About

Endowed with CHF 5000, the Prix de Quervain is awarded by the Swiss Commission for Polar and High Altitude Research of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and by the Swiss Commission of the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch of the Swiss Academy of Sciences for outstanding master’s, doctoral or post-doctoral work to promote early career polar and high altitude researchers.

The Prix de Quervain 2024 is awarded to Amy R. Macfarlane for her doctoral work that serves as a base to reduce major uncertainties on sea ice modelling and to improve the quality of global climate models predictions.

The rapid warming in the Arctic leads to significant loss of sea ice, which in turn effects precipitation and alters the energy dynamics of the region. The research of Amy Macfarlane focused on understanding the critical role of snow and ice in the Arctic, particularly how these elements influence the region’s energy budget and contribute to global climate patterns. Given the Arctic’s remoteness, the MOSAiC expedition in 2019-20 provided a unique opportunity to gather and study in-situ data over a year.

Registration is required before 27 November 2024.

Programme

17h00
Welcome address
Jürg Pfister, Secretary General of the Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT

17:05
Introduction and Laudatio
Naki Akçar, President of the Swiss Commission for Polar and High Altitude Research SCPH

17h20
Presentation of the awarded work «Impact of snow microstructure on the Arctic sea ice and on the global climate energy budget»
Amy R. Macfarlane, UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Northumbria University in the United Kingdom

17h50
Q&A

18h00
Aperitif

19h00
End of event

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Cover image by: Anders Jildén