Scientist Spotlight - Brandon Tober

This scientist spotlight focuses on Brandon Tober with the Department of Geosciences. He is a recent PhD graduate working with Jack Holt. Tober’s fascination with Alaskan glaciers led him to research the Malaspina Glacier, which recently was discovered to have been particularly susceptible to melting due to its own submarine bulk and the erosion of the permafrost coastline, opening the glacier to the warm Gulf of Alaska waters. Brandon Tober was the lead study author on this ground-breaking research, and was recently featured by UA News for his work on this project. Through a joint effort with EDO Director and Arizona Radio Echo Sounder (ARES) lead developer Jack Holt, the research group was able to map the underside of the large Malaspina glacier with great detail, and get a look at the channels cutting through the glacier. The team, from this, was then able to determine just how much Malaspina could contribute to the global sea level if it shed a massive amount of ice. In the event of a massive ice shed, it could raise the sea level by up to 1.4 millimeters, globally. 

Tober himself believes that it is important to map glaciers topographically, in order to get a more detailed look at their future evolutions. This project has led to further mapping of glaciers using ARES, as well as a new project funded by the National Science Foundation to further research the Malaspina glacier and its future, which Tober once again leads with Jack Holt. 

Hear from Tober himself all about this project and his hopes for future projects through the @uarizona Instagram!

Congratulations to Brandon Tober on his completion of his PhD, and we are looking forward to the research that comes out of this incredible project.