+ Earth Observing System > Who's Who > EOS Project Scientists > H. Jay Zwally

EOS Project Scientists

Dr. H. Jay Zwally

Code 614.1
Goddard Space Flight Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Greenbelt, MD 20771
USA

Phone: (301) 614-5643
Fax: (301) 614-5644
Email: zwally@icesat2.gsfc.nasa.gov

Dr. H. Jay Zwally has been extensively involved in glaciology and polar research since 1972. His primary research interests are observing and modeling the dynamics and variability of polar ice, including analysis of long-term sea ice variations, determination of ice sheet mass balance, and studies of atmosphere-ice-ocean processes. At NSF's division of polar programs (1972-1974), he managed initiation of the interdisciplinary Ross Ice Shelf project, the Greenland Ice Sheet Project, improved airborne radar mapping of ice sheet thickness, and planning for west Antarctic ice sheet projects. At NASA, his early research included radiative modeling of microwave emission from snow, development of concepts for remote measurement of accumulation rates and surface melting, and systematic compilation of satellite passive-microwave data sets that led to sea ice atlases and discovery of the Weddell Polynya. He also pioneered the use of ocean radar altimeters for mapping ice sheet topography and studies of mass balance. Since 1979, he has been a leading scientist promoting satellite laser altimetry for ice sheet mass balance studies, leading to the launch of the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) in 2003. Currently, he is a member of the science teams for the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter (MOLA), and ENVISAT and CRYOSAT Calibration/Validation.

Dr. Zwally received a B.S. in mechanical/aeronautical engineering from Drexel University in 1961 and a Ph.D. in physics with a minor in mathematics from the University of Maryland in 1969. He was awarded NASA's outstanding scientific achievement award (1996) and Goddard's exceptional performance award for leadership in establishing a cryospheric research program (1978). He has had over 100 referred publications in glaciology, polar research, climate science, and physics.