[GLIMS] Changes of GLIMS leadership

[Bruce RAUP]

Dear all,

I would like to thank Jeff publicly for his many years of work in the GLIMS
initiative.  Regional Center organization, GLIMS workshop organization, and
of course the GLIMS book stand out as particularly notable achievements,
but his work touches on many other areas as well, and I look forward to
continued work with him on the science side of GLIMS.

As Jeff said, the structure of the GLIMS initiative is changing a bit. 
GLIMS is alive and full of new energy, and in the coming few weeks more
information will be forthcoming on this topic.  In response to Jeff's
message, I'll take the opportunity to highlight some of the main
activities:

- We at NSIDC are working to merge the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI)
   into GLIMS.  The Greenland and Antarctica regions are notable recent
   additions.

- Together with the RGI group (primarily Graham Cogley and Regine Hock), we
   are actively discussing the path of GLIMS and RGI and their convergence
   in the ~2-3 year time frame.

- We are implementing major web application changes at NSIDC, which will
   become more visible soon.  Some of you may already have seen the new
   glacier browser map app at http://glims.colorado.edu/glimsdb/html/
   currently in beta.

- Together with the ESA-funded Glaciers_CCI project led by Frank Paul as
   well as the RGI group, we are adding more data types to GLIMS, such as
   centerlines and hypsometry for every glacier.  We envision new data
   intake processes that will compute these quantities automatically only
   from outlines from a Regional Center analyst.

- GLIMS and NSIDC continue their close collaboration with the World Glacier
   Monitoring Service in support of activities within the Global Terrestrial
   Network for Glaciers (GTN-G).

There are additional changes and technical improvements coming to the
processes of getting data into (for data providers) and out of (for end
users) the GLIMS database, to be described in more detail later (after I'm
back from holiday).

To all on this mailing list, we welcome (and need!) your continued
involvement in GLIMS.  We aim to make contributing to GLIMS clearer and
easier in the near future.

Best regards from Prague,
Bruce


2015-07-01, 05:56:  Jeffrey wrote:

> Dear GLIMS colleagues,
> Effective today, I have stepped down as Director of the GLIMS initiative.  Other changes are under development pursuant to the outcome of ongoing discussions that began last December at
> the Fall AGU meeting and continued last week at the GTN-G side meeting during IUGG in Prague.  Among the changes discussed, Bruce Raup has taken a role as the Director of GLIMS pending
> final formalized agreement by the key core institution partners.  As discussed and to be implemented pending final agreement, the Director role may rotate, possibly with a 2-year term,
> from NSIDC to WGMS then to a non-U.S., non-European institution.  A GLIMS Executive Board, possibly of seven members, will be established.  Aside from my stepping down, all these
> changes are pending final agreement, and the important details may change.
> 
> As for my role, it will be defined, but I have intentions of remaining active in GLIMS, including as an ASTER Science Team member as I have served previously, and perhaps with new roles
> in the service of GLIMS.
> With these changes I hope for a further invigorated initiative and development of a bright new agenda.
> To all participants in GLIMS, I thank you for your longstanding collaboration, and I wish for you continued success in your work and great collaborations in GLIMS.  As for me
> personally, if this change of leadership gives me slightly more time to undertake glacier research, I'll be very pleased. It has been a great pleasure to lead this initiative from its
> very earliest stage til now, during which time we have seen glacier analysis and applications research go beyond where anybody had initially even imagined would be possible-- thanks to
> you and our space agencies.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Jeff Kargel
> Department of Hydrology & Water Resources
> University of Arizona
> Tucson, AZ 85721
> 
> Email 1: kargel at hwr.arizona.edu
> Email 2: jeffreyskargel at hotmail.com
> Mobile: +1 520-780-7759 
> 
>

-- 
Bruce H. RAUP
National Snow and Ice Data Center
University of Colorado
449 UCB,  Boulder, CO 80309
Phone:  303-492-8814
http://cires.colorado.edu/~braup/