Ongoing research in the lab focusses on a mix of snow and ice and currently falls into three broad categories Changing Arctic Ice and Snow, Temperate Region Lake Ice, and Northern Hydrology
With the warming temperatures and reduced sea ice extent in the Arctic, examining the response of snow and ice to climate conditions is extremely timely and can provide insight on what changes may be yet to come. A mix of ground-based, satellite-based and model-based data is used for this research.
Lake Ice:
I have begun a High Arctic lake ice monitoring program to obtain validation data through ground-based observations and currently have cameras in place on 7 High Arctic lakes with planned expansion in the coming years. Recent field work has shown ~ 50 cm loss of thickness between 1980 and 2019 on one of the study lakes in Resolute, NU. Ongoing modelling work for lakes near Resolute, NU as well as Lake Hazen (Ellesemere Island, NU) suggest changes to both the duration and thickenss of the ice cover over the last ~ 30 years.
High Arctic lake ice phenology dates
Sea ice and snow:
Recent work in this area has been published in the journal Arctic Science (https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2020-0024) with a 'zoomed-out' Pan-Arctic version nearly ready for publication. Within the overall warming and loss of snow and ice, regional trends are evident with some areas experiencing profound snow and ice loss, and others retaining the snow and ice longer. An example from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago shows the regionality quite well: