Alison Criscitiello

Alison Sara Criscitiello
Alison Criscitiello drilling ice cores on Mount Oxford, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut.
Born	May 20, 1981 Pittsburgh, PA
Alma mater	Wesleyan University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Scientific career
Fields	Glaciology
Institutions	University of Calgary, University of Alberta
Thesis	Amundsen Sea sea-ice variability, atmospheric circulation, and spatial variations in snow isotopic composition from new West Antarctic firn cores  (2014)

Alison Criscitiello is an American ice core scientist, National Geographic Explorer, Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and Director of the Canadian Ice Core Lab at the University of Alberta. ^[1] In addition to her academic work, she is a co-founder of Girls on Ice Canada and an avid adventurer and mountain climber. ^[2] She led the first all-women ascent of Lingsarmo (formerly known as Pinnacle Peak) ^[3] and has received numerous American Alpine Club grants for her pioneering expeditions. ^[4]

Early life and education

Criscitiello grew up in Winchester, Massachusetts, and is a former U.S. Climbing Ranger (Olympic and North Cascades National Parks). She has two sisters, one of whom is her identical twin. She holds a B.A. in Earth and Environmental Science from Wesleyan University (2003), an M.A. in Geology and Geophysics from Columbia University (2006), and a Ph.D. in Glaciology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014). ^[5] Hers is the first Ph.D. in Glaciology conferred by M.I.T.

Career

After completing her Ph.D., Criscitiello accepted a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary, and has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor there since 2016. She became the Director of the Ice Core Laboratory at the University of Alberta in 2017. Using ice cores from the polar regions, her research helps explain how ocean conditions impact coastal ice caps and ice sheets, and how global atmospheric teleconnections drive such variability at the poles. Newer projects involving drilling ice cores in non-polar regions contribute to a deeper understanding of climate variability as well as human impacts on remote landscapes. ^[6]

Criscitiello is the Canadian national delegate to the International Partnerships in Ice Core Science, and is a member of their Steering Committee. ^[7]

She is a co-founder of Girls on Ice Canada. ^[8]

Selected expeditions

Criscitiello has been adventuring since childhood, and is an experienced mountaineering guide and expedition leader. ^[2]

• 2021 Mount Logan ^{[9] [10]}
• 2017 Dawson to Tuktayaktuk Arctic Bike ^[11]
• 2016 Borderski ^{[12] [13]}
• 2010 Lingsarmo ^[14]

Awards and recognition

2020 National Geographic Explorer ^[15]

2018 Best Mountaineering Article Award (Banff Mountain Book Competition) ^[16]

2017 American Alpine Club Research Grant recipient ^[17]

2016 Mugs Stump Award ^[18]

2015 John Lauchlan Award ^[19]

2015 Lara-Karena Bitenieks Kellogg and Scott Fischer Memorial Conservation Grant ^[4]

Selected works

• Criscitiello, A. S.; Geldsetzer, T.; Rhodes, R. H.; Arienzo, M.; McConnell, J.; Chellman, N.; Osman, M. B.; Yackel, J. J.; Marshall, S. (2021). "Marine Aerosol Records of Arctic Sea-Ice and Polynya Variability From New Ellesmere and Devon Island Firn Cores, Nunavut, Canada" . Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 126 (9). Bibcode:2021JGRC..12617205C. doi:10.1029/2021JC017205. ISSN   2169-9275.
• Pickard, Heidi M.; Criscitiello, Alison S.; Persaud, Daniel; Spencer, Christine; Muir, Derek C. G.; Lehnherr, Igor; Sharp, Martin J.; De Silva, Amila O.; Young, Cora J. (2020-05-28). "Ice Core Record of Persistent Short-Chain Fluorinated Alkyl Acids: Evidence of the Impact From Global Environmental Regulations". Geophysical Research Letters. 47 (10). Bibcode:2020GeoRL..4787535P. doi: 10.1029/2020GL087535 . ISSN   0094-8276. S2CID   218992460.
• Pickard, Heidi M.; Criscitiello, Alison S.; Spencer, Christine; Sharp, Martin J.; Muir, Derek C. G.; De Silva, Amila O.; Young, Cora J. (2018-04-13). "Continuous non-marine inputs of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to the High Arctic: a multi-decadal temporal record". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 18 (7): 5045–5058. Bibcode:2018ACP....18.5045P. doi: 10.5194/acp-18-5045-2018 . ISSN   1680-7316.
• Criscitiello, Alison S.; Marshall, Shawn J.; Evans, Matthew J.; Kinnard, Christophe; Norman, Ann-Lise; Sharp, Martin J. (2016-08-27). "Marine aerosol source regions to Prince of Wales Icefield, Ellesmere Island, and influence from the tropical Pacific, 1979–2001". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 121 (16): 9492–9507. Bibcode:2016JGRD..121.9492C. doi: 10.1002/2015JD024457 . ISSN   2169-897X. S2CID   132397081.
• Criscitiello, Alison S.; Das, Sarah B.; Karnauskas, Kristopher B.; Evans, Matthew J.; Frey, Karen E.; Joughin, Ian; Steig, Eric J.; McConnell, Joseph R.; Medley, Brooke (2014-02-01). "Tropical Pacific Influence on the Source and Transport of Marine Aerosols to West Antarctica". Journal of Climate. 27 (3): 1343–1363. Bibcode:2014JCli...27.1343C. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00148.1. hdl: 1721.1/90294 . ISSN   0894-8755. S2CID   11847367.
• Criscitiello, Alison S.; Das, Sarah B.; Evans, Matthew J.; Frey, Karen E.; Conway, Howard; Joughin, Ian; Medley, Brooke; Steig, Eric J. (2013). "Ice sheet record of recent sea-ice behavior and polynya variability in the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica: ICE SHEET RECORD OF SEA-ICE VARIABILITY". Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 118 (1): 118–130. doi:10.1029/2012JC008077. hdl: 1912/5920 .

References

1. "The Canadian Ice Core Lab (CICL) | Faculty of Science". www.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
2. Querengesser, Tim (June 18, 2021). "The cool calling: Glaciologist Alison Criscitiello is redefining the term explorer". Canadian Geographic. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
3. "Lingsarmo - Southwest Ridge - 2010". HimalayaMasala. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
4. "AAC Publications - Borderski". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
5. "DR. ALISON CRISCITIELLO". Archived from the original on 2021-10-08.
6. "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
7. "IPICS Steering Committee". IPICS - International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences. August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
8. "Girls on Ice Canada". Inspiring Girls Expeditions. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
9. lundy (2021-05-28). "All-Canadian team completes successful expedition to the top of Canada". Canadian Geographic. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
10. Brown, Michael. "Researchers summit Mount Logan to document 30,000 years of climate history". www.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
11. Criscitiello, Ali. "3 Weeks of -30s, Headwinds and Ditch Camping: Dawson to Tuktoyaktuk | Revelate Designs LLC" . Retrieved 2021-10-13.
12. Criscitiello, Alison (April 24, 2015). "Borderski" (PDF). American Alpine Club Trip Report.
13. wysk (2016-05-17). "Documentary About All-Woman Ski Expedition Aims To Inspire Others To Think Beyond Borders". Women You Should Know®. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
14. "AAC Publications - Asia, India, Ladakh, South Suru Group, Lingsarmo (Pinnacle Peak), Southwest Ridge, Harish Kapadia Adds [to History of Pinnacle Peak]". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
15. "Alison Criscitiello - National Geographic Society". www.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
16. "Alpinist story receives Best Mountaineering Article Award at Banff Book Competition - Alpinist.com". www.alpinist.com. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
17. "Meet our researchers". The American Alpine Club. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
18. "Award Winners - Mugs Stump Award". Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
19. "Past Awards". The John Lauchlan Memorial Award. Retrieved 2021-10-08.

External links

• Girls on Ice Canada
• Alison Criscitiello publications indexed by Google Scholar