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Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
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B
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

Dr. John E. Hobbie is a distinguished scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and former director of its Ecosystem Center. He also leads the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research Project of the National Science Foundation. His research interests include arctic and antarctic limnology, estuarine ecology, and the global carbon cycle. Over 30 years ago, Dr. Hobbie began studying the role of natural assemblages of microbes in ecosystems, leading him to develop and apply methods for measuring the kinetics of uptake of organic compounds by bacteria using radiolabelled substrates. He later developed methods for measuring the mineralization of organic compounds to CO2 and for visualizing and enumerating bacteria present in natural water samples using DNA specific stains. He also studies larger systems in estuaries and arctic tundra lakes. He has served as a member of the NRC’s Ocean Studies Board and the Polar Research Board as well as on several other NRC committees, including the Committee to Review Community Development Quotas (Chair) and the Committee on Health and Ecological Effects of Synfuels Industries (Vice Chair). Dr. Hobbie received his doctorate in zoology in 1962 from Indiana University. He is chair of this committee because of his international stature as a polar scientist, his prior chairing experience with NRC, and his lack of involvement with subglacial lake exploration to date.


Ms. Amy Baker is the owner of Technical Administrative Services (TAS), a technically based service organization that provides technical and administrative support focusing specifically on the needs of the international scientific community. Over the past 6 years under TAS auspices she has participated in research for new biological methods that are currently under development for supplemental inclusion in NASA’s planetary protection procedures. As senior engineer with Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Ms. Baker worked as the Technical Lead for the Planetary Protection Laboratory for the Mars Surveyor Program and the Chemical Technology Laboratory. During her tenure with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory she served as the Deputy Director for the Hydrogen Research Program for the Department of Energy. Ms. Baker was also the Secretariat to the International Energy Agency Executive

Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
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Committee on Hydrogen Research. She completed her B.S. in Chemistry in 1985 at the University of Wyoming. Ms. Baker is suited to the committee due to her expertise in cleaning spacecraft (e.g., swabbing and culturing) in preparation for missions and knowledge of contamination prevention in general.


Dr. Garry Clarke is a professor of geophysics in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of British Columbia. His research specialty is glaciology and his particular expertise is in subglacial physical processes, subglacial hydrology, the stability of glaciers and ice sheets, and cryospheric agents of abrupt climate change. He has spearheaded a 35-year glaciological field study in the Yukon Territory, Canada, that involves drilling and extensive use of subglacial instrumentation. He is also active in the development of theory and computational models of glacier and ice sheet dynamics. Dr. Clarke has served as President of the International Glaciological Society and the Canadian Geophysical Union and received the highest scientific awards of both these organizations. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Geophysical Union, and the Arctic Institute of North America. He currently serves on the editorial board of Quaternary Science Reviews and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research. He previously served on the NRC’s Committee on Glaciology. Dr. Clarke received his doctorate in physics in 1967 from the University of Toronto. His breadth and depth of knowledge in glaciology and subglacial processes bear directly on the study topic. In addition to theoretical knowledge, he brings many years of practical experience of drilling and sampling in subglacial environments.


Dr. Peter T. Doran is an associate professor and graduate director in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His research is based in east Antarctica as part the multidisciplinary Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. He also carries out NASA-funded research using the dry valleys as analogs for past environments on Mars. He is currently lead-PI on a NASA-funded project to test a planetary drill in an ice-sealed dry valley lake. External committee experience includes being a sitting member and current chair of the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Area Users Committee and past member of two NASA review panels. He is also an associate editor on the Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences. Dr. Doran received his doctorate in Hydrology/Hydrogeology from the University of Nevada, Reno. His practical knowledge of sampling challenges and methodologies in cold environments and his knowledge of community discussions and planning for drilling and sampling of subglacial environments are particularly relevant to this study.


Dr. David Karl is a professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaii. His research interests include marine microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, long-term time-series studies of climate and ecosystem variability, and the ocean’s role in regulating the global concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Dr. Karl was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006 and he currently serves on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Editorial Board. He has been a member of the Polar Research Board and has served on the NRC’s Committee on a Science Plan for the North Pacific Research Board and the Planning Committee for the International Polar Year 2007-2008, Phase 2. He received his doctorate in oceanography in 1978 from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Karl has expertise in

Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×

microbial life in extreme environments and his knowledge of planning and community discussions on exploring subglacial environments.


Dr. Barbara Methé is an assistant investigator in the Department of Microbial Genomics at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville, Maryland, where she has been since 2000 first as a visiting scientist and then as a collaborative investigator. Dr. Methé’s research interests center on the application of genomic, functional genomic, and metagenomic approaches to the study of microbial diversity and metabolism and their impacts on the environment. In 2003, she was a member of the BO-037 Project at Palmer Station Antarctica, which included fish collection on the R/V Laurence M. Gould. Since 2003, Dr. Methé has been a member of the organizing committee to develop the program on Microbial Environmental Genomics (MicroEnGen) as part of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). Dr. Methé received her doctorate in Environmental Engineering in 1998 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She has expertise in genomics and its applications to sampling and studying cold-environment microbes.


Dr. Heinz Miller is a professor of geophysics at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research. His research interests range from polar geophysics (marine and terrestrial) to paleoclimate studies from ice cores. Dr. Miller has extensive experience with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) serving as a member of the Glaciology Working Group from 1984 to 2002 and chair from 1990 to 1998, member of the Group of Specialists on Environmental Affairs and Conservation from 1988 to 2002, chair of the first workshop on Lake Vostok, and he was the initial chair of the Group of Specialists on Subglacial Lakes. He was the coordinator of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) ice core program and chair of the EPICA Science Steering Committee. Dr. Miller also is on the Member Council of Managers of National Antarctic programs. He has extensive field experience both in the Arctic and Antarctica and has participated in various deep ice core drilling campaigns. Dr. Miller received his doctorate in geophysics in 1972 from the University of Munich. He has experience with deep drilling through ice sheets and familiarity with drilling technology.


Dr. Samuel B. Mukasa is a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Michigan, where he has been on the faculty since 1989. In 1985-1989, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Florida. Dr. Mukasa’s research interests include the geologic evolution of the Antarctic lithosphere and the integrated use of trace elements and Pb, Nd, Sr, Hf, and Os isotopes to model the evolution and dynamics of Earth’s mantle. He served as the chair of NSF’s Advisory Board for the Office of Polar Programs during 1994-1997, and on NSF’s Polar Geology and Geophysics Panel during 1992-1994. He also served as Associate Editor for the Geological Society of America Bulletin in 1995-1998. Dr. Mukasa received his doctorate in geochemistry in 1984 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his postdoctoral research fellowship at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in Palisades, New York. He is nominated to the committee for his knowledge of the geologic setting and its influence on subglacial lake physical and chemical characteristics.

Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×

Dr. Margaret Race is an ecologist currently working with NASA through the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. Dr. Race’s research interests focus on environmental impacts, legal and policy issues, and risk communication related to solar system exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. She is also a research affiliate with the Energy and Resources Group at University of California at Berkeley. She is currently serving on the NRC Committee on Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars and has previously served on four other committees, including the Task Group on Sample Return from Small Solar System Bodies and the Study on Transportation and a Sustainable Environment. Dr. Race received her doctorate in zoology from UC Berkeley. She is nominated to the committee for her direct connection to related activities in the NRC’s Space Studies Board and her expertise in astrobiological issues surrounding solar system exploration and potential parallels to the challenges faced in this study.


Dr. Warwick F. Vincent is a professor of biology and holds the Canada research chair in aquatic ecosystem studies at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, where he has been in a faculty position since 1990. He has conducted ecological research on lakes, rivers, and coastal oceans in several parts of the world, including the subtropical convergence (South Pacific), Lake Titicaca (Peru-Bolivia), Lake Biwa (Japan), and the St. Lawrence River. Most of Dr. Vincent’s research has focused on the polar regions, with his first expedition to Antarctica in 1979. Working with the National Science Foundation and Antarctica New Zealand, he played an early role in the environmental protection of the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. He is a contributing author to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, is subprogram leader (microbial ecology) within the Canada Arctic Shelf Exchange Study, and leads freshwater-terrestrial components of the research network ArcticNet. He is the past president of Canada’s National Antarctic Committee. Dr. Vincent received his doctorate in ecology from the University of California at Davis. His expertise in environmental protection policy and stewardship and specifically his knowledge of cold regions’ microbial ecology are particularly relevant to this study.


Dr. David Walton is a professor at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), where he headed the Environment and Information Division from 1999 to 2006. He was responsible for all environmental management and conservation activities, mapping, databases, and information management, as well as establishing the Artists & Writers Programme. He joined BAS in 1967 as a research scientist and worked on a range of ecological projects until 1986. He established the new Terrestrial & Freshwater Life Sciences Division in 1986 and ran it until re-organization in 1998 led to his establishing the new division on Environment and Information (EID). Primarily as an ecologist, Dr. Walton has made seventeen Antarctic visits. He has served as chair of the SCAR Group of Specialists on Environmental Affairs and Conservation from 1992 and then as chair of the SCAR Antarctic Treaty Standing Committee from 2002. As Head of the SCAR Delegation to Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings since 1992 he has gained considerable experience of linking science and policy at an international level. He was awarded the first SCAR Medal for International Scientific Co-ordination in 2006. He is Editor in Chief of the international journal Antarctic Science which he established 18 years ago. Dr. Walton received his doctorate in ecology in 1974 from Birmingham University in the UK. He is familiar with the Antarctic Treaty System and environmental protection and stewardship in general.

Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×

Dr. James White is a professor of Geological Sciences and of Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he is also a Fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) and past director of the Environmental Studies Program. His research interests at the Light Stable Isotope Laboratory include global scale climate and environmental dynamics, carbon dioxide concentrations and climate from stable hydrogen isotopes, peats, and other organics, climate from deuterium excess and hydrogen isotopes in ice cores, isotopes in general circulation models, and modern carbon cycle dynamics via isotopes of carbon dioxide and methane. Dr. White has served on the Global Change Subcommittee, Planning Group 2, of SCAR from 1993 to 1996 and as a member of the U.S. Ice Core Working Group from 1989 to 1992, after which he was the Chair from 1992 to 1996. He has served on the Polar Research Board of the National Research Council since May 2005. Dr. White received his doctorate in Geological Sciences in 1983 from Columbia University. He has knowledge of ice-sheet geochemistry and in particular of the materials that may enter subglacial environments from the overlying ice.

Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×
Page 145
Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×
Page 146
Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×
Page 147
Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×
Page 148
Suggested Citation:"B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2007. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11886.
×
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Antarctica is renowned for its extreme cold; yet surprisingly, radar measurements have revealed a vast network of lakes, rivers, and streams several kilometers beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Sealed from Earth's atmosphere for millions of years, they may provide vital information about microbial evolution, the past climate of the Antarctic, and the formation of ice sheets, among other things. The next stage of exploration requires direct sampling of these aquatic systems. However, if sampling is not done cautiously, the environmental integrity and scientific value of these environments could be compromised. At the request of the National Science Foundation, this National Research Council assesses what is needed to responsibly explore subglacial lakes. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments concludes that it is time for research on subglacial lakes to begin, and this research should be guided by internationally agreed upon protocols. The book suggests an initial protocol, which includes full characterization of the lakes by remote sensing, and minimum standards for biological and other types of contamination.

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