Ultimately, Windnagel chose to follow the GLIMS definition of a glacier for the project, which states that a glacier is “a mass of ice on the land surface which flows downhill under gravity and is constrained by internal stress and friction at the base and sides. So, working on this project and working this closely with glaciologists everyday was eye-opening. “I had no idea even that the definition of a glacier was up in the air. “I’m not a glaciologist by trade,” said Windnagel. For example, what is a glacier versus an ice sheet or ice cap? When glaciers break apart, are the pieces still part of the same glacier or do they create new ones? Why do organizations disagree on the definition of a glacier? Using shapefiles from both data sets, she determined the 10 largest glaciers by area from each, then compared the two, investigating mismatches using scientific literature.Īs she dove into the data, more questions began to arise. To conduct her analysis, Windnagel gathered data from two well-known global glacier data sets: the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) project and the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI). It helps to organize data, gives people perspective on how much water is stored in glaciers, and could help scientists and policymakers understand which glaciers are likely to have the biggest impacts, allowing them to better focus resources to monitor glacial melt in the most at-risk areas. Windnagel believes that identifying these glaciers is important for a few reasons. Credit: Ann Windnagel Gathering dataĪs part of her global analysis of glaciers, Windnagel set out to identify the largest glaciers worldwide and within each of the 19 glacier regions recognized by the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers. It is one of the larger glacier systems in Switzerland. In addition to supporting NSIDC and WGMS knowledge, this project also aligned with the mission of NOAA, which is “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”ĭuring her trip, Windnagel snapped this photograph of Gorner Glacier near Zermatt, Switzerland. Studying glaciers offers insight into how climate change is affecting different areas of the world differently and important knowledge to help us plan for the future.” “And glacial melt can and will have all sorts of detrimental effects on society, such as rising sea levels and dwindling fresh water supplies. “Glaciers are melting at alarming rates due to climate change,” Windnagel said. She decided to perform a systemic analysis of the largest glaciers in the world, something never done before. While there, Windnagel was tasked with developing a project that would benefit both NSIDC and WGMS. WGMS has been a longtime NOAA at NSIDC partner, and, after years of mentoring WGMS interns and postdoctoral researchers at NSIDC, she jumped at the chance to see how her Swiss cohorts lived and worked at home. Windnagel, a project manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at NSIDC program, was working toward a professional certificate in Earth Science Data Analysis through the University of Colorado Boulder when she was invited to take part in a work exchange with the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) in Zurich, Switzerland. Credit: Ann Windnagel Strengthening a partnership This area of Switzerland contains many glaciers and is famous for the Matterhorn Mountain.
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