Dr. Ellyn Enderlin's Research

Ellyn grew up in rural Pennsylvania and was always really interested in both science and nature. She decided to get a BS in Environmental Science at Lehigh University but wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to do with her degree until she was invited to map glacial landforms in Peru with the only female professor in the department at that time. Ellyn was awe-struck by the glaciers and decided she wanted to dedicate her professional life to advancing our understanding of the response of glaciers to climate change. Ellyn pursued her interest in glaciers while earning her MS in Geological Sciences and PhD in Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University. Ellyn was research faculty at the University of Maine for ~6 years before starting her position as tenure-track faculty at Boise State in 2019. Her research commonly includes a variety of projects focused on the use of satellite data to study rapid changes in glacier flow as well as field observations and numerical models of glaciers and remotely sensed observations of snow and icebergs. Ellyn is also interested in science communication and education, motivated in part by her husband Pete, who is a middle-school science teacher. Ellyn and Pete have two kids (Winston and Tyler) and a variety of furry and feathered pets that are part of the family.

"My research interests focus on understanding the response of glaciers and ice sheets to past, present, and future climate change. My work is motivated by the recent, rapid increase in ice discharge (i.e., dynamic change) and coincident increase in surface meltwater runoff from marine-terminating outlet glaciers across both the Arctic and Antarctic. Spatial and temporal variations in dynamic change strongly influence mass loss from the ice sheet, but are poorly understood due to the sparseness of observations acquired from the ice-ocean, -atmosphere, and -lithosphere boundaries. As described below, I aim to improve the current understanding of glacier dynamics and cryosphere-climate interactions through collaborative research efforts that leverage analytical and numerical modeling approaches and a wide variety of remotely sensed and in situ observations.

I look forward to developing interdisciplinary collaborations and continuing to incorporate student research into my projects. I believe that all research benefits from the outside perspectives and insights provided through collaborative efforts and that involving students in research promotes the development of scientific skills that are not received from classroom instruction. As members of my research group, students interested in climate change, remote sensing, seasonal snow, and/or glaciology have the opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary research projects focused on changes to the Cryosphere. My students are encouraged to submit their research to peer-reviewed journals and to give presentations at relevant meetings in order to develop their scientific writing and presentation skills. I am particularly excited to provide under-represented students with the same access to mentoring and research opportunities that I had as a student, which inspired me to pursue my passion for glaciology."

Find more information about Ellyn's research on her website here.