about me#

I am bob.

Since December 2020, I have been a “Lecturer in Terrestrial Remote Sensing of Environmental Systems” at Ulster University, though I usually just say “Remote Sensing” out of laziness. I’ve worked on developing courses (modules) on various topics, the results of which you can see under teaching and related resources.

At Ulster, I’ve continued working on DEM production and processing, including re-processing historic aerial photos to study glacier and other environmental changes. I’ve also supervised PhD research in different areas, including applications of machine learning for glacier mapping, geomorphological mapping and re-processing historic air photos to reconstruct past glacier extents (and project future changes), remote sensing of changes in lake-terminating glaciers around the world, and Master’s research on a wide variety of mostly non-glacier topics.

past bob#

From 2016-2019, I was a post-doc at the Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo. I was part of the European Space Agency (ESA) glaciers_CCI project, and did research on different topics including DEM production and processing, and estimating global glacier mass changes. I also supervised Master’s and undergraduate research on topics that ranged from surge-type glaciers in Svalbard to landslide distribution and development in mainland Norway. In addition to teaching courses at the University of Oslo, I also taught at the ESA Cryosphere Training Course in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, in 2018.

From 2013-2015, I was a post-doc on a variety of projects at the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks. From 2014-2015, I worked on a project investigating the relationship between floating ice and harbor seal populations in Johns Hopkins Inlet, southeast Alaska. From 2013-2014, I continued work that I started during my PhD, looking at tidewater glacier variation and frontal ablation at tidewater glaciers around Alaska.

From 2008-2013, I was a PhD Student and research assistant at the Geophysical Insitute, University of Alaska Fairbanks. My PhD dissertation looked at tidewater glaciers in Alaska, including patterns of terminus position change and frontal ablation, using primarily remote sensing observations. In addition to those studies, I also managed to do some field work at glaciers in Alaska and Svalbard, and helped teach a field course at Gulkana Glacier, Alaska.

other websites#

publications#

If you are unable to access any of these via the doi links below (or if the links are somehow broken), please contact me and I will send you a copy.1

2024#

Davies, B., R. McNabb, J. Bendle, J. Carrivick, J. Ely, T. Holt, B. Markle, C. McNeil, L. Nicholson, and M. Pelto, (2024). Accelerating glacier volume loss on Juneau Icefield driven by hypsometry and melt-accelerating feedbacks. Nature Communications 15(1), 5099. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49269-y

Piermattei, L., M. Zemp, C. Sommer, F. Brun, M. Braun, L. M. Andreassen, J. Belart, E. Berthier, A. Bhattacharya, L. Boehm Vock, T. Bolch, A. Dehecq, I. Dussaillant, D. Falaschi, C. Florentine, D. Floricioiu, C. Ginzler, G. Guillet, R. Hugonnet, M. Huss, A. Kääb, O. King, C. Klug, F. Knuth, L. Krieger, J. La Frenierre, R. McNabb, C. McNeil, R. Prinz, L. Sass, T. Seehaus, D. Shean, D. Treichler, A. Wendt, and R. Yang (2024). Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data. The Cryosphere 18, 3195–3230. doi: 10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024

2023#

Ali, A., P. Dunlop, S. Coleman, D. Kerr, R. McNabb, and R. Noormets (2023a). Glacier area changes in Novaya Zemlya from 1986–89 to 2019–21 using object-based image analysis in Google Earth Engine. Journal of Glaciology, 69(277), 1305–1316. doi: 10.1017/jog.2023.18

Ali, A., P. Dunlop, S. Coleman, D. Kerr, R. McNabb, and R. Noormets (2023b). Glacier area changes in the Arctic and high latitudes using satellite remote sensing. Journal of Maps 19(1), 2247416. doi: 10.1080/17445647.2023.2247416

Lauzon, B., L. Copland, W. Van Wychen, W. Kochtitzky, R. McNabb, and D. Dahl-Jensen (2023a). Dynamics throughout a complete surge of Iceberg Glacier on western Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic. Journal of Glaciology, 66(277), 1333-1350. doi: 10.1017/jog.2023.20

Lauzon, B., L. Copland, W. Van Wychen, W. Kochtitzky, and R. McNabb (2023b). Evolution of the dynamics of Airdrop Glacier, western Axel Heiberg Island, over a seven decade long advance. Arctic Science, doi: 10.1139/AS-2022-0045

Rounce, D. R., R. Hock, F. Maussion, R. Hugonnet, W. Kochtitzky, M. Huss, E. Berthier, D. Brinkerhoff, L. Compagno, L. Copland, D. Farinotti, B. Menounos, and R. McNabb (2023). Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matters. Science 379(6627), 78–83. doi: 10.1126/science.abo1324

2022#

Davies, B., J. Bendle, J. Carrivick, R. McNabb, C. McNeil, M. Pelto, S. Campbell, T. Holt, J. Ely, and B. Markle (2022). Topographic controls on ice flow and recession for Juneau Icefield (Alaska/British Columbia). Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 47(9), 2357–2390. doi: 10.1001/esp.5383

Winton, Ø. A., S. B. Simonsen, A. M. Solgaard, R. McNabb, and N. B. Karlsson, (2022). Basal stress controls ice-flow variability during a surge cycle of Hagen Bræ, Greenland. Journal of Glaciology 68(269), doi: 10.1017/jog.2021.111

2021#

Barandun, M., E. Pohl, K. Naegeli, R. McNabb, M. Huss, E. Berthier, T. Saks, and M. Hoelzle, (2021). Hot spots of glacier mass balance variability in Central Asia. Geophysical Research Letters 48(11), e2020GL092084. doi: 10.1029/2020GL092084

Hugonnet, R., R. McNabb, E. Berthier, B. Menounos, C. Nuth, L. Girod, D. Farinotti, M. Huss, I. Dussaillant, F. Brun, and A. Kääb, (2021). Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century. Nature 592, 726–731. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03436-z

Nolan, A., W. Kochtitzky, E. M. Enderlin, R. McNabb, and K. J. Kreutz, (2021). Kinematics of the exceptionally-short surge cycles of Sít’ Kusá (Turner Glacier), Alaska, from 1983 to 2013. Journal of Glaciology 67(264), 744-758. doi: 10.1017/jog.2021.29

Rounce, D. R., R. Hock, R. McNabb, R. Millan, C. Sommer, M. H. Braun, P. Malz, F. Maussion, J. Mouginot, T. C. Seehaus, and D. E. Shean, (2021). Distributed global debris thickness estimates reveal debris significantly impacts glacier mass balance. Geophysical Research Letters 48, e2020GL091311. doi: 10.1029/2020GL091311

Womble, J. N., P. J. Williams, R. McNabb, A. Prakash, R. Gens, B. Sedinger, and C. Acevedo, (2021). Harbor Seals as Sentinels of Ice Dynamics in Tidewater Glacier Fjords. Frontiers in Marine Science 8, doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.634541

2020#

Haga, O. N., R. McNabb, C. Nuth, B. Altena, T. Schellenberger, and A. Kääb, (2020). From high friction zone to frontal collapse: dynamics of an ongoing tidewater glacier surge, Negribreen, Svalbard. Journal of Glaciology 66(259), 742–754. doi: 10.1017/jog.2020.43

Huber, J., R. McNabb, and M. Zemp, (2020). Elevation changes of west-central Greenland glaciers from 1985 to 2012 from remote sensing. Frontiers in Earth Science 8(35), doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.00035

2019#

McNabb, R., C. Nuth, A. Kääb, and L. Girod, (2019). Sensitivity of glacier volume change estimation to DEM void interpolation. The Cryosphere 13, 895-910. doi: 10.5194/tc-13-895-2019

Nuth, C., A. Gilbert, A. Köhler, R. McNabb, T. Schellenberger, H. Sevestre, C. Weidle, L. Girod, A. Luckman, and A. Kääb, (2019). Dynamic vulnerability revealed in the collapse of an Arctic tidewater glacier. Scientific Reports, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41117-0

Zemp, M., M. Huss, E. Thibert, N. Eckert, R. McNabb, J. Huber, M. Barandun, H. Machguth, S. Nussbaumer, I. Gärtner-Roer, L. Thomson, F. Paul, F. Maussion, S. Kutuzov, and J. G. Cogley, (2019). Global glacier mass changes and their contributions to sea-level rise from 1961 to 2016. Nature, doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1071-0

2017#

Farinotti, D., D. J. Brinkerhoff, G. K. C. Clarke, J. J. Fürst, H. Frey, P. Gantayat, F. Gillet-Chaulet, C. Girard, M. Huss, P. W. Leclercq, A. Linsbauer, H. Machguth, C. Martin, F. Maussion, F., M. Morlighem, C. Mosbeux, A. Pandit, A. Portmann, A. Rabatel, R. Ramsankaran, T. J. Reerink, O. Sanchez, P. A. Stentoft, S. Singh Kumari, W. J. J. van Pelt, B. Anderson, T. Benham, D. Binder, J. A. Dowdeswell, A. Fischer, K. Helfricht, S. Kutuzov, I. Lavrentiev, R. McNabb, G. H. Gudmundsson, H. Li, and L. M. Andreassen, (2017). How accurate are estimates of glacier ice thickness? Results from ITMIX, the Ice Thickness Models Intercomparison eXperiment. The Cryosphere 11(2), 949-970. doi: 10.5194/tc-11-949-2017

Girod, L., C. Nuth, A. Kääb, R. McNabb, and O. Galland, (2017). MMASTER: improved ASTER DEMs for elevation change monitoring. Remote Sensing 9, doi: 10.3390/rs9070704

Paul, F., T. Bolch, K. Briggs, A. Kääb, M. McMillan, R. McNabb, T. Nagler, C. Nuth, P. Rastner, T. Strozzi, and J. Wuite, (2017). Error sources and guidelines for quality assessment of glacier area, elevation change, and velocity products derived from satellite data in the Glaciers_cci project. Remote Sensing of Environment 203, 256-275. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2017.08.038

2016#

McNabb, R., J. Womble, A. Prakash, R. Gens, C. Haselwimmer, (2016). Quantification and Analysis of Icebergs in a Tidewater Glacier Fjord Using an Object-Based Approach. PLoS ONE 11(11), e0164444. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164444

2015#

McNabb, R., R. Hock, and M. Huss, (2015). Variations in Alaska tidewater glacier frontal ablation, 1985-2013. Journal of Geophysical Research 120(F1), 120-136. doi: 10.1002/2014JF003276

2014#

McNabb, R. and R. Hock, (2014). Alaska tidewater glacier terminus positions, 1948-2012. Journal of Geophysical Research 119(F2), 153-167. doi: 10.1002/2013JF002915

2012#

McNabb, R., R. Hock, S. O’Neel, L. A. Rasmussen, Y. Ahn, M. H. Braun, H. Conway, S. J. Herreid, I. R. Joughin, W. T. Pfeffer, B. E. Smith, and M. Truffer, (2012). Using Surface Velocities to Calculate Ice Thickness and Bed Topography: A Case Study at Columbia Glacier, Alaska. Journal of Glaciology. 58(212), 1151-1164. doi: 10.3189/2012JoG11J249

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please note that I am often terribly slow at responding to emails, but can usually be prodded with gentle (or otherwise) reminders.