Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
“Cryospheric Data Analysis: Opportunities for Collaboration” with Nick Brown, Carleton University
November 9, 2015 at 10:00 AM
| Location: | 5345 Herzberg Laboratories |
| Cost: | Free |
| Audience: | Anyone |
| Key Contact: | Temi Guoti |
| Contact Email: | temi.guoti@carleton.ca |
| Contact Phone: | 613-520-2600 ext 3244 |
Speaker: Nick Brown
MSc Candidate Geography with a specialization in Data Science
Title: Cryospheric data analysis: opportunities for collaboration
ABSTRACT
The proliferation of data in the natural and environmental sciences allows novel questions to be asked. Large datasets can be extremely helpful in long-term monitoring and answering questions about spatial heterogeneity. However, natural scientists often lack the background and analytical skills to fully take advantage of the new data resources. There is an increasing interest within the community of cryospheric researchers to amalgamate and disseminate datasets, but there are challenges to this.
Permafrost monitoring traditionally takes into consideration temperature alone as a diagnostic variable. However, as the temperature approaches zero degrees, the energy captured in latent heat reduces the sensitivity of the monitoring to changes in climate. Novel techniques allow us to estimate thermal properties of soil which can be used to provide estimates of physical change in permafrost, however these techniques require the minimization of multivariate cost functions and the selection of appropriate initial approximations for gradient-type algorithms. In these cases, collaboration between disciplines may be fruitful. We invite those interested in bridging the gap between geocryology, climatology, computer and data science to share ideas and suggestions.