stpierre.t / albedo

Research

UQTR · 2026 – 2030

My thesis addresses the effect of wildfire on the albedo of western North American glaciers. It is a thesis by articles: three papers, one per objective. Submission is planned for summer 2030.

Objective 012026 – 2028 · paper 1

Wildfire, albedo and radiative balance

Geospatial analysis of how climate and wildfire aerosol deposition affect the albedo of western North American glaciers, using MODIS and the RAQDPS-FireWork scenarios with and without fire.

[à compléter] — expand on the method, input data and current status of this objective in two or three paragraphs.

Objective 02Field 2027, 2028, 2029 · paper 2

Daily albedo parameterisation

A daily time-step parameterisation, validated against low-cost weather and air quality stations installed on the Peyto and Saskatchewan glaciers, Alberta.

[à compléter] — expand on the method, input data and current status of this objective in two or three paragraphs.

Objective 032029 – 2030 · paper 3

Energy balance simulations with OGGM

Embedding the parameterisation in an energy and mass balance model, then simulating 2002–2026 under two worlds: with fire, and without.

[à compléter] — expand on the method, input data and current status of this objective in two or three paragraphs.

Fieldwork

Low-cost weather and air quality stations are installed on the Peyto and Saskatchewan glaciers in Alberta. Three campaigns are planned, in the summers of 2027, 2028 and 2029.

Study designRGI 7 · 2002–2023

01-05 St Elias Mtns 32 516
01-06 N Coast Ranges 21 722
01-02 Alaska Range 15 496
01-04 W Chugach Mtns 11 587
02-02 S Coast Ranges 8 072
02-03 N Rocky Mtns 3 889
01-03 Alaska Peninsula 1 730
02-01 Mackenzie & Selwyn 377
02-04 Cascades & Sierra 349
01-01 N Alaska 240
17 572glaciers
95 979km²
22summers

Glacier area by first-order RGI region, RGI 7 inventory, rounded to the nearest square kilometre. Analysis panel: 10 regions × 3 elevation zones × 22 summers.

Timeline

Thesis proposal and data set onboarding.

Objective 1. First field campaign. Presentation at EGU.

Comprehensive exam. Paper 1 submitted. Objective 2.

Parameterisation validated. Paper 2. Objective 3.

Paper 3, thesis writing and submission.