Welcome! I'm Ariel and I'm a polar climate scientist.
My research focuses on changes to high latitude clouds, sea ice, and boreal permafrost under different climate change trajectories and potential climate intervention scenarios. I use satellite observations, climate models, and machine learning to understand the processes that drive faster-than-global warming around the Arctic and Antarctica.
THE BIG PICTURE
The polar regions are warming faster than anywhere else in the world in response to increasing greenhouse gas emissions. A warmer Arctic means less sea ice cover, faster melting of the Greenland ice sheet, thawing permafrost, and more frequent wildfires. While Antarctica is experiencing less extreme and consistent warming, the environment is slowly changing. A warmer Antarctica means more calving off ice shelves and a greener continent, as well as global concerns about sea level rise from the melting ice sheet.
ABOUT ME
I received my PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019. Currently I am a postdoctoral research fellow at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, investigating potential effects of solar radiation management strategies (i.e., climate intervention) on high latitude climate. My interest in climate change started with a project on coral bleaching, and since has expanded to include ocean acidification, plankton species' response to warming waters, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost tipping points, heat uptake in the Southern Ocean, and pedagogy for climate change education.
Outside of science and research, I enjoy hiking, fencing, and bad (but fun) disaster movies. Living in Colorado offers amazing access to the Rocky Mountains and national parks. I hike in the mountains as often as I can in the summer and fall. For indoor sports, I was a sabre fencer for 11 years and competed at the Junior Olympics in 2004.
Please feel free to contact me for questions or collaborations.