Main tasks within ice2sea: Involvement in W2 and W3.
Description of institution: The Norwegian Polar Institute is the principal supplier of scientific information on Norwegian polar regions for the Norwegian government, acting as its consultant on polar matters and helping to ensure that the environment is managed efficiently in keeping with international efforts to promote sustainable development. The institute is the main Norwegian institution concerned with scientific and environmental investigations of Norwegian polar regions in the Arctic and Antarctica. NP is headquartered in Tromsø, with an office in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, and a research station in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The Institute operates an ice-strengthened research vessel “R/V Lance” equipped with modern marine science instrumentation and a helicopter deck. NP has a staff of 130 and an annual budget that exceeds 13.5 million EUR. The Research Division includes over 50 scientists that work in the fields of geophysics, biology, toxicology and geology. The institute also serves as a service institution, outfitting research expeditions via its logistics division. Finally, NP provides public information about climate-change and polar activities in general. NP works in close co-operation with the special exhibition centre, Polaria – as part of its public education activities. More information about the institute can be found at http://www.npolar.no.
Department name: Research Department
Staff member: Dr. Jack Kohler (responsible scientist)
Profile of staff member: Kohler is a glaciologist at the Norwegian Polar Institute. He is in charge of the NP mass balance program on Svalbard. He has over 20 years of experience in arctic fieldwork, including two field seasons in Antarctica. His current research interests include: the relation between climate and mass balance; the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in operational glaciology; the relation between GPR and dielectric properties of snow and ice; and the role of snowpack dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Prior to working at NPI, Kohler worked for 5 years at the Norwegian Resources and Energy Administration (NVE). At NVE, Kohler was responsible for the Svartisen Subglacial Laboratory, a unique facility permitting direct access to the bed of a temperate glacier for the purposes of measuring sub-glacial parameters and performing experiments on basal ice. Kohler has served as co-advisor to PhD and Masters students, both in Norway as well as in Great Britain. Kohler is author or coauthor on more than 45 papers.
Selected references:
Kohler, J., T. D. James, T. Murray, C. Nuth, O. Brandt, N. E. Barrand, H. F. Aas, & A. Luckman. 2007. Acceleration in thinning rate on western Svalbard glaciers, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L18502, doi:10.1029/2007GL030681.
Kohler, J. 2007. Lubricating Lakes. Nature, 445, 830-831.
Brandt, O., K.Langley, J. Kohler, & S.-E. Hamran. 2007. Detection of buried ice and sediment layers in permafrost usin multi-frequency Ground Penetrating Radar: A case examination on Svalbard. Remote Sens. Env., doi:10.1016/j.rse.2007.03.025
Greuell, W., J. Kohler, F. Obleitner, P. Glowacki, K. Melvold, E. Bernsen, and J. Oerlemans, 2007: Assessment of interannual variations in the surface mass balance of 18 Svalbard glaciers from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Terra albedo product, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D07105, doi:10.1029/2006JD007245.
Lappegard, G., J. Kohler, M. Jackson, and J.O. Hagen. 2006. Characteristics of subglacial drainage systems deduced from load cell measurements at Engabreen, Norway. J. Glaciol. 52(176), 137-148.
Kohler, J., O. Brandt, M. Johansson, T. Callaghan. 2006. A long-term arctic snow depth record from Abisko, northern Sweden, 1913-2004. Polar Res. 25(2), 91-113.
Kohler J. and R. Aanes. 2004. Effect of winter snow and ground-icing on a Svalbard Reindeer population: results of a simple snowpack model. Arctic Antarctic Alpine Res., 36(3), 333-341
Kohler, J., J. Moore, E. Isaksson. 2004. Comparison of modelled and observed responses of a glacier snowpack to ground-penetrating radar. Ann. Glaciol., 37, 293-297.
Iverson, N.R., D. Cohen, T.S. Hooyer, U.H. Fischer, M. Jackson, P.L. Moore, G. Lappegard, J. Kohler. 2003. Effects of basal debris on glacier flow. Science 301(5629), 81-84
