Current CV: 
Ellen Mosley-Thompson CV.pdf
Interests: Paleoclimatology, Ice Cores, Climate Change
Current Research: Ellen Mosley-Thompson is a Distinguished University Professor in the
Department of Geography (Atmospheric Science Program) and the Director of the Byrd Polar and
Climate Research Center at The Ohio State University. She uses the chemical and
physical properties preserved in cores collected from both polar ice sheets and high
mountain glaciers to reconstruct Earth’s complex climate history. These records
indicate that Earth’s climate has moved outside the range of natural variability
experienced over at least the last 2000 years. She has led nine expeditions to
Antarctica and six to Greenland to retrieve ice cores. In 2010 she led the field team for
the ice core drilling project on Bruce Plateau (Antarctic Peninsula), a U.S. contribution to
the International Polar Year, where the team collected a 448-meter core to bedrock.
She has published 133 peer-reviewed papers and is the recipient of 51 research grants.
She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society and is a Fellow of the American
Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She
recently served on the NRC-NAS Committee that produced the 2014 report “The Arctic
in the Anthropocene: Emerging Research Questions.” Research Group Web page.
Courses Taught:
Geography 3901H-Global Climate and Environmental Change: Individuals Matter.
Professional Appointments:
2010-18 Distinguished University Professor, The Ohio State University
2009-18 Director, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State
University
1995-18 Professor, Department of Geography (Atmospheric Science, Climatology),
The Ohio State University
1996-18 Senior Research Scientist, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The
Ohio State University
1990-94 Associate Professor, Department of Geography (Atmospheric Science,
Climatology), The Ohio State University
1988-96 Research Scientist, Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State
University
1984-87 Senior Research Associate, Institute of Polar Studies, The Ohio State
University
1979-83 Research Associate, Institute of Polar Studies, The Ohio State University
1973-79 Graduate Research Associate, Institute of Polar Studies, The Ohio State
University
Key Indications of Scholarly Excellence:
Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences, April 27, 2009
Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, April 2011
Elected Member of the American Philosophical Society, April 2009
Benjamin Franklin Medal, The Franklin Institute, April 2012
Dan David Prize, University of Tel Aviv, Israel, May 19, 2008
The Common Wealth Award for Science and Invention, April 20, 2002
Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, May 26, 2009
Additional Indicators of Scholarly Excellence
Green Energy Ohio, Pioneer of the Year (2013) Award, April 30, 2014
Joseph Sullivant Medal, The Ohio State University, December 15, 2013
Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Pennsylvania, May 13, 2013
Distinguished University Professor, The Ohio State University, 2010
Honorary Doctor of Science, Colgate University, May 17, 2009
American Alpine Club, David R. Brower Award for Outstanding Service in Mountain
Conservation, February 21, 2009
Alumni Medalist Award, The Ohio State University, November 9, 2007
Elected, OSU Sphinx Chapter Senior Member, Spring, 2007
Roy Chapman Andrews Society, 2007 Distinguished Explorer Award
Faculty Award for Distinguished University Service, The Ohio State University,
December 17, 2005
Distinguished University Lecturer, The Ohio State University, August 24, 2004
Distinguished University Scholar Award, The Ohio State University, April 21, 2003
Marsmhall University, Distinguished Alumna for Community Achievement, April, 26, 2003
Inducted into Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, October 7 by Governor Taft
John C. Marshall Award, the highest award given by Marshall University (for
distinguished scholarship), March 7, 2002
Recognitions:
The Mosley-Thompson Cirques (Antarctica) located at 78º01´S; 161º28´E were named
after Ellen Stone Mosley-Thompson, glaciologist and climatologist at The Ohio State
University. Since 1974, Dr. Mosley-Thompson has analyzed ice samples from
Antarctica and she has conducted field research at South Pole, Siple Station, and the
Plateau Remote Camp.
Current and Recent National Service Activities:
2012-18 National Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Committee for Quaternary
Research, Member
2016-18 AGU, Global Environmental Change Focus Group, President
2015-16 AGU, Global Environmental Change Focus Group, Fellows Committee, Chair
2010-15 National Academy of Sciences, Polar Research Board, Member
2013-14 National Academy of Sciences, Study Group on Emerging Research
Questions in the Arctic (Member)
Research Publications and Activities:
Refereed Publications: 135 total
Research Expeditions: 16 total
Funded Research Programs: 51 total
Select Publications:
2017 Thompson, L. G., M. E. Davis, E. Mosley-Thompson, E. Beaudon, S.E. Porter, S.
Kutuzov, P-N. Lin, V. N. Michalenko, and K. R. Mountain. 2017. Impacts of recent
warming and the 2015/16 El Niño on tropical Peruvian ice fields. J. Geophys. Res.
Atmos. 122. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD026592.
2017 Thompson, L. G., E. Mosley-Thompson, M. E. Davis, S. E. Porter, D. V. Kenny, and P.-N.
Lin. 2017. Tropical ice cores document major droughts in the mid-14th and late-18th
centuries linked to ENSO variability and societal disruptions. The Himalayan
Cryosphere: Past and Present. Geological Society London, Special Publications, 462,
https://doi.org/10.1144/SP462.6.
2016 Porter, S. E., C. L. Parkinson, and E. Mosley-Thompson. Bellingshausen Sea ice extent
recorded in an Antarctic Peninsula ice core. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 121, 13,886–
13,900, doi:10.1002/ 2016JD025626.
2016 Tian, L., T. Yao, Y. Gao, L. Thompson, E. Mosley-Thompson, S. Muhammad, J. Zong,
C. Wand, S. Jin and Z. Li. Two glaciers collapse in western Tibet. Journal of Glaciology,
doi: 10.1017/jog.2016.122.
2016 Goodwin, B. P., E. Mosley-Thompson, A. B. Wilson, S. E. Porter, and M. Roxana Sierra-
Hernandez. Accumulation variability in the Antarctic Peninsula: The role of large-scale
atmospheric oscillations and their interactions. J. Clim., 29(7), 2579-2596,
doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0354.1.
2016 Machguth, H., M. MacFerrin, D. van As, J. E. Box, C. Charalampidis, W. Colgan, R. S.
Fausto, H. A. J. Meijer, E. Mosley-Thompson, and R. S. W. van de Wal. Greenland
meltwater storage in firn limited by near-surface ice formation. Nature Clim. Change, 6,
390–393. doi:10.1038/nclimate2899.
2015 Kuipers Munneke, P., S. R. M. Ligtenberg, B. P. Y. Noël, I. M. Howat, J. E. Box,
E. Mosley-Thompson, J. R. McConnell, K. Steffen, J. T. Harper, S. B. Das, and
M. R. van den Broeke. Elevation change of the Greenland Ice Sheet due to surface
mass balance and firn processes, 1960–2014. The Cryosphere, 9, 2009-2025,
doi:10.5194/tc-9-2009-2015.
2015 de la Peña, S., I. M. Howat, P. W. Nienow, M. R. van den Broeke, Ellen Mosley-
Thompson, S. F. Price, D. Mair, B. Noël, and A. J. Sole. Changes in the firn structure of
the Greenland Ice Sheet caused by recent warming. The Cryosphere, 9, 1203-1211,
doi:10.5194/tc-9-1203-2015.
