Maddie Smith

The MOSAiC expedition was the result of decades of planning and collaboration by 20 nations to freeze a research ship into the ice of the Arctic Ocean for an entire year – the largest polar expedition in history. The ship served as a platform to observe all components of the Arctic sea ice and climate system with the aim of better understanding the changing Arctic. As a member of a team of sea ice scientists during the summer leg of the expedition, Smith collected data to understand how sea ice is melting in the new Arctic. Throughout the summer, the team watched as the ice evolved from thick and snow-covered to thin and speckled with melt ponds. The data and observations will be used to improve model projections and provide insight into future changes. During this talk, Smith will share stories of what it was like to be a part of the largest polar expedition, and provide a window into our first results on characteristics of Arctic sea ice now.

Dr. Maddie Smith is a postdoctoral scholar at the Polar Science Center at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Motivated by the loss of sea ice in a rapidly changing climate, her research uses observations and modeling approaches to understand how sea ice interacts with the ocean. Her fieldwork has taken her to the oceans at both ends of the earth, and most recently she was a participant in the summer leg of the year-long MOSAiC expedition. Maddie completed her PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington exploring the role of surface waves and turbulence in the autumn Arctic Ocean. She received her B.A. in Earth & Oceanographic Studies and Environmental Science from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where she first dreamed of exploring the Arctic while learning about the transpolar drift of Fridtjof Nansen.

To sign-up for a Zoom link for this event, please email pking@rocklandmaine.gov no later than 4 PM  on the day of the event.