Mary R. Albert

Research Interests

Snow and firn physics; ice cores and climate; climate adaptation; polar engineering

Education

• BS, Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University 1975
• BE, Dartmouth 1983
• MS, Engineering Sciences, Dartmouth 1983
• PhD, Applied Mechanics & Engineering Sciences, UC San Diego 1991

Awards

• Lifetime National Associate of the National Research Council of the National Academies, 2011
• Department of the Army, Meritorious Civilian Service Award, 2009
• IEEE Best Journal Paper of the Year 2009 Award: Li, Gaiser, Albert, Long, Twarog, "Windsat passive microwave polarimetric signatures of the Greenland Ice sheet," IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing , v.46(9), p. 2622–2631, 2008
• US Chief Scientist, Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse of East Antarctica, 2007–2010
• Albert Valley, Antarctica: Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN, 2005) after Mary R. Albert, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH, who conducted field and laboratory research to characterize ice core, firn, and snow properties from Siple Dome, from the US-ITASE traverses of West Antarctica, and from East Antarctic Megadunes, 1996–2003
• Congressional Antarctic Service Medal, 2000
• US Army Commanders Award for Civilian Service/Partners in Education, 1999
• US Army Corps of Engineers Women in Science Achievement Award, 1996
• Department of the Army Research and Development Award, 1989

Professional Activities

• Review Coordinator (Invited), National Research Council of the National Academies:
  1. Monitoring Climate Change Impacts: Metrics at the Intersection of the Human and Earth Systems, NRC 2010
  2. Scientific Value of Arctic Sea Ice Imagery Derived Products, NRC 2009
  3. Design of the Martha Muse Award, NRC 2008
  4. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship, NRC 2007
• Faculty Advisor, Dartmouth Graduate Women in Science and Engineering
• Member, American Association for Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union, International Glaciological Society, Sigma Xi
• Chair, US National Committee for the International Polar Year, 2003–2006 (Committee of the NAS Polar Research Board) (Invited)
• Member, Polar Research Board, National Academy of Sciences 2002–2006
• Member (Invited) National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs Advisory Committee (1998–2001); Committee Chair (Invited) 2000

Research Projects

• Adaptation to climate change

  Adaptation to climate change

  Many communities are not prepared to understand the changes they may need to make under our currently changing climate in order to adapt and mitigate for a more resilient future. We are working with communities and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to use published forecasts of climate change along with economics, planning policy, and engineering considerations in order to facilitate planning for a more resilient future for communities within the U.S. and elsewhere.

  ×
• Ice core interpretation

  Ice core interpretation

  Ice cores drilled in cold areas of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets provide high-resolution climate records that are essential for understanding abrupt climate change. The only remaining samples of the atmopshere from past centuries and millennia are contained in bubbles found deep in glacial ice. We are measuring the physical structure, transport properties, and microstructure from ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica to better understand mechanisms of the trapping of gases in ice cores for improved understanding of abrupt climate changes in the past.

  ×
• Glaciology and climate

  Glaciology and climate

  As perhaps the most dynamic of all naturally-deposited porous media, the changing structure of snow reflects changes in weather and the environment. A wealth of satellite imagery exists over the vast expanses of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, yet there is an incomplete understanding of what variations in the images means. From snow and ice cores collected from traverses across the Antarctic Ice Sheet and from several locations on the Greenland Ice Sheet, we are developing the physical basis by which satellite imagery can be used to make high-resolution maps of snow accumulation over vast and remote areas of the ice sheets.

  ×

Selected Publications

• Pantaleo, A., M.R. Albert, H.T. Snyder, S. Doig, T. Oshima, N.E. Hagelqvist, 2022. Modeling a Sustainable Energy Transition in Northern Greenland: Qaanaaq Case Study. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, V.54, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2022.102774
• Albert, M.R., K.R. Slawny, G.V. Boeckmann, C.J. Gibson, J.A. Johnson, K. Makinson, J. Rix, 2020. Recent Innovations in Drilling in Ice. Chapter 6 of Advances in Terrestrial Drilling: Ground, Ice and Underwater, Bar-Cohen and Zacny, eds., p. 157–220, ISBN 9780367653460.
• Cutler, E.M., M.R. Albert, K.D. White, 2020. Tradeoffs Between Beach Nourishment and Managed Retreat: Insights from Dynamic Programming for Climate Adaptation Decisions. Environmental Modelling and Software, v.125, 104603 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.104603.
• Cutler, E.M., M.R. Albert, K.D. White, 2019. A Low-Cost Shoreline Dynamic Simulation Model for Proposed Beach Nourishment and Dune Construction: Introducing a New Feasibility Tool. Journal of Coastal Research. doi: 10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-18-00100.1
  
• Adolph, A.C., M.R. Albert, D.K. Hall, 2018. Near-surface temperature inversion during summer at Summit, Greenland, and its relation to MODIS-derived surface temperatures. The Cryosphere, 12, 907–920. Doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-907-2018.
• Stwertka, C.H., A.J. Titus, M.R. Albert, K.D. White, 2018. Automated Strategic Prioritization Matchmaking Tool to Facilitate Federal-Community Climate Adaptation Implementation. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, v. 144(12): 04018081. Doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000994
• Adolph, A.C., M.R. Albert, J. Lazarcik, J. Dibb, J. Amante, A. Price, 2017. Dominance of grain size impacts on seasonal snow albedo at deforested sites in New Hampshire. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 122, 121-139. Doi:10.1002/2016/JD025362.
• Whelsky, A.N., M. Albert, 2016. Firn permeability impacts on pressure loss associated with rapid air movement drilling. Journal of Cold Regions Science and Technology 1(23), 149–154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.11.018
• WAIS Divide Project Members, 2015. Precise interpolar phasing of abrupt climate change during the last ice age. Nature, 520, 661–665, doi:10.1038/nature14401. (WAIS Divide Project Members are: C. Buizert, J. Ahn, M. Albert, R. B. Alley, and 14 others).
• Keegan, K.M., M.R. Albert, J.R. McConnell, and I. Baker, 2014. Climate Change and Forest Fires Synergistically Drive Widespread Melt Events of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v.111(20), doi/10.1073/pnas.1405397111.
• Adolph, A.C., and M.R. Albert, 2014. Gas Diffusivity and Permeability through the Firn Column at Summit, Greenland: Measurements and Comparison to Microstructural Properties. The Cryosphere, v. 8, p. 319–328.
• Gregory, S.A., M.R. Albert, and I. Baker, 2014. Impact of Physical Properties and Accumulation Rate on Pore Close-off in Layered Firn. The Cryosphere, v.8, p. 91–105.

Videos

News

Dartmouth Engineering Project is Finalist for the 2023 Arctic Academic Action Award
Jun 20, 2023

Ask the Expert: Why Ancient Ice Matters
Feb 09, 2023

Bridge Builder
Jan 20, 2023

Sen. Shaheen Visits Dartmouth for Research Briefing
Oct 14, 2022

Dartmouth Joins the Search for Earth's Oldest Ice with New NSF-Funded Center
Sep 21, 2021

Thinking in Systems: Why Public Policy Needs Dartmouth Engineers
Dec 07, 2020

Dartmouth Engineers Partner with Arctic Residents to Bolster Resilience and Sustainability
Nov 11, 2019

Irving Energy Institute Funds First Research Projects
Feb 26, 2019

Dartmouth's School of Ice
Jul 11, 2017

Study: Climate Change Is Affecting NH Seasons
Apr 26, 2017

Dartmouth Co-Leads International Teens in Arctic Research
Aug 16, 2015

Thayer's Mary Albert Awarded $17.4 Million NSF Grant
Feb 23, 2015

Study: Climate Change, Fires Melted Greenland Ice Surface
May 20, 2014

Dartmouth Students Strike It Big With NSF Fellowships
Apr 23, 2014

Antarctic Ice Core Contains Unrivaled Detail of Past Climate
Feb 05, 2013

Mary Albert: Ice and Snow and Many Hats
Feb 05, 2013

Innovations in Ice Drilling Enable Abrupt Climate Change Discoveries
Dec 17, 2012

IGERT Graduate Student Adds to Critical NASA Discovery
Jul 25, 2012

Cold Truths: new issue of Dartmouth Engineer
Mar 11, 2012

Dartmouth to Lead Ice-Core Drilling Oversight Office
Mar 06, 2011

Dartmouth Teams Exhibit at USA Science and Engineering Festival
Mar 06, 2011

Dartmouth awarded NSF grant for new polar sciences, engineering grad program
Mar 06, 2011

In the News