Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory (614)
Profile for H. (Jay) Zwally
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| Title: | Chief Cryospheric Scientist |
|---|---|
| Affiliation: | NASA |
| Contact: |
E-mail Office Phone: 301-614-5643 Fax: 301-614-5644 |
Overview
Dr. H. Jay Zwally has been extensively involved in glaciology and polar research since 1972. His primary research interests are observing and modeling the dynamics and variability of polar ice, including analysis of long-term sea ice variations, determination of ice sheet mass balance, and studies of atmosphere-ice-ocean processes. At NSF's division of polar programs (1972-1974), he managed initiation of the interdisciplinary Ross Ice Shelf project, the Greenland Ice Sheet Project, improved airborne radar mapping of ice sheet thickness, and planning for west Antarctic ice sheet projects. At NASA, his early research included radiative modeling of microwave emission from snow, development of concepts for remote measurement of accumulation rates and surface melting, and systematic compilation of satellite passive-microwave data sets that led to sea ice atlases and discovery of the Weddell Polynya. He also pioneered the use of ocean radar altimeters for mapping ice sheet topography and studies of mass balance. Since 1979, he has been a leading scientist promoting satellite laser altimetry for ice sheet mass balance studies, leading to the launch of the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) in 2003. Currently, he is the ICESat Project Scientist and a member of the science teams for the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter (MOLA), and ENVISAT and CRYOSAT Calibration/Validation.
His recent research includes leading a comprehensive analysis of the mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and ice shelves, the discovery of the melt-acceleration effect on the flow of the Greenland ice sheet, and the first comprehensive mapping of sea ice freeboard and thickness distributions.
Dr. Zwally received a B.S. in mechanical/aeronautical engineering from Drexel University in 1961 and a Ph.D. in physics with a minor in mathematics from the University of Maryland in 1969. He was awarded NASA's outstanding scientific achievement award (1996) and Goddard's exceptional performance award for leadership in establishing a cryospheric research program (1978). He has had over 100 referred publications in glaciology, polar research, climate science, and physics.
Selected Publications
Farrell, S.L., S.W. Laxon, D.C. McAdoo, D. Yi, and H.J. Zwally (2009). Five years of Arctic sea ice freeboard measurements from the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite. J. Geophys. Res., 114(C04008)
10.1029/2008JC005074
Kwok, R., G.F. Cunningham, M. Wensnahan, I. Rigor, and H.J. Zwally (2009). Thinning and volume loss of the Arctic Ocean sea ice cover: 2003–2008. J. Geophys. Res., 114(C07005)
10.1029/2009JC005312
Campbell, B., H.J. Zwally, W. Abdalati, J. Spinhirne, D. Yi, C. Carabajal, and J.M. Sirota (2008). The ICESat: Ice Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite Poster. NW-2008-2-063-GSFC
Campbell, B., H.J. Zwally, J. Spinhirne, D. Yi, C. Carabajal, and J.M. Sirota (2007). The ICESat: Ice Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite Lithograph. LG-2007-11-116-GSFC
Maslanik, J.A., C. Fowler, J. Stroeve, S. Drobot, H.J. Zwally, D. Yi, and W. Emery (2007). A younger, thinner Arctic ice cover: Increased potential for rapid, extensive sea-ice loss. Geophys. Res. Lett., 34(L24501), 5 pp
Thomas, R., E. Rignot, G. Casassa, P. Kanagaratnam, C. Acuna, T. Akins, H. Brecher, E. Frederick, P. Gogineni, W. Krabill, S. Manizade, H. Ramamoorthy, A. Rivera, R. Russell, J.G. Sonntag, R. Swift, J. Yungel, and H.J. Zwally (2004). Accelerated Sea-Level Rise from West Antarctica. Science, 306, 255-258
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- Page Last Updated: November 19, 2009