Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Matthew Druckenmiller

Research Interests

Matthew Druckenmiller is a Research Scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) within CIRES at the University of Colorado Boulder. Since 2006, Matthew has worked within the coastal regions of Arctic Alaska, investigating the connections between changing sea ice conditions and marine mammal habitat and local Indigenous community use of sea ice for hunting and travel.

Currently, he serves as Director of the Navigating the New Arctic Community Office (NNA-CO) and co-leads the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA). Matthew also serves as the Lead U.S. Delegate to the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), an editor for the Arctic Report Card, and an editor for the Arctic Chapter within the annual BAMS State of the Climate Report.

Research interests include:

  • Coastal sea-ice dynamics
  • Collaborating with Indigenous sea-ice experts
  • Sea ice and marine mammals
  • Community-based monitoring and data management
  • Arctic observing systems
  • Science policy
  • Communicating the societal implications of Arctic climate and environmental change

Previously, Matthew has served as a Science Policy Fellow at the National Academies’ Polar Research Board (2005), a project manager at the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (2006), a Postdocs Applying Climate Expertise (PACE) Fellow (2011-2013), and a AAAS Science Policy Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development (2013-2015). 

Matthew earned his PhD in geophysics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (2011), and is originally from Trout Run, Pennsylvania. 

View Publications

  • Citta JJ; Breed GA; Okkonen SR; Druckenmiller ML; Quakenbush L; George JC; Adams B; Maslowski W; Osinski R; Olnes J. (Mar 2023). Shifts in bowhead whale distribution, behavior, and condition following rapid sea ice change in the Bering sea. Continental Shelf Research , 256, 104959-104959. 10.1016/j.csr.2023.104959
  • Druckenmiller M; Thoman R; Moon T. (Jan 2023). The 2022 Arctic Report Card. , January.
  • Druckenmiller M; Thoman R; Moon T. (Dec 2022). Arctic Report Card 2022: The Arctic is getting rainier and seasons are shifting, with broad disturbances for people, ecosystems and wildlife. Conversations: The Journal of Cavellian Studies.
  • Thoman RL; Druckenmiller ML; Moon TA; Andreassen LM; Baker E; Ballinger TJ; Berner LT; Bernhard GH; Bhatt US; Bjerke JW. (Aug 2022). The Arctic. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 103(8), S257-S306. 10.1175/bams-d-22-0082.1
  • Hinzman L; Druckenmiller M; Petrov A; Fugmann G; Scarpa F. (Feb 2022). Fourth International Conference for Arctic Research Planning.
  • Druckenmiller M. (Jan 2022). Co-Production of Knowledge in Arctic Research: Reconsidering and Reorienting Amidst the Navigating the New Arctic Initiative. Oceanography , 189-191. 10.5670/oceanog.2022.134
  • Druckenmiller M; Thoman RL; Moon T. (Jan 2022). Arctic Report Card 2022: Executive Summary. 10.25923/yjx6-r184
  • Serreze MC; Gustafson J; Barrett AP; Druckenmiller ML; Fox S; Voveris J; Stroeve J; Sheffield B; Forbes BC; Rasmus S. (Oct 2021). Arctic rain on snow events: bridging observations to understand environmental and livelihood impacts. Environmental Research Letters , 16(10). 10.1088/1748-9326/ac269b
  • Johnson N; Druckenmiller ML; Danielsen F; Pulsifer PL. (May 2021). The Use of Digital Platforms for Community-Based Monitoring. Bioscience , 71(5), 452-466. 10.1093/biosci/biaa162
  • Olnes J; Breed GA; Druckenmiller ML; Citta JJ; Crawford JA; Von Duyke AL; Quakenbush L. (Mar 2021). Juvenile bearded seal response to a decade of sea ice change in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. Marine Ecology: Progress Series , 661, 229-242. 10.3354/meps13609
  • Starkweather S; Shapiro H; Vakhutinsky S; Druckenmiller M. (Dec 2020). The Observational Foundation of the Arctic Report Card - a 15-Year Retrospective Analysis on the Arctic Observing Network (AON) and Insights for the Future System. , 2020. 10.25923/ahj5-z336
  • Andersen JK; Andreassen LM; Baker EH; Ballinger TJ; Berner LT; Bernhard GH; Bhatt US; Bjerke JW; Box JE; Britt L. (Aug 2020). The Arctic. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 101(8), S239-S286. 10.1175/bams-d-20-0086.1
  • Olnes J; Crawford J; Citta JJ; Druckenmiller ML; Von Duyke AL; Quakenbush L. (Jul 2020). Movement, diving, and haul-out behaviors of juvenile bearded seals in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas, 2014-2018. Polar Biology , 43(9), 1307-1320. 10.1007/s00300-020-02710-6
  • Richter-Menge, J., M.L. Druckenmiller, and M. Jeffries. (Jan 2020). NOAA Arctic Report Card 2019.
  • Richter-Menge J; Druckenmiller M; Thoman R. (Jan 2020). 15 Years of Arctic Observation: A Retrospective. 10.25923/5h6n-j448
  • Thoman R; Richter-Menge J; Druckenmiller M. (Jan 2020). Arctic Report Card 2020. 10.25923/mn5p-t549
  • Arndt DS; Blunden J; Dunn RJH; Stanitski DM; Gobron N; Willett KM; Sanchez-Lugo A; Berrisford P; Morice C; Nicolas JP. (Sep 2019). State of the Climate in 2018. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 100(9), S1-U24. 10.1175/2019BAMSStateoftheClimate.1
  • Moon, TA; Overeem, I; Druckenmiller, M; Holland, M; Huntington, H; Kling, G; Lovecraft, AL; Miller, G; Scambos, T; Schadel, C; Schuur, EAG; Trochim, E; Wiese, F; Williams, D; Wong, G. (Mar 2019). The Expanding Footprint of Rapid Arctic Change. EARTHS FUTURE , 7(3). 10.1029/2018EF001088
  • Robards, MD, HP Huntington, M Druckenmiller, J Lefevre, SK Moses, Z Stevenson, A Watson and M Williams. (Jun 2018). Understanding and adapting to observed changes in the Alaskan Arctic: Actionable knowledge co-production with Alaska Native communities. DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY , 152. 10.1016/j.dsr2.2018.02.008
  • Druckenmiller, ML, JJ Citta, MC Ferguson, JT Clarke, JC George and L Quakenbush. (Jun 2018). Trends in sea-ice cover within bowhead whale habitats in the Pacific Arctic. DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY , 152. 10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.10.017
  • Citta, JJ, P Richard, LF Lowry, G OCorry-Crowe, M Marcoux, R Suydam, LT Quakenbush, RC Hobbs, DI Litovka, KJ Frost, T Gray, J Orr, B Tinker, H Aderman and ML Druckenmiller. (Jan 2017). Satellite telemetry reveals population specific winter ranges of beluga whales in the Bering Sea. MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE , 33(1). 10.1111/mms.12357