduate and graduate work, Nielsen has spe-

cialized in electromagnetics, signal processing, mathematics and radar systems. His Ph.D.

research focuses on “Surface Clutter Suppression Techniques for Radar Ice Sounding,”

which Nielsen says deals with the “investigation and development of tomographic surface

clutter suppression techniques using array signal processing.” Nielsen says that when he

is not busy with his studies he enjoys kitesurfing, snowboarding and orienteering, which is

a form of cross country running with navigation.

// by Bill Daehler

CReSIS to Host Visiting Students

Christian Panton, a Ph.D. student at the University of Copenhagen, will also be visiting

CReSIS in spring 2013 to further his work on automated internal layer tracing. His research

interests are in the “intersecting fields of computer science and climate research.” Panton

has an MSc in e-Science from the Department of Computer Science at the University of

Copenhagen, where he focused on data management of large ice-core data sets. He has

also worked as a field assistant at the NEEM camp, where CReSIS often sends researchers.

Panton’s wife and daughter will be coming with him to Lawrence, Kansas as he continues

his research at CReSIS.

(article continued from page 5)

CReSIS Deploys with NASA on Operation IceBridge Mission

aircraft in the midst of data collection,”

according to Tan, was first demonstrated

successfully by Dr. Paden on Oct. 15.

This OIB mission conducted surveys

across western Antarctica, including two

glaciers and the Weddell Sea. The re-

search season ended successfully after 16

airborne missions, totaling a distance of

more than three times around the Earth’s

equator, according to NASA.

Dr. John Paden and Peng-Seng Tan in a workspace at the Dryden facility in California. Photo courtesy of Carson Gee.


// by Jennifer Salva & Bill Daehler

CReSIS Welcomes New Staff Members

Haiji Wang, a junior at the University of Kansas (KU), began working with CReSIS in Oc-

tober. He will be doing data processing with Prof. John Paden. Wang is studying Electrical

Engineering at KU and looks forward to learning more about the field through his work at

CReSIS. Wang comes to CReSIS from his hometown of Nanjing, China. He hopes to con-

tinue his education into graduate school. When he’s not working or studying, Wang says he

enjoys watching movies.

Ashley Detmering joined CReSIS in November 2012 as a student graphic designer. She

will graduate from the University of Kansas in May 2013 with a BFA in Design. She’s

originally from Farmers Branch, Texas. While at CReSIS, she aims to gain work experi-

ence while encouraging the advancement of science. When not designing in-front of a

computer, she enjoys cooking, sports, photography, and generally prefers to be outdoors.

Robby Willer, a junior at the University of Kansas (KU), joined CReSIS as an undergraduate

research assistant in November. Willer is originally from Shawnee, Kansas and came to KU

to study electrical engineering. He says he is very interested in continuing his engineering

studies into graduate school after completing his undergraduate work. Willer enjoys read-

ing books—mostly about science—and playing video games.

Justin Evers joined CReSIS in December as an undergraduate research assistant for Dr.

Fernando Rodriguez-Morales. Evers, a non-traditional student, is in his second year of

study and is working toward a degree in Electrical Engineering. Before joining CReSIS,

Evers was a P-3 Flight Engineer in the US Navy. He is originally from San Jose, California

and hopes to live near mountains or water after graduation.


Ali Mahmood joined CReSIS as a Graduate Research Assistant in September. He is from

Islamabad, Pakistan and is pursuing a Master’s in Electrical Engineering at the University

of Kansas, where he also earned his undergraduate degree. He is interested in applied

electromagnetics, particularly microwave engineering and remote sensing. Mahmood

says the interdisciplinary and systems engineering aspects of his research are the most

enjoyable and valuable experiences. In his free time Mahmood also enjoys working on his

RC car, golfing, mountain biking, and skiing.

Konstantinos Petrakopoulos, a Ph.D. student at the University of Kansas, joined CReSIS to

work as a GRA for Prof. Leigh Stearns. Petrakopoulos is from Athens, Greece and has also

lived and worked in Sweden, Scotland, and the U.S. His research is focused on modeling

and glaciology, and he wanted to work with CReSIS to collaborate with people who have

similar research interests. Petrakopoulos earned a BS in physics from the University of

Patras in Patras, Greece. In his spare time, Petrakopoulos enjoys photography and sports.

Bruno Camps Raga joined CReSIS as an Engineering Associate in January 2013. He was

born in Valencia, Spain, but has also lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Columbia, Mis-

souri; and Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where he worked as the Head of Numerical Simula-

tion in the private sector. In 2009, while living in Columbia, he received his PhD in Electrical

& Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri. His main research interests are

antenna and radar design, computational electromagnetics, and software development.

Music is his favorite hobby. He has played the guitar for over 20 years, playing in several

bands and recording with musicians around the world. Dr. Camps Raga also enjoys skiing,

squash, and running.

CReSIS Welcomes New Staff Members

Nichols Hall2335 Irving Hill Rd.Lawrence, KS 66045-7552(785) 864-4390

Editors J. Collins, S. Chakrabarti

Design and Layout E. Zingré, A. Detmering

Staff Writers W. Daehler, J. Salva

Contributors C. Butcher, A. Moyer, D. Monteau

Publication Date January 2013

IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY, CONTRIBUTIONS CAN BE SENT TO:

The [email protected]

FALL 2012 The Icebreaker - University of Kansas · 2014-04-22 · The Icebreaker // Fall 2012 2 The...

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