Impact
As a United States government-funded research organization, PGC strives to provide transparent reporting and community impact for our sponsors, stakeholders, core users, and the general public.
Anti-Racist Solidarity Statement
The Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities stands firmly against the systemic racism that has long afflicted society and still causes immeasurable daily harm to Black People, Indigenous Peoples, and People of Color (BIPOC). The senseless killings of George Floyd in our hometown as well as those of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others are a part of the ongoing dehumanization of Black People by society and institutions. The PGC values Black Lives Matter and stands in solidarity with the BIPOC communities.
We recognize our organization lacks diversity and mirrors the inequality existing in STEM, academia, and research. We must hold ourselves accountable and do better. In addition to our efforts to transfer our knowledge and expertise to a greater community and provide open access to high-quality, high-resolution elevation data, we commit to improve ourselves as well as our reach. As a science support organization, we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment to all in our community.
Reports
National Science Foundation
- 2021 NSF Workshop on Antarctic Subsea Cable: High-Speed Connectivity Needs to Advance US Antarctic Science – Final Report
- 2017 NSF Workshop to Explore Extended Access to the Polar Geospatial Center by NSF Earth-Science Investigators – Final Report
- 2013 NSF Workshop on Cyberinfrastructure for Polar Sciences – Final Report
Education & Outreach
The PGC User Services team collectively work to engage its users, the science community, and the general public. PGC provides workshops (notably our Summer Polar Boot Camp), webinars, and online documentation (check out our continuously growing Guides section) geared to both core and new users.
PGC has impacted millions of “armchair explorers” with our Google Street View campaign (Antarctica, Greenland) and educates and engages with learners of all ages by visiting local schools and community events.
Our Community section provides up-to-date resources on events, news, projects, and more.
PGC Users Webinar Series
introduction to the polar geospatial center (PGC)
january 29, 2020
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EnhancedView Web-Hosting Services (EVWHS) for PGC Users
september 25, 2019
Due to copyright imagery and restricted account access, the webinar video is not available for publication or distribution.
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Science speakers: Dr. mark Salvatore
july 29, 2020
“From Microbes to Exoplanets: Ecological Remote Sensing of the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica and Beyond”
Science speakers: Dr. ANNA liljedahl
august 26, 2020
“The Permafrost Discovery Gateway: a web platform to enable knowledge-generation from big geospatial data”
Science speakers: Dr. CHUnli dai
september 23, 2020
“Establishing a database for volcanic eruptions and landslides using ArcticDEM”
Science speakers: Dr. Ellyn enderlin
september 30, 2020
“Remote Sensing of Icebergs: Can iceberg elevation time series provide insights into changing glacier-ocean interactions?”
Science speakers: andrew fleming
october 14, 2020
“Ships inice – Keeping Antarctic mariners up to date”
The PGC does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of information delivered via webinars. The PGC reserves the right to update, change, or remove any webinar content hosted online. The PGC may provide periodic updates to existing webinar sessions. Want to stay updated with the latest PGC news and announcements? Subscribe to our newsletter.
Science
Publications by PGC
Howat, Ian; Morin, Paul; Porter, Claire; Noh, Myong-Jong, 2018, “The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica”, https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/SAIK8B, Harvard Dataverse, V1
Porter, Claire; Morin, Paul; Howat, Ian; Noh, Myoung-Jon; Bates, Brian; Peterman, Kenneth; Keesey, Scott; Schlenk, Matthew; Gardiner, Judith; Tomko, Karen; Willis, Michael; Cloutier, Michael; Husby, Eric; Foga, Steven; Nakamura, Hitomi; Platson, Melisa; Wethington, Michael, Jr.; Williamson, Cathleen; Bauer, Gregory; Enos, Jeremy; Arnold, Galen; Kramer, William; Becker, Peter; Doshi, Abhijit; D’Souza, Cristelle; Cummens, Pat; Laurier, Fabien; Bojesen, Mikkel, 2018, “ArcticDEM”, https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/OHHUKH, Harvard Dataverse, V1
Michael J. Willis, Whyjay Zheng, William J. Durkin, Matthew E. Pritchard, Joan M. Ramage, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Toby J. Benham, Robin P. Bassford, Leigh A. Stearns, Andrey F. Glazovsky, Yuri Y. Macheret, Claire C. Porter. (2018). Massive destabilization of an Arctic ice camp. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 502, 146-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.08.049
Shean, D. E., Alexandrov, O., Moratto, Z. M., Smith, B. E., Joughin, I. R., Porter, C., & Morin, P. (2016). An automated, open-source pipeline for mass production of digital elevation models (DEMs) from very-high-resolution commercial stereo satellite imagery. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 116, 101–117. doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2016.03.012
Larue, M. A., Stapleton, S., Porter, C., Atkinson, S., Atwood, T., Dyck, M., & Lecomte, N. (2015). Testing methods for using high-resolution satellite imagery to monitor polar bear abundance and distribution. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 39(4), 772–779. doi:10.1002/wsb.596
Willis, M. J., Herried, B. G., Bevis, M. G., & Bell, R. E. (2015). Recharge of a subglacial lake by surface meltwater in northeast Greenland. Nature, 518(7538), 223–227. doi:10.1038/nature14116
Howat, I. M., Porter, C., Noh, M. J., Smith, B. E., & Jeong, S. (2015). Brief communication: Sudden drainage of a subglacial lake beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet. The Cryosphere, 9(1), 103–108. doi:10.5194/tc-9-103-2015
Donnellan, A., Bills, B., Green, J. J., Goullioud, R., Jones, S., Knight, R., Underhill, M., Goguen, J., De Jong, E. M., Ansar, A., Scambos, T., Morin, P., Hallet, B., Thompson, L., Gardner, A. S., & Ekholm, J. (2014). Studying mountain glacier processes using a staring instrument. In Aerospace Conference. IEEE Computer Society. doi:10.1109/AERO.2014.6836284
Kargel, J. S., Ahlstrøm, A. P., Alley, R. B., Bamber, J. L., Benham, T. J., Box, J. E., Chen, C., Christoffersen, P., Citterio, M., Cogley, J. G., Jiskoot, H., Leonard, G. J., Morin, P., Scambos, T., Sheldon, T., & Willis, I. (2012). Brief communication: Greenland’s shrinking ice cover: “fast times” but not that fast. Cryosphere, 6(3), 533–537. doi:10.5194/tc-6-533-2012
LaRue, M. A., Ainley, D. G., Swanson, M., Dugger, K. M., Lyver, P. O., Barton, K., & Ballard, G. (2013). Climate Change Winners: Receding Ice Fields Facilitate Colony Expansion and Altered Dynamics in an Adélie Penguin Metapopulation. PLoS ONE, 8(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060568
LaRue, M. A., Rotella, J. J., Garrott, R. A., Siniff, D. B., Ainley, D. G., Stauffer, G. E., Porter, C. C., & Morin, P. J. (2011). Satellite imagery can be used to detect variation in abundance of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Erebus Bay, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 34(11), 1727–1737. doi:10.1007/s00300-011-1023-0
Publications Supported by PGC
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PGC has provided geospatial support to hundreds of research groups and their academic works. A full curriculum vitae can be accessed using the “Publications List” link.