A short article I wrote for the EGU blog about biological darkening of ice and snow was posted last month. The article was built around an aerial view of our 2016 field camp on the Greenland Ice Sheet, where large areas of dark ice are clearly visible. The dark colour is due to a collection … Continue reading EGU Image of the Week: Algal blooms on GrIS
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Nouvelles Explorations Festival, Royan
Arriving in balmy Royan (France) straight from a frosty ice camp in Greenland was a welcome shock to the system. The small seaside town was home to a five day celebration of geographical and intellectual exploration - the Festival des Nouvelles Explorations. I had the pleasure of talking about icy science on Thursday afternoon and … Continue reading Nouvelles Explorations Festival, Royan
A smartphone-based UV spectrometer
In our new paper we report on some novel tech that uses the sensor in a smartphone for ultraviolet spectroscopy. It is low cost and based entirely on off-the-shelf components plus a 3-D printed case. The system was designed with volcanology in mind - specifically the detection of atmospheric sulphur dioxide, but may also have … Continue reading A smartphone-based UV spectrometer
Storm at Camp Bloom
Summer 2017 seriously challenged the idea that summer in SW Greenland has a reliably stable, clear, dry meteorology. Our field work was characterized by unpredictable swings between weather extremes from blizzards dropping 1ft of snow in an evening to bright sunshine and low wind, to rain and tens of centimeters of surface lowering in a … Continue reading Storm at Camp Bloom
On the ice with the BBC
The BBC Science team joined us for our first twenty-four hours on the ice this year, documented our work on algal darkening of the Greenland Ice Sheet. This started in the dusty town of Kangerlussuaq, where I took David Shukman, Kate Stephens and Jonathon Sumberg out to Russell Glacier. There, while I flew the drone … Continue reading On the ice with the BBC
Frontiers Paper: Albedo products from drones
A new paper, led by Johnny Ryan, shows that a consumer grade digital camera mounted to a drone can be used to estimate the albedo of ice surfaces with an accuracy of +/- 5%. This is important because albedo measurements are fundamental to predicting melt, but satellite albedo data is limited in its spatial and … Continue reading Frontiers Paper: Albedo products from drones
Final UAV mods
After testing the UAV performance in Svalbard in March, I realised the original 'tripod' landing assembly was not going to cut it for work in the Arctic. To prevent damage from landing in cryoconite holes and to spread the drone's weight when landing on snow, I have added some ski's modified from off-the-shelf landing gear for … Continue reading Final UAV mods
New AGU paper: Microbes change the colour and chemistry of Antarctic snow
In recent decades there has been a significant increase in snow melt on the Antarctic Peninsula and therefore more 'wet snow' containing liquid water. This wet snow is a microbial habitat In our new paper, we show that distance from the sea controls microbial abundance and diversity. Near the coast, rock debris and marine fauna … Continue reading New AGU paper: Microbes change the colour and chemistry of Antarctic snow
New TCD paper: Dark ice on Greenland Ice Sheet
Our new discussion paper, led by Black and Bloom PDRA Andrew Tedstone, examines in detail why there is a stripe of dark, fast-melting ice on the Greenland Ice Sheet, particularly in the south-west. This 'dark zone' is clearly visible in satellite imagery of the Greenland Ice Sheet and is important because darker ice melts faster. … Continue reading New TCD paper: Dark ice on Greenland Ice Sheet
Bioalbedo: new model and TCD paper
I'm very pleased to report our new paper is now in open discussion in The Cryosphere. The paper presents a new model for predicting the spectral bioalbedo of snow and ice, which confirms that ice algae on ice surfaces can change its colour and by doing so enhance its melt rate ("bioalbedo"). We also used … Continue reading Bioalbedo: new model and TCD paper
To The Poles 