I was lucky enough to spend November working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The purpose was to develop ongoing collaborations with expert glaciologists Johan Nilsson (who joined me in Greenland in the summer) and Alex Gardner, meet new potential collaborators and present my recent work on "bioalbedo". It was an extremely productive trip - being face-to-face … Continue reading November at NASA
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Life on Greenland’s Ice: 2 short videos
Here are two short films that Peter Sinclair (DarkSnow and Climate Crocks) made over summer 2016. The first is an interview with me about Greenlan's surface reflectivity. The second is about the microbiology of algal blooms on the ice surface by fellow Black and Bloom postdoc Chris Williamson. see more at the Black and Bloom … Continue reading Life on Greenland’s Ice: 2 short videos
Greenland Field Work 2016
Here is a brief field report from our 2016 field season which i also posted on the Arctic Club website (here). 2016 Greenland Field Work Report Our field work aimed to deepen our understanding of the processes darkening the Greenland Ice Sheet. This is important because the colour of the ice sheet is one of the … Continue reading Greenland Field Work 2016
Iceland Fieldwork 2016
In April this year I had the pleasure or working with a group from Manchester Met and Derby Universities in Iceland. There was opportunity for some useful skills-swapping: I provided some insights into albedo measurements on the ice surface and the MMU team gave me a tour of the mysterious basal ice. The trip was focussed upon the … Continue reading Iceland Fieldwork 2016
Supraglacial Biogeochemistry Chapter
I recently wrote a chapter on the application of biogeochemical measurement techniques to glacier surfaces which will hopefully be of interest to students and fellow early career researchers, especially now during MSc project proposal time! Link here This chapter contributes to the British Society for Geomorphology's "Geomorphological Techniques" textbook which is rapidly growing and is a … Continue reading Supraglacial Biogeochemistry Chapter
Smithsonian Magazine: Glacier Microbes
Smithsonian Magazine recently published an article featuring several Black and Bloom researchers, including Alex Anesio and I. Here's the link... http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tiny-world-glacier-microbes-has-outsized-impact-global-climate-180959817/
Discover Magazine: Ecosystem Engineers on ice
In June's Discover Magazine, science writer Elizabeth Preston explored the mysterious world of icy microbes, focussing on cryoconite. I was lucky enough to chat to Elizabeth several times and provide some photos for the article. Elizabeth described how cryoconite granules form when mineral particles and other debris are "ensnared... in the sticky arms of cyanobacteria" … Continue reading Discover Magazine: Ecosystem Engineers on ice
Biocryomorphic evolution on the Greenland Ice Sheet
Our new paper, "Metabolome induced biocryomorphic evolution promotes carbon fixation in Greenlandic cryoconite holes" came out this week. The main finding is that cryoconite holes can change their shape in three dimensions to maintain comfortable conditions for microbial life - an example of biocryomorphology in action. Here's a summary of the main points: Cryoconite holes … Continue reading Biocryomorphic evolution on the Greenland Ice Sheet
Video: What Lives on Ice and Snow?
Here's a link to Krzysztof Zawierucha's (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan) new film about the biology of ice and snow, including cryoconite holes, snow and ice surfaces. The film clearly shows why Earth's ice and snow represents a threatened store of biodiversity and illustrates some of the feedbacks between physical and biological processes operating in the cryosphere. See also Krzysztof's paper in … Continue reading Video: What Lives on Ice and Snow?
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Ice?
I recently read the fantastic ‘An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth’ by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. His dedication to realising his childhood dream of going into space is truly inspiring and his account of the many important lessons learned through the entire process, from school to space-station are thought provoking and widely applicable. What … Continue reading An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Ice?
To The Poles 