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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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permafrost</span> Soil frozen for a duration of at least two years

Permafrost is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two years or more: the oldest permafrost had been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below a meter (3 ft), the deepest is greater than 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Similarly, the area of individual permafrost zones may be limited to narrow mountain summits or extend across vast Arctic regions. The ground beneath glaciers and ice sheets is not usually defined as permafrost, so on land, permafrost is generally located beneath a so-called active layer of soil which freezes and thaws depending on the season.

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">Climate change in the Arctic</span> Impacts of climate change on the Arctic

Due to climate change in the Arctic, this polar region is expected to become "profoundly different" by 2050. The speed of change is "among the highest in the world", with the rate of warming being 3-4 times faster than the global average. This warming has already resulted in the profound Arctic sea ice decline, the accelerating melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the thawing of the permafrost landscape. These ongoing transformations are expected to be irreversible for centuries or even millennia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Gyre</span> Circulating system of ocean currents in the Ross Sea

The Ross Gyre is one of three gyres that exists within the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, the others being the Weddell Gyre and Balleny Gyre. The Ross Gyre is located north of the Ross Sea, and rotates clockwise. The gyre is formed by interactions between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Antarctic Continental Shelf. The Ross Gyre is bounded by the Polar Front of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the north, the Antarctic Slope Current to the south, the Balleny Gyre to the west, and a variable boundary to the east from semiannual changes in sea surface height (SSH) in the Amundsen Sea. Circulation in the Ross Gyre has been estimated to be 20 ± 5 Sverdrup (Sv) and plays a large role in heat exchange in this region.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planktivore</span> Aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food

A planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. Planktivorous organisms encompass a range of some of the planet's smallest to largest multicellular animals in both the present day and in the past billion years; basking sharks and copepods are just two examples of giant and microscopic organisms that feed upon plankton.

<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 region 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. Summertime sea ice will likely cease to exist sometime during the 21st century.

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

The lipid pump sequesters carbon from the ocean's surface to deeper waters via lipids associated with overwintering vertically migratory zooplankton. Lipids are a class of hydrocarbon rich, nitrogen and phosphorus deficient compounds essential for cellular structures. This lipid carbon enters the deep ocean as carbon dioxide produced by respiration of lipid reserves and as organic matter from the mortality of zooplankton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amelia E. Shevenell</span> American marine geologist

Amelia E. Shevenell is an American marine geologist who specializes in high-latitude paleoclimatology and paleoceanography. She is currently a Professor in the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida. She has made notable contributions to understanding the history of the Antarctic ice sheets and published in high-impact journals and, as a result, was awarded full membership of Sigma Xi. She has a long record of participation in international ocean drilling programs and has served in leadership positions of these organizations. Shevenell served as the elected Geological Oceanography Council Member for The Oceanography Society (2019-2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Schlosser</span> Professor and Earth scientist

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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.
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