First, the big update: As of July 1, 2024, the Cryo-hydrO Observation Leaders (COOL) Lab has officially arrived at Duke University! Prior to this we were in the Department of Geography at the University of Oregon for three years, and we are currently maintaining a bi-coastal presence as graduate students continue to finish their degrees at Oregon. We are housed in Grainger Hall at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke and are thrilled to be here!

Our lab is growing: This fall, we welcomed two new PhD students in Earth and Climate Sciences at the Nicholas School to the group:

Ana Stringer joins us after completing her MS degree in Marine Affairs at the University of Washington. Her undergraduate degree is in Earth and Environmental Science from Vanderbilt University. Ana will be researching changes to coastal sea ice and the surrounding environment in Alaska.

Noah Jacobs recently finished his undergraduate degree in Remote Sensing and Environmental Policy at the University of Alabama. During his time at Alabama, Noah interned with Planet Labs. Noah will be researching the use of Planet imagery for lake ice breakup and freezup detection in Alaska.

Graduations: In June 2024, two COOL Lab members graduated from the University of Oregon. Addy Pletcher received her MS in Geography and presented her MS thesis titled ‘Remote Sensing of Lake Ice Dynamics in the Lower Kuskokwim River Basin, AK‘. Catharine Fleming received a BS with Honors in Environmental Science and Spatial Data Science and Technology and presented her Honors Thesis on ‘Analyzing Lake Variability in a Highly Dynamic Area of the Yukon Flats, Alaska, Using Remote Sensing‘. We will miss both Addy and Catharine but wish them all the best!

Other updates from earlier in 2024:

• MS Student James Maze attended the ICESat-2 HackWeek in Seattle, WA in August 2024.
• PI Sarah Cooley was awarded a collaborative grant with Isabelle Gapp of the University of Aberdeen, UK titled ‘From the floe edge: Understanding and visualising local sea ice conditions in Kinngait, Nunavut‘. Funded by the British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Program, this research involves examining the relationship between sea ice change and local art in Kinngait, a small island community in Northern Canada.
• PhD Candidate Eric Levenson was awarded a GSA Graduate Research Grant for his work on river dynamics in Alaska.
• PI Sarah Cooley published a paper in Environmental Research Letters on changes to landfast ice across the entire state of Alaska.
• NSF Polar Programs Postdoctoral Fellow Elizabeth Webb joined the COOL Lab from the University of Florida in January 2024. Elizabeth’s postdoctoral research involves examining the role of seasonal variability in controlling decadal-scale trends in Arctic lake extent.