My interests are in the application of physics to problems related to the earth, in particular to studies of ice and climate change in the warming world we inhabit today. My teaching is therefore in both the Physics and Environmental Studies Programs. I am currently Chair of the Physics Department but also have close ties to Environmental Studies which I helped found and directed for a number of years. Currently I teach an introductory course in earth science, Geophysics - Perspectives on the Dynamic Earth and also a level II course on Global Climate Change. I direct the Advanced Laboratory course for sophomore physics majors and also frequently teach one of the introductory courses in Environmental Studies. You can read more about these courses in the links below.
My research takes me to Antarctica and other icy places, and we have a research group supported by the National Science Foundation consisting of five to six students each year and two post docs. As geophysicists, we utilize remote sensing tools that enable us to see into the earth/ ice and also to observe it from space using imagery acquired by satellites. In particular we design and deploy ice-penetrating radar systems to explore the topography beneath ice sheets and also to study ice history and dynamics problems by looking at the deformation of layers preserved within the ice, once deposited as snow on the surface. Satellite imagery of the surface gives information that is complementary to our investigations of what lies below. Often our radar studies are in support of research focusing on ice core climate records, but the radar has a variety of applications, some of them on smaller mountain glaciers as well. You can learn more about these activities in our research website below.
Click on this link to see syllabi, assignments and course schedules.
Australia-2000 Semester - Family Pictures
Office: Science Center 114
Telephone: (507) 646-3124
E-mail: jacobel@stolaf.edu