Dorothy K. Hall is a scientific researcher known for her studies on snow and ice, which she studies through a combination of satellite data and direct measurements. She is a fellow of the
American Geophysical Union.
Education and career
Hall grew up near Washington, D.C. and was interested in the space program, astronomy, and geology. By high school, she had her pilot's license and was taking photographs from planes. In college, she combined these interests to pursue a degree in geographic sciences at the
University of Maryland.[1] Hall also earned her Ph.D. from the
University of Maryland where she combined field measurements and satellite data to measure
aufeis in Alaska.[2]
Hall was a scientist at the
National Aeronautics and Space Agency's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center, where she served as a scientist in the hydrology division from 1975 until 2003, with a promotion to Senior Scientist in 1989.[3] Hall worked in the cryospheric sciences laboratory at NASA where she led the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer snow and ice imaging program.[3] After retiring from NASA,[when?] Hall spent two years at
Michigan State University before taking a visiting scientist position at the University of Maryland.[4]
In 2018, Hall was elected a fellow of the
American Geophysical Union who cited her "for pioneering, innovative, and sustained research for 44 years on global
remote sensing of the Earth's cryosphere".[5]
Research
Hall is known for her research measuring the temperature of the snow and sea, and mapping its spatial extent. While at NASA, Hall worked on the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on the
Terra satellite[6] where she focused on the measurements of snow from space.[7][8] Hall has also used the MODIS instruments on Terra and
Aqua to measure the temperature of the ice surface.[9] Hall's research on the surface temperature and extent of ice melt in Greenland[10] has revealed widespread melting of Greenland ice over short periods of time.[11][12] Her work during field expeditions includes direct measurements of snow and ice, which increases confidence in measurements made from space.[13][14] Hall's research includes tracking of annual changes in snow levels and the timing of melt in areas including Wyoming,[15] California,[16] and
Great Salt Lake in Utah.[17][18]
Decreased snow levels in the winter of 2011 to 2012 based on snow maps made by Hall using satellite data
Selected publications
Hall, Dorothy K. (1985). Remote Sensing of Ice and Snow. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
ISBN978-94-009-4842-6.
Hall, Dorothy K.; Riggs, George A.; Salomonson, Vincent V. (November 1995). "Development of methods for mapping global snow cover using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer data". Remote Sensing of Environment. 54 (2): 127–140.
Bibcode:
1995RSEnv..54..127H.
doi:
10.1016/0034-4257(95)00137-P.
Hall, Dorothy K.; Bayr, Klaus J.; Schöner, Wolfgang; Bindschadler, Robert A.; Chien, Janet Y.L. (August 2003). "Consideration of the errors inherent in mapping historical glacier positions in Austria from the ground and space (1893–2001)". Remote Sensing of Environment. 86 (4): 566–577.
Bibcode:
2003RSEnv..86..566H.
doi:
10.1016/S0034-4257(03)00134-2.
^West, Teri (2018-02-14).
"Dr. Dorothy Hall". Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center.
Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
^
ab"Hall". Honors Program. Retrieved 22 August 2021.