Rate My Professor Pat Langhorne

Professor Pat Langhorne is Professor Emerita in the Department of Physics at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She earned a BSc (Hons) in physics from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a PhD from the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, England, where her research examined the relationship between crystal alignment and current flow in sea ice, including fieldwork in Arctic Canada. Her first Antarctic expedition in 1985 investigated the physics of sea-ice runways for aircraft, with findings featured on the cover of Nature magazine. In 1988, she joined the University of Otago in a temporary teaching position in the Department of Physics, progressed to full Professor in 2016, and served four years as Head of Department. She officially retired in 2020 and was appointed Emeritus Professor, continuing involvement in research projects.

Pat Langhorne's research focuses on sea ice physical processes, particularly ice-ocean interactions in Antarctic coastal sea ice influenced by ice shelves, including platelet ice formation and sub-ice platelet layers. With approximately 25 research visits to Antarctica, mainly McMurdo Sound since 1992, she has conducted laboratory experiments in walk-in freezers, field measurements, and utilized airborne thickness surveys and satellite remote sensing. Collaborating with NIWA, University of Canterbury, Industrial Research Limited, and international partners, she develops models of sea ice crystallography and physical properties. Key publications include 'Fast ice thickness distribution in the Western Ross Sea in late spring' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2023), 'Antarctic landfast sea ice: A review of its physics, biogeochemistry and ecology' (Reviews of Geophysics, 2023), 'Seasonal and diurnal variability of sub-ice platelet layer thickness in McMurdo Sound from electromagnetic induction sounding' (The Cryosphere, 2024), 'Sub-ice platelet layer physics: Insights from a mushy-layer sea ice model' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2021), and 'Sea ice thickness in the Western Ross Sea' (Geophysical Research Letters, 2021). In 2019, she became the first woman to receive the New Zealand Antarctic Medal for outstanding contributions to Antarctic science. Her work has advanced understanding of polar marine physics and sea ice dynamics in climate models.