• Inauguration Week Photo Gallery • President Williams' Inaugural Remarks • Inaugural Address Video
|
Professor, Department of Geology Research Scientist, Byrd Polar Research Center The Ohio State University Ellen Mosley-Thompson is a professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Geography and a research scientist in the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University. She uses the chemical and physical properties preserved in ice cores collected from the polar ice sheets and high mountain glaciers to reconstruct Earth’s complex climate history. These records indicate that Earth’s climate has moved outside the range of natural variability experienced over at least the last 2000 years. Mosley-Thompson has led eight expeditions to Antarctica and six to Greenland to retrieve ice cores. She established Antarctica’s most extensive and longest running snow accumulation network at South Pole Station. Mosley-Thompson holds a B.S. in physics from Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in climatology from The Ohio State University. She launched her research and teaching career in 1979 at OSU, where she has held a total of six research and academic titles. Mosley-Thompson has won numerous awards and honors from academic, scientific, and governmental entities. In March 2008, she and fellow OSU researcher, Lonnie G. Thompson, were among three scientists selected to share the $1 million Dan David Prize, which honors scientific, technological, and humanistic achievements related to the past, present, and future. Mosley-Thompson is the author or co-author of 112 peer-reviewed papers and the recipient of 48 grants. She is associate editor of Polar Geography and is a member of the NRC-NAS Committee on Strategic Advice on the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, a member of the AAAS Steering Group for Section E (Geology and Geography), and AAG representative to the AAAS (Section W: Atmospheric Sciences). Understanding Climate Change: Stories from the Ice (abstract) Earths glaciers and ice sheets preserve long and detailed records that chronicle changes in our climate and environment over thousands of years. Coupled with other observations and climate model results, the ice core data confirm that some observed changes are now outside the range of natural variability for at least the last few thousand years. Widespread melting of mountain glaciers threatens both water resources for many heavily populated regions and the unique climate histories archived in these glaciers and ice caps. |
UAH Home | Disclaimer