Specialties

Recent Highlights and Upcoming Expeditions

Current Research

Current Projects

Activities

Publications

Related Resources

Director, NSIDC
Director, World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder
Distinguished Professor of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder

PhD, University of Southampton, UK, 1965

Specialties [top]

Arctic climate; cryosphere-climate interactions; mountain climate; climate change

Recent Highlights and Upcoming Expeditions [top]

• October 2007: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was named to receive the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with former Vice President Al Gore. Barry contributed to the most recent IPCC report, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, serving as a review editor for Chapter 4, "Observations: Changes in snow, ice and frozen ground."
• June 2007: Awarded the Founder's Medal—one of two gold medals awarded annually— by the Royal Geographical Society, London, in recognition of his excellence in geographical research, fieldwork, teaching, and public engagement.
• March 2007: Awarded the first Francois Emile Matthes Award, recognizing his accomplishments in the field of cryospheric science
• February 2007: Served as review editor for Chapter 4, "Observations: Changes in Snow, Ice, and Frozen Ground," in the IPCC report, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis
• September 2006: Awarded the Goldthwait Polar Medal in recognition of his contributions to polar research.
• February 2006: Received the award for Best Book of 2005 from the Atmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI) for the book The Arctic Climate System
• 2006: Served as review editor for the IPCC Working Group 1 Fourth Assessment Report
• Fall 2005: Published textbook, The Arctic Climate System, with Mark Serreze
• Summer 2005: Lectured onboard the Arctic icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn for the International Arctic Research Center (University of Alaska Fairbanks) Summer School
• 2005: Participated in review and publication of the NOAA plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program
• Contributed to the GCOS Steering Committee's Implementation Plan for the Global Climate Observing System for Climate in support of the UNFCCC

Current Research [top]

• Working on IPY data management efforts
• Preparing the 3rd edition of Mountain Weather and Climate
• Studying changes in freeze/thaw cycle, permafrost dynamics, and hydrology in the Russian Arctic
• Researching twentieth century sea ice in Eurasian Arctic from Russian and modern data sources

Current Projects [top]

The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center: Continued Data Collection and Management for Antarctic Glaciology

Changes in Freeze-Thaw Cycle and Permafrost Dynamics, and their Hydrological Implications over the Russian Arctic Drainage Basin

Characteristics of Cyclone Development and Decay in the Arctic Hydrological Response to Changes in Active Layer and Permafrost Conditions in the Russian Arctic

Data Management for a Community-Based Monitoring Network: A Pilot Project

The Dynamics of Human-Sea Ice Relationships: Comparing Changing Environments in Alaska, Nunavut, and Greenland

An Integrated Investigation of Coupled Human and Sea Ice Systems: A Comparison of Changing Environments and Their Uses in the North American Arctic

Permafrost Models Intercomparison Project

Twentieth Century Sea Ice Conditions in the Eurasian Arctic from a Comprehensive Reconstitution and Synthesis of Russian Data Sources with Modern Satellite Data

Activities [top]

Foreign member, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences

Co-chair, Standing Committee on Data, Information and Communication of the International Permafrost Association

Barry serves on the editorial boards of Physical Geography and Polar Geography

Publications [top]

2007

Barry, R. G. (contributing author). 2007. Portals to the universe. The NASA Astronomy Science Centers. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

Barry, R. G., R. Armstrong, T. Callaghan, J. Cherry, S. Gearheard, A. Nolin, D. Russell, and C. Zaeckler. 2007. Chapter 4: Snow. In Global outlook for ice and snow, ed. United Nations Environment Programme, 39-62. Hertfordshire, England: Earthprint.

Maslanik, J., S. Drobot, C. Fowler, W. Emery, and R. Barry. 2007. On the Arctic climate paradox and the continuing role of atmospheric circulation in affecting sea ice conditions. Geophysical Research Letters 34, doi:10.1029/2006GL028269.

2006

Barry, R. G. 2006. The status of research on glaciers and global glacier recession: a review. Progress in Physical Geography 30(3): 285-306.

Chudinova, S. M., O. W. Frauenfeld, R. G. Barry, T. Zhang, and V. A. Sorokovikov. 2006. Relationship between air and soil temperatures and periodicities in the permafrost regions of Russia. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, doi:10.1029/2005JF000342.

Gearheard, S., W. Matumeak, I. Angutikjuaq, J. Maslanik, H. P. Huntington, J. Leavitt, D. Matumeak Kagak, G. Tigullaraq, and R. G. Barry. 2006. "It's not that simple": A collaborative comparison of sea ice environments, their uses, observed changes, and adaptations in Barrow, Alaska, USA, and Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada. Ambio 35(4): 203-211.

Khromova, T. E., G. B. Osipova, D. G. Tsvetkov, M. B. Dyurgerov, and R. G. Barry. 2006. Changes in glacier extent in the eastern Pamir, Central Asia, determined from historical data and ASTER imagery. Remote Sensing of the Environment 102(1-2): 24-32.

2005

Barry, R. G. 2005. Alpine climate change and cryospheric responses: An introduction. In Climate and hydrology in mountain areas. Eds. Carmen de Jong, David Collins, and Roberto Ranzi, 1-4. London: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Barry, R. G. 2005. Synoptic climatology. In Encyclopedia of world climatology. Ed. J. E. Oliver, 700-704. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.

de Jong, C., D. N. Collins, R. Ranzi, R. G. Barry, G. Leavesley, and B. Bachhi. 2005. Introduction: Climate and hydrology of mountain areas. In Climate and hydrology of mountain areas. Eds. C. de Jong, D. N. Collins, and R. Ranzi, xix-xxi. London: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Koerner, C., M. Ohsawa, et al. (R. Barry, contributing author). 2005. Chapter 24: Mountain systems. In Ecosystems and human well-being. Current state and trends, Volume 1, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Eds. R. Hassan, R. Scholes and N. Ash, 681-716. Washington, D. C.: Island Press.

Serreze, M. C., and R. G. Barry. 2005. The Arctic climate system. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Zhang, T., O. W. Frauenfeld, M. C. Serreze, A. J. Etringer, C. Oelke, J. L. McCreight, R. G. Barry, D. Gilichinsky, D. Yang, H. Ye, L. Feng, and S. Chudinova. 2005. Spatial and temporal variability in active layer thickness over the Russian Arctic Drainage Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research 110, doi:10.1029/2004JD005642.

2004

Barry, R. G. 2004. Climate: Research Programs. In Encyclopedia of the Arctic, Volume 1. Ed. M. Nuttall, 379-384. New York: Routledge.

Bishop, M., R. G. Barry, and 15 others. 2004. Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS): Remote sensing and GIS investigations of the Earth's cryosphere. Geocarto International 19: 57-84.

Frauenfeld, O. W., T. Zhang, R. G. Barry, and D. Gilichinsky. 2004. Interdecadal changes in seasonal freeze and thaw depths in Russia. Journal of Geophysical Research 109, doi:10.1029/2003JD004245.

Khalsa, S. J. S., M. Dyurgerov, T. Khromova, B. Raup, and R. G. Barry. 2004. Space-based mapping of glacier changes using ASTER and GIS tools. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 42(10): 2177-83.

Solomina, O., R. Barry, and M. Bodnya. 2004. The retreat of Tien Shan glaciers (Kyrgyzstan) since the Little Ice Age estimated from aerial photographs, lichenometric, and historical data. Geografiska Annaler 86A(2): 205-15.

Tsukernik, M., T. N. Chase, M. C. Serreze, R. G. Barry, R. Pielke Sr., B. Herman, and X. Zeng. 2004. On the regulation of minimum mid-tropospheric temperatures in the Arctic. Geophysical Research Letters 31, doi:10.1029/2003GL018831.

Zhang, T., R. G. Barry, and R. L. Armstrong. 2004. Application of satellite remote sensing techniques to frozen ground studies. Polar Geography 28(3): 163-196.

2003

Barry, R. G., and A. M. Carleton. 2003. Atmosphere, Weather and Climate, 8th Edition. London: Routledge.

Khromova, T. E., M. B. Dyurgerov, R. G. Barry. 2003. Late-twentieth century changes in glacier extent in the Ak-Shirak Range, Central Asia, determined from historical data and ASTER imagery. Geophysical Research Letters 30(16), doi: 10.1029/2003GL017233.

Barry, R. G. 2003. Mountain cryospheric studies and the WCRP Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project. Journal of Hydrology Special Issue: Mountain Hydrology and Water Resources 282(1-4): 177-181.

2002

Barry, R. G. 2002. The role of snow and ice in the global climate system: A review. Polar Geography 24(3) pp. 235-246.

2001

Barry, R. G., and A. M. Carleton. 2001. Synoptic and dynamic climatology. London: Routledge.

Zhang, T., R. G. Barry, D. Gilichinsky, S. S. Bykhovets, V. A. Sorikov, and J. P. Ye. 2001. An amplified signal of climate change in soil temperatures during the last century at Irkutsk, Russia. Climatic Change 49: 41-76.

2000

Barry, R. G., and A. Seimon. 2000. Research for mountain area development: Climatic fluctuations in the mountains of the Americas and their significance. Ambio 29(7): 364-70.

Barry, R. G., and M. C. Serreze.2000. Atmospheric components of the Arctic Ocean freshwater balance and their interannual variability. In E. L. Lewis et al. (eds.) The freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean. Ed. E. L. Lewis, et al., 45-56. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Zhang, T., J. A. Heginbottom, R. G. Barry, and J. Brown. 2000. Further statistics on the distribution of frozen ground and permafrost. Polar Geography 24(2): 126-131.

1992

Barry, R. G. 1992. Mountain weather and climate, 2nd ed. London: Routledge.

Related Resources [top]

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
NSIDC Director
CIRES Council of Fellows
University of Colorado Geography faculty
WMO Climate and Cryosphere (CliC)
Terrestrial Observations Panel for Climate (TOPC)
Russian Academy of Sciences

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