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Gordon Hamilton, Climate Scientist, Dies in Accident in Antarctica Gordon Hamilton, Climate Scientist, Dies at 50 in Antarctica Accident
(about 7 hours later)
A climate scientist who studied glaciers died in Antarctica on Saturday when the snowmobile he was riding went into a 100-foot-deep crevasse, according to the National Science Foundation, which was funding his research. The accident is under investigation, officials said. Gordon Hamilton, a prominent climate scientist who studied glaciers and their impact on sea levels in a warming climate, died on Saturday in Antarctica when the snowmobile he was riding plunged into a 100-foot-deep crevasse. He was 50.
The researcher, Gordon Hamilton, died on White Island in the continent’s Ross Archipelago, according to the University of Maine, where he was an associate research professor in the glaciology group at the Climate Change Institute. He was 50. The National Science Foundation, which was funding his research, reported the death. The incident is under investigation, officials said.
“Gordon’s glaciology research around the world — from Antarctica to Greenland — was second to none,” the president of the university, Susan J. Hunter, said in a statement. “He leaves a legacy as an outstanding scientist, and a caring mentor and well-known teacher.” Dr. Hamilton died on White Island in the continent’s Ross Archipelago, according to the University of Maine, in Orono, where he was an associate research professor in the glaciology group at the Climate Change Institute.
Dr. Hamilton was camped out with his research team on what is known as the Shear Zone, an area about 3 miles by 125 miles where two ice shelves meet. While parts of the Shear Zone can be up to 650 feet thick, the area is “intensely crevassed,” according to the National Science Foundation. Dr. Hamilton was camping with his research team on what is known as the Shear Zone, where two ice shelves meet in an expanse 3 miles wide by 125 miles long. Parts of the Shear Zone can be up to 650 feet thick and “intensely crevassed,” the National Science Foundation said.
At the time of the accident, Dr. Hamilton’s team was working with an operations team to identify crevasses in the area, some of which were found and filled earlier in the week. Both teams included experts familiar with the area and with glacial safety. Dr. Hamilton’s team was working with an operations team to identify crevasses, some of which were found and filled earlier in the week. Both teams included experts familiar with the area and with glacial safety.
“The death of one of our colleagues is a tragic reminder of the risks we all face — no matter how hard we work at mitigating those risks — in field research,” Kelly K. Falkner, the director of the National Science Foundation’s division of polar programs, said in a statement.“The death of one of our colleagues is a tragic reminder of the risks we all face — no matter how hard we work at mitigating those risks — in field research,” Kelly K. Falkner, the director of the National Science Foundation’s division of polar programs, said in a statement.
Dr. Hamilton belonged to a tight-knit community of Antarctic researchers and support staff, Ms. Falkner said. Susan J. Hunter, the president of the University of Maine, said in a statement that Dr. Hamilton’s “glaciology research around the world — from Antarctica to Greenland — was second to none.”
“Gordon will be missed by many, and our hearts go out to all whose lives he touched,” she said. His research, aided by a pair of robots equipped with ground-penetrating radar instruments, focused on the impact of a warming climate on sea levels.
His research, facilitated by a pair of robots equipped with ground-penetrating radar instruments, focused on the impact of a warming climate on sea levels. “Ice sheets are the biggest potential contributor to rapid sea level rise, and if we want to know how much sea level’s going to rise in the coming century, we need to understand how ice sheets behave,” Dr. Hamilton said in a short video uploaded to YouTube by the University of Maine in 2013.
“Ice sheets are the biggest potential contributor to rapid sea level rise, and if we want to know how much sea level’s going to rise in the coming century, we need to understand how ice sheets behave,” he said in a short video uploaded to YouTube by the University of Maine in 2013.
Using satellite imagery and sensors in the field, he and his students tracked the shifting shape and size of such ice sheets.Using satellite imagery and sensors in the field, he and his students tracked the shifting shape and size of such ice sheets.
“I can’t think of a better job or another job I would rather be doing,” he said in the video.“I can’t think of a better job or another job I would rather be doing,” he said in the video.
His research revealed drastic and rapid change.His research revealed drastic and rapid change.
“The things I’ve seen in Greenland in the last five years are alarming,” he told The New York Times in 2010. “We see these ice sheets changing literally overnight.” “The things I’ve seen in Greenland in the last five years are alarming,” Dr. Hamilton told The New York Times in 2010. “We see these ice sheets changing literally overnight.”
When not in the field, he taught undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Maine and was also involved in statewide initiatives aimed at high school-aged children. When not in the field, he taught undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Maine. He was also involved in statewide initiatives aimed at high school-age children.
Before joining the university’s Climate Change Institute as an assistant research professor in 2000, Dr. Hamilton worked at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at Ohio State University and at the Norwegian Polar Institute, according to the National Science Foundation.Before joining the university’s Climate Change Institute as an assistant research professor in 2000, Dr. Hamilton worked at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at Ohio State University and at the Norwegian Polar Institute, according to the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Hamilton’s body will be sent to his family in Maine. He is survived by his wife, Fiona, and two children, Martin and Calum. He is survived by his wife, Fiona, and two children, Martin and Calum.