Ask a Scientist: How Do the Polar Regions Impact You?

In 2024, Fricker was selected as a finalist, along with another Scripps-led mission concept, in the NASA Earth System Explorers Program. Selected by NASA in February 2026, her mission is the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE) satellite, which will observe the three-dimensional structure of terrestrial ecosystems, like forests, and measure the surface features of glaciers, ice sheets and sea ice in the polar regions.

We caught up with the celebrated scientist to learn about the latest research underway at the Scripps Polar Center, how changes at the poles are felt across the globe, and why federal support for science is essential to public safety and national security.

Why are the Arctic and Antarctic regions so important to Earth's climate system?

The Earth is an interconnected system, and its polar regions are tightly linked to the lower latitudes where most people live. The poles play a vital role in regulating global climate, making life on Earth possible. Climate change is causing significant changes in these regions, including ice sheet melt, sea ice loss and glacier retreat. These visible changes in the cryosphere — the parts of Earth covered by ice and snow — are key indicators of a warming planet and have far-reaching implications, from rising sea levels around the globe to impacts on water resources and biodiversity. These changes, in turn, affect us all.

What does melting ice at the poles mean for global sea-level rise — and for communities in the U.S.?

Melting ice from the polar ice sheets is a major driver of global sea-level rise, posing serious risks to coastal communities in the United States and around the world. In the U.S., cities like Miami, New York and New Orleans are increasingly vulnerable to flooding and storm surge, which can lead to significant infrastructure damage.

Antarctica's contribution to global sea-level rise has quadrupled since 1971. While West Antarctica has been more extensively studied, East Antarctica holds nearly ten times more ice — equivalent to approximately 180 feet of potential global sea-level rise — making it an essential focus for future research.

Understanding where and why ice is being lost is critical for making accurate projections. However, key processes at dynamic ice margins are often missed in current models due to gaps in observational data, especially at spatial scales between 100 meters (328 feet) and 1 kilometer (3,280 feet). These scales are crucial for capturing fine-scale processes, like rifting and channelized melting, that can have an outsized impact on ice sheet behavior.

Satellite missions such as ICESat, CryoSat, ICESat-2, GRACE, GRACE-FO, and our recently selected EDGE mission are helping to close these gaps by collecting high-resolution data. These observations feed into ice sheet and climate models, allowing scientists to project sea-level rise over the coming decades and century with greater confidence.

Such projections are vital for long-term planning and risk management. They inform everything from flood defense strategies to land-use policies, making polar ice loss not a distant concern, but a pressing issue for public safety and global resilience.

How do satellites help us monitor changes in the polar regions?

Because the ice sheets are vast, remote and subject to harsh conditions — with changes occurring over decades to centuries — satellites are the only practical way to monitor them effectively. The main technique we use is satellite altimetry, which measures the height of the ice surface from space. Multiple satellite missions have provided ice sheet height data for more than 30 years.

Long-term altimeter studies have informed where the mass loss is occurring, but not exactly how, because the data lacked sufficient spatial resolution and temporal sampling. Most Antarctic mass loss happens at ice shelves. Since ice shelves float, their melting does not directly raise sea level. However, they act as a ‘buttress’ to slow the seaward flow of grounded ice, so when ice-shelves thin or retreat, ice discharge across the grounding line into the ocean increases.

Many of the key processes driving mass loss and gain occur over small spatial scales and short time periods. ICESat-2 provides the high-resolution data needed to observe these details, including surface melting, iceberg rifting and calving, changes in ice fronts and more.

Satellite measurements also play a critical role in guiding fieldwork in Antarctica and Greenland. By giving a broad, consistent overview of the ice sheet, satellites help us pinpoint “hot spots” — regions with unusually high thinning rates, changing grounding lines, or subglacial lakes — where detailed field studies are most needed.

Using satellites to identify regions for further study is especially important given the vast scale and remoteness of the ice sheets. This approach ensures that limited and logistically challenging field campaigns are directed to the places where ground measurements are most needed to understand the processes driving the observed changes.

Why is federal funding necessary to support polar research?

Federal funding is essential for polar research because it supports the infrastructure, logistics and science that enable the U.S. presence in Antarctica through the U.S. Antarctic Program, managed by the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs. Key research stations — McMurdo, South Pole and Palmer — depend entirely on NSF funding and coordination with the U.S. military and Coast Guard for supplies and access. Without this support, fieldwork would halt entirely, undermining decades of scientific progress just as we approach the next International Polar Year (2032–2033) and a critical Antarctic Treaty review.

Maintaining a strategic and scientific presence in Antarctica is also vital as global powers like China and Russia expand their activities on the continent. At the same time, U.S. leadership in science is slipping due to stagnant funding, even as other countries invest more heavily. Cutting NSF funding would not only threaten jobs and research across the U.S., but also risk ceding global leadership in science and innovation. Federal investment in polar science isn't just about understanding Antarctica — it's about securing America's place at the forefront of global science and policy.

What motivates your work, and where do you see your research headed next?

I am motivated by understanding our home planet through the simple but powerful act of measuring change over time. Just as a family marks a child’s growth on a wall, satellite altimetry allows us to track the Earth’s changing surface — its ice, oceans, lakes, forests and land — year after year, decade after decade. Since I began my PhD in the mid-1990s, satellite observations have transformed our understanding of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and its role in the Earth system. Measuring surface height of our poles is, to me, one of Earth’s vital signs, and it’s critical that we keep tracking it with consistency and precision.

What excites me the most about my work is the intersection of technology, science and societal relevance. I’m fascinated by the technology and engineering involved with satellites, but more so by what their data reveal: melting ice, rising seas, shifting land. These are not just scientific facts — they are clear evidence of a changing planet, with profound implications for coastal communities, ecosystems and global resilience.

Looking ahead, I’m especially excited about the upcoming EDGE mission, which promises a major leap forward in our ability to observe Earth’s surface at the fine scales where many critical processes occur. I see my research continuing to focus on making these observations, and then integrating them into models to improve projections of sea-level rise and ice sheet behavior.

At UC San Diego, I’m also engaged with the interdisciplinary work of the Scripps Polar Center, which brings together researchers across the three sections of Scripps (Earth, Oceans and Atmosphere, and Biology). Our mission is to tackle the complex challenges facing today’s polar regions and to train a new generation of scientists who can work across disciplines. This collaborative, cross-cutting approach is essential for advancing both science and solutions in a rapidly changing world. I am thrilled to lead the Scripps Polar Center and proud of what we accomplish each year through our Polar Seminar, now 15 years running, as well as through other events.

Learn more about research and education at UC San Diego in: Climate Change