Rob Massom

Rob Massom is a principal research scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division and is also an affiliated researcher with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership and the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science in Hobart, Tasmania (Australia). He has over 40 years experience in sea ice research, having worked extensively both in the Arctic (1980-1992) and Antarctic (1986-present). Prior to joining the Australian Antarctic Program in 1992, he was a postdoctoral research associate in the Oceans and Ice Branch of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (USA), where he spent three years after completing his PhD on sea ice dynamics in the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) at the Scott Polar Research Institute (University of Cambridge, UK), where he was a member of the Sea Ice Group from 1980-1989.

Dr Massom's current research interests include: change and variability in the distribution and properties of Antarctic sea ice (both pack and fast ice), factors affecting them (including extreme events) and their physical and ecological significance; remote sensing of polar snow and ice, including algorithm development and validation of satellite-derived data products; interactions between sea ice and ice sheet margins (and also involving icebergs); snow cover properties on sea ice; sea ice and penguin ecology; and factors affecting coastal polynya distribution and variability; and effects of sea-ice change on ice-shelf stability. His work benefits greatly from strong inter-disciplinary collaboration with sea-ice biologists, meteorologists, oceanographers and ice-sheet glaciologists from around the world. He has participated in sea ice research in both the Arctic (1980-92) and Antarctic (1986-present), including participation on 15 major field campaigns.