Group meetings

We meet weekly in the Glacier Modeling Lab to learn from each other and from external sources.

Goals of group meetings:

  • Facilitate interaction that we would have had every day in person in the lab
  • Share the process and results of our own research with each other
  • Learn the scientific process and the tools of scientific communication
    • The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career, by Stephen B. Heard. Available online at UB Libraries.
  • Facilitate communication of research and research outputs
    • This includes communication via this website!
    • Writing and creating your own thesis, papers, talks, and figures

Schedule: Spring 2021

Week 14 / May 7

The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career, by Stephen B. Heard. Available online at UB Libraries.

Assigned reading: end of Part IV (Ch. 19-20), Words and Brevity.

Past meetings:

Week 1 / February 5

Intro week, get to know each other, set group goals and goals of meetings, design the semester’s schedule.

Week 2 / February 12

☆ Kristin presents recent research: “The Moulin Shape (MouSh) Model”

    Try to identify the elements of the scientific method shown in this research.

Week 3 / February 19

The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career, by Stephen B. Heard. Available online at UB Libraries.

Assigned reading: Preface and Ch. 1-4.

We’ll discuss these ideas in group meeting.

Week 4 / February 26

☆ Josh presents his research ☆ in preparation for Wooster talk: “Greenland Ice Sheet Hydrology”

Week 5 / March 5

The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career, by Stephen B. Heard. Available online at UB Libraries.

Assigned reading: Chapters 5-7

Discussion Questions:

Chapter 5, Getting Started – Consider TMT theory and write down specific actions you can take to increase the attractiveness of a writing project you’re working on. (end of chapter exercise)

Chapter 6, Momentum – What was a time in the past when you’ve used “binge” writing and when have you used “snack” writing? Same question, but for “swooping” and “bashing” writing techniques.

Chapter 7, Finding and Telling Your Story – Write a mini-summary (like the one on page 60) for your research project.

Week 6 / March 12

Semi-annual website biography workshop

Week 7 / March 19

The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career, by Stephen B. Heard. Available online at UB Libraries.

Assigned reading: Ch. 8-13

Week 8 / March 26

Windstorm wipes out power! Research presentation postponed. Instead, we’re jumping ahead one week:

The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career, by Stephen B. Heard. Available online at UB Libraries.

Chapter 13, Discussion

Read the Discussion section for the paper “Measuring and inferring the ice thickness distribution of four glaciers in the Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan” by Lander Van Tricht et al., in the most recent issue of Journal of Glaciology. (It will probably help to read the abstract first..) Identify text that supports each of the four main Discussion components:

  • Interpreting results
  • Considering weaknesses
  • Relating results to literature
  • Considering future progress

What occupies the power position at the end of this Discussion / Conclusion? What does it tell you about the importance of the different parts of the research that these authors performed?

Week 9 / April 2

☆ Eric presents his research ☆ Detecting draining of firn aquifers using NASA Operation IceBridge data in GHub

Week 10 / April 9

☆ Naureen presents an introduction to her research ☆ How to use Google Earth Engine, with application to detecting crevasses in Greenland

Week 11 / April 16

☆ Hannah presents her research ☆ Finding moulins in western Greenland ☆

Week 12 / April 23

Field Trip: 🌳 In-person outdoor walk at UB South Campus. Meet at the main (northwest) entrance to Abbott Library. Thanks to Naureen for the photographic documentation! 🌳

Week 13 / April 30

The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career, by Stephen B. Heard. Available online at UB Libraries.

Assigned reading: Part IV (Ch. 17-20), Style.

Schedule and history : Fall 2020

Every other week, we combine with the Remote Sensing Lab and have a Glaciology SuperGroup meeting!

  • December 14, 2020
    • Exam week, no meeting.
  • December 7, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup Meeting
    • Jordan leads
  • November 30, 2020
    • Josh leads – AGU presentation preview!
  • November 23, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup Meeting
    • Hui leads – AGU presentation preview!
  • November 16, 2020
    • Eric leads – AGU presentation preview!
  • November 9, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup meeting
    • IGS seminar viewing
  • November 2, 2020
    • Hannah leads – CTDs in oceanography / glaciology
  • October 26, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup meeting
    • Group goals
  • October 19, 2020 – GML group meeting
    • Francis leads
  • October 12, 2020 – GML group meeting
    • Kristin leads – Figure critique workshop
  • October 5, 2020 – GML group meeting
    • Read and review group expectations.
    • We will change, add, delete, and modify items on the expectations at the group meeting.
  • September 28 – Inaugural semester Glaciology SuperGroup meeting
    • Welcome, decide format
  • September 21, 2020 – Inaugural semester GML group meeting
    • Decide format and frequency

Spring 2020

  • May 13, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup meeting
    • Last meeting of the semester!
  • May 6, 2020 – Eric leads
    • Surge glaciers in East Greenland
  • April 29, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup meeting, Ash leads
    • WorldView DEMs
  • April 22, 2020 – Francis leads
    • 3D visualizations in ArcGIS; Earth Day!
  • April 15, 2020 – Climate change and coronavirus
  • April 8, 2020 – Josh leads discussion
    • Generation of DEMs from images
  • April 1, 2020 – Jeremy leads
    • Jeremy’s fracture initiation thesis and paper
  • March 25, 2020 – Kristin leads
    • Geoengineering: see this news article about a scientific study of the feasibility of pumping snow onto Antarctica. We’ll take 10 minutes during meeting to read it. No need to prepare.
  • March 18, 2020 – Spring break, no meeting
  • March 11, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup meeting – Celia leads
    • Presentation and feedback on Celia’s moulin shape paper
  • March 4, 2020 – Kristin leads
    • Website biography workshop (Part II)
  • February 26, 2020 – Celia leads
    • “How to make your computer do references for you”!
  • February 19, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup meeting
    • Design the schedule for the rest of the semester
  • February 12, 2020 – Jeremy leads
    • Introduction to Jeremy’s research!
  • February 5, 2020 – Glaciology SuperGroup meeting
    • Update from Josh & Francis – Supraglacial canyons in Greenland

Old format (2019)

We meet on Thursdays in the Glacier Modeling Lab to learn from each other and from external sources. Each week, a different leader presents research, leads a discussion or workshop or clinic, identifies a short video/talk online to watch, shares a new paper or figure within a paper they discovered, etc… we keep it open-ended!

  • First week of the month: Kristin leads
  • Second week of the month: Celia leads
  • Third week of the month: Josh leads
  • Fourth week of the month: Jeremy leads
  • Fifth week, if it exists: Freeform bonus week.

Schedule and history

  • January 29, 2020 [Kristin]: Welcome back to the semester!
    • Revisit our format and presentation schedule
  • December 5, 2019 [Kristin]: AGU talk preview and workshop
  • November 28, 2019 [Thanksgiving]: No meeting
  • November 21, 2019 [Celia]: AGU poster workshop
  • November 14, 2019 [Jeremy and Josh]: Fourier Transforms in glaciology and beyond!
  • November 7, 2019 [Kristin]: Climate change perspective from the humanities
    • TEDx Talk of Cecilia Martinez, “Climate change through art and dance”
    • TED Talk of Brit Wray, “How climate change affects your mental health”
    • I haven’t watched either of these, just heard them recommended.
    • We’ll watch them during group meeting. No need to prepare.
  • October 31, 2019 [Bonus]: Lauren Andrews visit
  • October 24, 2019 [Jeremy]: Principles of design: Figures and posters
  • October 17, 2019 [Josh]: Paper discussion: “Troughs developed in ice-stream shear margins precondition ice shelves for ocean-driven breakup” by K. E. Alley et al., 2019.
  • October 10, 2019 [Celia]: The englacial void ratio: What does it mean?
  • October 3, 2019 [Kristin]: Website bio workshop
    • We’ve now got more content here for you!
  • September 26, 2019 [Jeremy]: Modeling fracture formation during and by lake drainage events
  • September 19, 2019 [Josh]: Modeling the advance of Columbia Glacier, Alaska
  • September 12, 2019 [Celia]: Using LaTeX and Overleaf to write your CV and thesis
  • September 5, 2019 [Kristin]: CV workshop