Nicolle Di Domenico is an M.S. student in the Department of Geography advised by Dr. Shujie Wang. She is an Environmental Scholar in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. Nicolle earned her B.S. from Kent State University in Geology and minored in GIS. Her undergraduate research focused on biogeochemical nutrient cycling in Arctic microtopography* and ephemeral ponds, and mapmaking for research field sites. Nicolle completed two internships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she developed novel methods for detecting Arctic microtopography using panchromatic remote sensing and machine learning methods (https://orise.orau.gov/ornl/experiences/recent-bachelors-associates/di-domenico.html).
Understanding the distribution of Arctic landscape heterogeneity is critical to developing accurate global carbon models; however, this landscape heterogeneity is often not incorporated in modelling efforts. Nicolle hopes to address this knowledge gap by developing ways to quantify cryosphere features which are linked to climate change, such as Arctic polygonal ground, by using remote sensing and advanced data analytics like deep learning. She is focused on producing open-source code and online databases, and helping to retain women in STEM.
* Herndon, E., Kinsman-Costello, L., Di Domenico, N., Duroe, K., Barczok, M., Smith, C., et al. (2020). Iron and Iron Bound Phosphate Accumulate in Surface Soils of Ice-Wedge Polygons in Arctic Tundra. Environ. Sci. Process. Impacts. 22, 1475–1490. doi:10.1039/D0EM00142B