Ellen Mosley-Thompson

Ellen Mosley-Thompson is a glaciologist and climatologist. She is a distinguished university professor at Ohio State University and director of their Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. She is known as a pioneer in the use of ice cores from the polar regions for paleoclimatic research and is an influential figure in climate science. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Early life and education Mosley-Thompson was raised in West Virginia. She received a BS in Physics from Marshall University, where she was the only female student in the physics department. She went on to receive both her master's degree and her PhD in geography from Ohio State University, where she focused on climatology and atmospheric science. For her PhD, she interpreted the physical and chemical characteristics of a 100-meter-long ice core drilled at the South Pole in 1974; she compared the results to other cores drilled across the continent, which showed patterns in atmospheric conditions and temperature across Antarctica. With this early research, she demonstrated the importance of extracting high temporally resolved records for paleoclimate studies and, along with her husband and research partner, Lonnie Thompson, she pioneered the study of dust (particulate matter) in polar ice cores as a way to examine Earth's climate history.

Mosley-Thompson has published over 137 peer-reviewed journal articles, and she has been the recipient of over 53 research grants. She also works to increase the public's understanding of climate change and advocates for grassroots action on climate change. and the American Geophysical Union. She also is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. and the Common Wealth Award for Science and Innovation (2002). In 2021 she was awarded the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the category "Climate Change" jointly with her husband Lonnie Thompson.

The Mosley-Thompson Cirques (Antarctica) located at 78º01´S; 161º28´E were named after her.