Cooperative Research Program
Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites, University of Maryland, College Park
Assistant Research Scientist
Recent Publications
To see Dr. Farrell's complete list of publications, abstracts, and citation metrics, visit her
ResearcherID page.
Sinéad Louise Farrell is an Assistant
Research Scientist at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center
(ESSIC) at the University of Maryland, College Park, collaborating with
the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry and the NASA Cryospheric
Sciences Branch. Dr. Farrell is affiliated with the Cooperative Institute
for Climate and Satellites (CICS), within ESSIC. She joined NOAA as a
National Research Council associate in 2007. Sinead studied at University
College London and received an M.Sci. in Earth and Space Science in 2002,
and a Ph.D. in 2007, for a dissertation on satellite laser altimetry over
sea ice.
Her main interests lie in remote sensing of the Earth's polar regions
using satellite and airborne altimetry for marine geophysics and cryospheric
investigations. Current research topics include the seasonal and inter-
annual variability of Arctic sea ice thickness and volume, the mean dynamic
topography and circulation of the Arctic Ocean, and the marine gravity field
of the Arctic Ocean. A major component of this research involves analyses
and cross-comparison of altimetry data from satellite missions including
ICESat, CryoSat-2, Envisat, and ERS-2, as well as aircraft missions such as
NASA's Operation IceBridge. Sinead currently serves as a member of the NASA ICESat-2 Science
Definition Team and the NASA Operation IceBridge Science Team.
Farrell, S. L., D. C. McAdoo, S. W. Laxon, H. J. Zwally, D. Yi, A.
Ridout, and K. Giles (2012), Mean Dynamic Topography of the Arctic Ocean,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L01601, doi:10.1029/2011GL050052.
Gardner, J., J. Richter-Menge, S. Farrell, and J. M. Brozena (2012),
Coincident multiscale estimates of Arctic sea ice thickness, EOS Trans.
AGU, 93(6), 57, doi:10.1029/2012EO060001.
Farrell, S. L., N. Kurtz, L. Connor, B. Elder, C. Leuschen, T. Markus,
D. C. McAdoo, B. Panzer, J. Richter-Menge, and J. Sonntag (2012), A
First Assessment of IceBridge Snow and Ice Thickness Data over Arctic
Sea Ice, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience & Remote Sensing, 50 (6),
doi:10.1109/TGRS.2011.2170843, in press.
Kurtz, N. T. and S. L. Farrell (2011), Large-scale surveys of snow depth
on Arctic sea ice from Operation IceBridge, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38,
L20505, doi:10.1029/2011GL049216.
Kurtz, N. T., T. Markus, S. L. Farrell, D. L. Worthen, and L. N.
Boisvert (2011), Observations of recent Arctic sea ice volume loss and
its impact on ocean-atmosphere energy exchange and ice production, J.
Geophys. Res., 116, C04015, doi:10.1029/2010JC006235
Farrell, S. L., T. Markus, R. Kwok, L. Connor (2011), Laser Altimetry
Sampling Strategies over Sea Ice, Ann. Glaciol., 52(57), 69 - 76.
Abdalati, W., H. J. Zwally, R. Bindschadler, B. Csatho, S. L. Farrell,
H. A. Fricker, D. Harding, R. Kwok, M. Lefsky, T. Markus, A. Marshak, T.
Neumann, S. Palm, B. Schutz, B. Smith, J. Spinhirne, C. Webb (2010), The
ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry Mission, Proc. IEEE, 98(5), 735 – 751, doi:
10.1109/JPROC.2009.2034765
Kwok, R., S. Farrell, R. Forsberg, K. Giles, S. Laxon, D. McAdoo, J.
Morison, L. Padman, C. Peralta-Ferriz, A. Proshutinsky, and M. Steele
(2010), Combining satellite altimetry, time-variable gravity, and bottom
pressure observations to understand the Arctic Ocean: A transformative
opportunity, in Hall, J., D. E. Harrison and D. Stammer (eds.) Proc. of
the "OceanObs09: Sustained Ocean Observations and Information for
Society" Conference (Vol. 2), Venice, Italy, 21-25 September 2009, ESA
Publication WPP-306, 2010. doi:10.5270/OceanObs09.cwp.50. [Refereed].
Farrell, S. L., S. W. Laxon, D. C. McAdoo, D. Yi, and H. J. Zwally
(2009), Five years of Arctic sea ice freeboard measurements from the
Ice, Cloud and land elevation Satellite, J. Geophys. Res., 114, C04008,
doi:10.1029/2008JC005074.
McAdoo, D. C., S. L. Farrell, S. W. Laxon, H. J. Zwally, D. Yi, and A.
L. Ridout (2008), Arctic Ocean Gravity Field Derived from ICESat and
ERS-2 Altimetry: Tectonic Implications, J. Geophys. Res., 113, B05408,
doi:10.1029/2007JB005217.
Farrell, S. L. (2007), Satellite laser altimetry over sea ice, PhD
thesis, 224 pp., Univ. College London, London, U. K.
Dept. of Commerce • NOAA • NESDIS • STAR • Last revised: March 15, 2012
Sinéad Louise Farrell is an Assistant
Research Scientist at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center
(ESSIC) at the University of Maryland, College Park, collaborating with
the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry and the NASA Cryospheric
Sciences Branch. Dr. Farrell is affiliated with the Cooperative Institute
for Climate and Satellites (CICS), within ESSIC. She joined NOAA as a
National Research Council associate in 2007. Sinead studied at University
College London and received an M.Sci. in Earth and Space Science in 2002,
and a Ph.D. in 2007, for a dissertation on satellite laser altimetry over
sea ice.