The Office of Polar Program’s Antarctic science section welcomes Cody Barnett as a new science assistant

Cody Barnett is joining OPP from the University of Kansas (KU), where he recently received his M.S. in Geology. As a member of the KU Glaciology Lab, Mr. Barnett studied sub-ice shelf basal melting caused by the intrusion of warm ocean water underneath ice shelves throughout northern Greenland. Mr. Barnett derived multi-year records of basal melt along Petermann Glacier and Nioghalvfjerdsbræ (79N Glacier) using NASA Operation IceBridge radar observations. His research investigated spatiotemporal changes in basal melt across each glacier, and additional quantified how macro-scale fractures underneath ice shelves, known as basal crevasses, evolve throughout their life cycles.

Mr. Barnett brings a diverse array of experience in earth sciences to NSF. Prior to attending KU, Mr. Barnett obtained his B.S. in Marine Science from the University of Maine (UMO). While at UMO Mr. Barnett was both a lab technician and the lead undergraduate research assistant on a bathymetric survey of the Bagaduce River Estuary in mid-coast Maine. Mr. Barnett provided expertise in quantifying sediment distributions along the Bagaduce Estuary, which contributed to an EPSCoR-funded project aimed at identifying suitable locations for local aquaculture startups. Mr. Barnett has participated in several additional geophysical surveys, the most notable of which being an ice thickness mapping project of the Matthes and Llewellyn Glaciers in Alaska while attending the Juneau Icefield Research Program.