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Image: ESO
  • Award Ceremony
  • Event
  • Bern

Prix de Quervain 2024: award presentation ceremony

Time

17:00 - 19:00

Venue

Swiss Alpine Museum
Helvetiaplatz 4
3005 Bern

The Prix de Quervain 2024 is awarded to Amy R. Macfarlane for her doctoral work that serves as a base to reduce major uncertainties on sea ice modelling and to improve the quality of global climate models predictions

The snow measurements used a combination of different instruments to investigate snow's physical and chemical properties
Image: Calle Schöning

The rapid warming in the Arctic leads to significant loss of sea ice, which in turn effects precipitation and alters the energy dynamics of the region. The research of Amy Macfarlane focused on understanding the critical role of snow and ice in the Arctic, particularly how these elements influence the region's energy budget and contribute to global climate patterns. Given the Arctic’s remoteness, the MOSAiC expedition in 2019-20 provided a unique opportunity to gather and study in-situ data over a year.

Registration

Required before 27.11.2024 (Link)

Programme

17h00
Welcome address
Jürg Pfister, Secretary General of the Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT

17:05
Introduction and Laudatio
Naki Akçar, President of the Swiss Commission for Polar and High Altitude Research SCPH

17h20
Presentation of the awarded work «Impact of snow microstructure on the Arctic sea ice and on the global climate energy budget»
Amy R. Macfarlane, UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Northumbria University in the United Kingdom

17h50
Q&A

18h00
Aperitif

19h00
End of event

  • Amy Macfarlane and Stefanie Arndt digging a snowpit to investigate snow properties at an ice coring site. Co-located measurements were one of the advantages of the MOSAiC expedition
  • Sea ice drifts across the Arctic basin and is often under compression which forms ridges up to 5m high. Scientists needed to take care when working on the dynamic and moving sea ice. Credit
  • A windy winter day walking to work on the ice, the visibility is often reduced by wind-blown snow making it challenging for the polar bear guards
  • The snow micro-penetrometer was developed by scientists at SLF and is a tool which can quickly measure snow stratigraphy. Quick measurements are an essential consideration when working on sea ice as cold temperature, windy conditions and polar bear visits often limit the available working hours. Credit
  • A micro-computed tomography image of fresh snow dendrites. The primary focus of Macfarlanes work was to document for the first time the high-resolution snow structures on sea ice in the high Arctic
  • An illustration for the guestbook onboard showing the variety of activities conducted on the ice during the expedition alongside some unexplainable and unexpected situations
  • Amy Macfarlane and Stefanie Arndt digging a snowpit to investigate snow properties at an ice coring site. Co-located measurements were one of the advantages of the MOSAiC expeditionImage: Delphin Ruché1/6
  • Sea ice drifts across the Arctic basin and is often under compression which forms ridges up to 5m high. Scientists needed to take care when working on the dynamic and moving sea ice. CreditImage: Delphin Ruché2/6
  • A windy winter day walking to work on the ice, the visibility is often reduced by wind-blown snow making it challenging for the polar bear guardsImage: Delphin Ruché3/6
  • The snow micro-penetrometer was developed by scientists at SLF and is a tool which can quickly measure snow stratigraphy. Quick measurements are an essential consideration when working on sea ice as cold temperature, windy conditions and polar bear visits often limit the available working hours. CreditImage: Delphin Ruché4/6
  • A micro-computed tomography image of fresh snow dendrites. The primary focus of Macfarlanes work was to document for the first time the high-resolution snow structures on sea ice in the high ArcticImage: Amy Macfarlane5/6
  • An illustration for the guestbook onboard showing the variety of activities conducted on the ice during the expedition alongside some unexplainable and unexpected situationsImage: Amy Macfarlane6/6

Related topics

The snow measurements used a combination of different instruments to investigate snow's physical and chemical properties
  • Press release

How the microstructure of snow in the Arctic influences sea ice and the global climate

Amy R. Macfarlane will be awarded the Prix de Quervain 2024 for her excellent and innovative doctoral dissertation at the ETH Zurich and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche

Image: Calle Schöning

Categories

  • Glacier

Contact

Dr. Roger Pfister
a+
Swiss Commission for Polar and High Altitude Research (SCPH)
House of Academies
PO Box
3001 Bern
Switzerland

Languages: English

Downloads/links