Stephanie Pfirman

Last updated
Stephanie Pfirman
Alma materWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Scientific career
Thesis Modern sedimentation in the northern Barents Sea : input, dispersal, and deposition of suspended sediments from glacial meltwater  (1985)

Stephanie Louise Pfirman is a professor at Arizona State University known for her work on sea ice, pollutants in sea ice, and how sea ice is changing over time. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Contents

Education and career

Pfirman graduated from Roy C. Ketcham High School in New York and then received her B.A. from Colgate University in 1978. Following colleges she worked at the United States Geological Survey. [1] She then earned her Ph.D. from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985. [2] Following her Ph.D. she worked at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and then the Environmental Defense Fund [2] [3] where she was scientific coordinator for an exhibition on global warming that was presented at the American Museum of Natural History from May 1992 until January 1993. [4] [5] In 1993 she moved to Barnard College [6] where she ultimately held the position of Alena Wels Hirschorn '58 and Martin Hirschorn Professor of Environmental and Applied Sciences. In 2018 she move to Arizona State University where, as of 2022, she is a professor. [2]

Research

Pfirman is known for her research on Arctic sea ice and the impact of global warming. Her early research examined glacial melting, [7] sediment on Arctic ice, [8] and transport of pollutants by sea ice. [9] [10] She has used her research on the movement of ice packs in the Arctic [11] [12] to consider how the voyages of Fridtjof Nansen and Ernest Shackleton may have been different if ice floes took a different path through the Arctic. [13] Pfirman has examined decreases in sea ice in the Arctic, [14] and developed games to teach people about global warming. [15] [16] [17] Beyond academic research, Pfirman has examined how women make the decision to conduct Interdisciplinary research, [18] and suggested and co-chaired the River Summer program that brought teachers to do hands-on studies of the Hudson River. [19]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

In 2009 Phirman was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [20]

Related Research Articles

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The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all extensions of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia.

The bathypelagic zone or bathyal zone is the part of the open ocean that extends from a depth of 1,000 to 4,000 m below the ocean surface. It lies between the mesopelagic above and the abyssopelagic below. The bathypelagic is also known as the midnight zone because of the lack of sunlight; this feature does not allow for photosynthesis-driven primary production, preventing growth of phytoplankton or aquatic plants. Although larger by volume than the photic zone, human knowledge of the bathypelagic zone remains limited by ability to explore the deep ocean.

Ice algae are any of the various types of algal communities found in annual and multi-year sea, and terrestrial lake ice or glacier ice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic methane emissions</span> Release of methane from seas and soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic

Arctic methane release is the release of methane from seas and soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic. While it is a long-term natural process, methane release is exacerbated by global warming. This results in a positive feedback cycle, as methane is itself a powerful greenhouse gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic sea ice decline</span> Sea ice loss observed in recent decades in the Arctic Ocean

Sea ice in the Arctic has declined in recent decades in area and volume due to climate change. It has been melting more in summer than it refreezes in winter. Global warming, caused by greenhouse gas forcing is responsible for the decline in Arctic sea ice. The decline of sea ice in the Arctic has been accelerating during the early twenty‐first century, with a decline rate of 4.7% per decade. It is also thought that summertime sea ice will cease to exist sometime during the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Antarctica</span> Impacts of climate change on Antarctica

Temperature change due to climate change in Antarctica is not stable over the whole continent. West Antarctica is warming rapidly, while the inland regions are cooled by the winds in Antarctica. Water in the West Antarctic has warmed by 1 °C since year 1955. Further increase in temperature in water and on land will affect the climate, ice mass and life on the continent and have global implications. Present-day greenhouse gas concentrations are higher than ever according to ice cores from Antarctica, which indicates that warming on this continent is not part of a natural cycle and attributable to anthropogenic climate change.

The Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) was an international research programme on the fluxes of carbon between the atmosphere and ocean, and within the ocean interior. Initiated by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), the programme ran from 1987 through to 2003, and became one of the early core projects of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lipid pump</span>

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References

  1. Trapani, Carol (1982-11-01). "Arctic waters warm researcher's heart". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 27. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  2. 1 2 3 "Stephanie Pfirman - Person". Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  3. Rosen, Yereth (1993-05-06). "Pollution cited as major threat to Arctic". National Post. p. 48. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  4. Zelig, Eva; Pfirman, Stephanie L. (1993). "Handling a Hot Topic-Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast". Curator: The Museum Journal. 36 (4): 256–271. doi:10.1111/j.2151-6952.1993.tb00801.x.
  5. Rist, Curtis (1992-05-12). "Bringing global warming to life". Newsday (Nassau Edition). pp.  , . Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  6. "Stephanie Pfirman". 2021-09-06. Archived from the original on 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  7. Pfirman, Stephanie L; Solheim, Anders (1989-04-01). "Subglacial meltwater discharge in the open-marine tidewater glacier environment: Observations from Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Archipelago". Marine Geology. 86 (4): 265–281. Bibcode:1989MGeol..86..265P. doi:10.1016/0025-3227(89)90089-3. ISSN   0025-3227.
  8. Pfirman, Stephanie; Wollenburg, Ingo; Thiede, Jörn; Lange, Manfred A. (1989), Leinen, Margaret; Sarnthein, Michael (eds.), "Lithogenic sediment on Arctic pack ice: Potential aeolian flux and contribution to deep sea sediments", Paleoclimatology and Paleometeorology: Modern and Past Patterns of Global Atmospheric Transport, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 463–493, doi:10.1007/978-94-009-0995-3_19, ISBN   978-94-010-6937-3 , retrieved 2022-12-22
  9. Pearce, Fred (1997-07-13). "Clipped From The Independent". The Independent. pp.  , . Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  10. Pavlov, V. K.; Pfirman, S. L. (1995-01-01). "Hydrographic structure and variability of the Kara Sea: Implications for pollutant distribution". Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. 42 (6): 1369–1390. Bibcode:1995DSRII..42.1369P. doi: 10.1016/0967-0645(95)00046-1 . ISSN   0967-0645.
  11. Pfirman, Stephanie; Haxby, William F.; Colony, Roger; Rigor, Ignatius (2004). "Variability in Arctic sea ice drift". Geophysical Research Letters. 31 (16): L16402. Bibcode:2004GeoRL..3116402P. doi:10.1029/2004GL020063. ISSN   0094-8276. S2CID   129438169.
  12. Pfirman, S. L.; Colony, R.; Nürnberg, D.; Eicken, H.; Rigor, I. (1997-06-15). "Reconstructing the origin and trajectory of drifting Arctic sea ice". Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 102 (C6): 12575–12586. Bibcode:1997JGR...10212575P. doi:10.1029/96JC03980.
  13. Pfirman, Stephanie; Tremblay, Bruno; Fowler, Charles (2017-02-06). "Going with the Floe?". American Scientist. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  14. Rosen, Julia (February 9, 2017). "Arctic 2.0: What Happens after All the Ice Goes?". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  15. Pyper, Julia (May 1, 2014). "New Climate-Fiction (Cli-Fi) Game Sends Players Clues from the Future". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  16. Pfirman, Stephanie; Hamilton, Lawrence; Turrin, Margie; Narveson, Craig; Lloyd, Carrie A. (2021-04-03). "Polar knowledge of US students as indicated by an online Kahoot! quiz game". Journal of Geoscience Education. 69 (2): 150–165. Bibcode:2021JGeEd..69..150P. doi: 10.1080/10899995.2021.1877526 . ISSN   1089-9995. S2CID   233413471.
  17. Pfirman, S.; O’Garra, T.; Bachrach Simon, E.; Brunacini, J.; Reckien, D.; Lee, J. J.; Lukasiewicz, E. (2021-04-03). ""Stickier" learning through gameplay: An effective approach to climate change education". Journal of Geoscience Education. 69 (2): 192–206. Bibcode:2021JGeEd..69..192P. doi: 10.1080/10899995.2020.1858266 . ISSN   1089-9995. S2CID   233413856.
  18. Rhoten, Diana; Pfirman, Stephanie (2007-02-01). "Women in interdisciplinary science: Exploring preferences and consequences". Research Policy. 36 (1): 56–75. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2006.08.001. ISSN   0048-7333.
  19. Incalcaterra, Laura (2005-07-19). "Mud in eye and more: teachers study Hudson". The Journal News. pp.  , . Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  20. "Historic Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 2022-12-21.