WELCOMEHi, I'm Scott Braddock. I hold a PhD from the University of Maine in Earth and Climate Sciences and the Climate Change Institute. My research focuses on how climate change impacts polar and alpine environments, particularly the link between wet snowpacks and a changing landscape in northern latitudes. I also study past glacier and ice sheet changes in West Antarctica using geophysical tools and paleoclimate proxies.
I work with the Polar Geophysics team at the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute as an Assistant Research Professor. Check out some of our published work here: ORCID POLAR EXPLORATIONS brings together my passions for research, outreach, and teaching. My goal is to foster collaborations in Polar STEM fields by connecting students and professionals. If you're interested in getting students and teachers involved in Polar fieldwork, reach out! We host activities in Alaska and New England. In recent years, I've focused on science outreach, creating field-based and virtual experiences in Polar environments for high school and undergraduate students from marginalized backgrounds in Polar STEM. Currently, we are looking for new partners to work with in field-based outreach opportunities.
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News & Updates
October, 2025: Fresh off the press! PhD Candidate, Kailey Mannello published an awesome paper that quantifies how much water is stored in snow across the Juneau Icefield. The water storage capacity of snow is important to quantify so that researchers can better measure the depth and volume of glaciers across the world to refine predictions of sea level change. Kailey linked data that myself and others collected in 2012 with her own data from 2021 to show changes over time as well. DOI: 10.1017/aog.2025.10014
Summer, 2025: Our first field season is underway for our current research that is linking snowpack properties to land instability in northern latitudes. Our team successfully collected 100s of kilometers of radar data, dozens of snow and firn cores, and UAV LiDAR data. These data will go towards modeling efforts to predict regions at high risk of land instability.
April, 2025: I began a new position at the University of Maine as an Assistant Research Professor. My research is funded by the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), part of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Our driving question is related to how wet snowpacks impact landscape changes in northern latitudes, especially related to freeze-thaw cycles.
March, 2025: Our research proposal to study snow properties in Alaska and New England was recently funded by the Department of Defense. This research will test the hypothesis that there is a link between wet, subarctic snowpacks and land instability. Our research started this winter in Maine and includes snowmobile surveys with a multioffset radar system to measure snow water equivalent in Maine's snowpack. In addition, we flew drone LiDAR surveys to estimate snow thickness.
May, 2024: This term at College of the Atlantic, I am teaching a field-based course on Glaciers and the Landscape. We have the opportunity to explore Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park for evidence of past glaciations and sea level change!
May, 2024: I completed my PhD at UMaine in May, 2024! After 5 exciting years, I defended my PhD in April and finished up my program. I will continue to teach courses at the University of Maine in the summer of 2024 and at College of the Atlantic in 2024/25. In addition, I will be continuing my research at Umaine with the Polar Geophysics research team as a Research Assistant Professor in the Climate Change Institute.
Check out The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth, a new book by author, Elizabeth Rush. The book highlights a journey to Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica when Elizabeth joined our group of scientists aboard the U.S. icebreaker, the Nathaniel B. Palmer for a 2-month science expedition in 2019. Overview here
Stephanie Ewens/Broadside PR. Photo from NPR story