About me
I study the ecology and biogeochemistry of Polar environments using field-based methods, drones and satellites. My interest in this area started during my Masters and PhD (both at the University of Sheffield) where I investigated glacial biogeochemistry in Svalbard and Greenland. I then discovered remote sensing and went on to map snow algal biomass across the Antarctic Peninsula on a project based out of the University of Cambridge. I am currently a Research Co-I on a NERC Standard Grant at the University of Edinburgh scaling our snow algae observations across the Antarctic coastline and exploring the controls on bloom distribution.
Alongside research, I manage operations at the NCEO Field Spectroscopy Facility based at the University of Edinburgh, where we provide free-at-the-point-of-delivery equipment and training to UK-based researchers. This means I keep up to date with state of the art earth observation equipment and methodologies, and have exposure to a variety of different remote sensing projects, from agricultural applications to geological mapping.
Projects:
NERC Eco Snow Antarctica www.snowalgae.org NERC Standard Grant R-CoI
NCEO Field Spectroscopy Facility
Publications
Gray, A., Krolikowski, M., Fretwell, P., Convey, P., Peck, L. S., Mendelova, M., Smith, A. G. & Davey, M. P. (2021) Remote Sensing Phenology of Antarctic Green and Red Snow Algae Using WorldView Satellites. In: Frontiers in plant science. 12
Belcher, A., Fielding, S., Gray, A., Biermann, L., Stowasser, G., Fretwell, P., Ireland, L. & Tarling, G. A., (2021) Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea. In: Antarctic science.
Gray, A., Krolikowski, M., Fretwell, P. et al. (2020) Remote sensing reveals Antarctic green snow algae as important terrestrial carbon sink. Nature Communications 11,2527
James, K.; Nichol, C.J.; Wade, T.; Cowley, D.; Gibson Poole, S.; Gray, A.; Gillespie, J. (2020) Thermal and Multispectral Remote Sensing for the Detection and Analysis of Archaeologically Induced Crop Stress at a UK Site. Drones, 4,61
Affiliations/Memberships
National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO)
British Ecological Society (BES)
University of Cambridge Centre for Earth Observation