Erin Christine Pettit (born 1971) is an American

glaciologist Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clima ...

focusing on

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. She is an associate professor of

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' so ...

and glaciology at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

. Her work focuses on ice-ocean interactions, ice-shelf disintegration,

sea-level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryo ...

and

ocean circulation An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, ...

changes.

Early life and education

Pettit, born in 1971, is originally from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. She started her academic career pursuing an Sc.B. in mechanical engineering at Brown University, which she received in 1994. Before she attended graduate school, she lived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

where she worked at AeroVironment and volunteered for the Sierra Club. She then went on to earn her Ph.D. in

Geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' so ...

from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in 2003, where her dissertation focused on the dynamic behavior of ice divides. Pettit also worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at UW until 2006 and then became a research physical scientist at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab in New Hampshire. Pettit was faculty at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks ( UAF) from 2008 through 2018. She is currently an associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at

Career and impact

Pettit's research is primarily focused on glacial dynamics and exploring the interactions within the ice-ocean-earth system. Pettit is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer who innovated applying acoustic research with hydrophones to calving and melting glaciers reaching the ocean, to examine ice shelf disintegration and the ice-ocean boundary. Her work has been recognized by numerous high-profile sources, including '' EARTH magazine,'' and '' National Geographic,'' and she was invited to present a TEDWomen talk, on her investigations focused on "listening" to glaciers. Her research on glacier sounds extends to how the underwater noise affects marine animals. She also founde
Inspiring Girls Expeditions
a series of interdisciplinary wilderness science programs that teach high school girls about

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, c ...

, oceanography, ecology, and mountaineering. The first program, Girls on Ice, started in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in 1999, with Pettit taking five girls to the South Cascade Glacier. During the program, adolescent girls learn mountaineering skills, how to use

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

for glacier measurement and how to calculate the velocity of streams.

Awards and honors

Pettit has received numerous awards including the National Science Foundation (NSF) Geoscience El Niño RAPID Award (2016), the Inspiring Women in STEM award, Insight into Diversity (2015), the WINGS WorldQuest Earth Award (2007), the David A. Johnston Memorial Scholarship Award (2000) as well as the UW Graduate School Merit Award (1997–1998). Pettit received the UAF Teaching Award (2012) from the UAF College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics as well as a Merit Award for Research Excellence and Coordination for the Girls on Ice Program she initiated (2011). The Girls on Ice program takes American teenage girls to Alaska and Washington State where they appreciate the climate and the experts who study it.About
Girls On Ice, Retrieved 21 August 2016 She became a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2013. She was appointed as a U.S. representative to the international

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC). SCAR coordinates international scientific research efforts in Antarctica, including the Southern Ocean. SCAR's scien ...

in 2016 and as a representative for the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

Brazil-U.S. Women in Science Program (2011). Pettit received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1998–2003) and the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Research Fellowship Grant (1997).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pettit, Erin 1971 births Living people American glaciologists Women glaciologists American Antarctic scientists University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty Women Antarctic scientists 21st-century American scientists 21st-century American women scientists Scientists from Seattle American women geologists Brown University alumni University of Washington alumni American women academics