Joseph Shea

Joseph Shea is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), where he leads the Mountain Snow Hydrology (MOSH) Lab. He is affiliated with the NRES Graduate Program and teaches courses in geospatial analysis, earth observation, and mountain systems. Currently on sabbatical, he remains actively engaged in research and graduate supervision.

• PhD, University of British Columbia (2010)
• MSc, University of Calgary (2004)
• BSc, McMaster University (2001)

His research focuses on snow, glaciers, and hydrology in mountain regions under climate change, using remote sensing, UAVs, and field measurements. He investigates snow water equivalent, glacier mass balance, and hydrological responses in the Himalayas, Canadian Rockies, and British Columbia. His work integrates geospatial technologies with environmental modeling to understand cryospheric changes.

Recent publications highlight trends in UAV-based glacier mapping, debris-covered glacier dynamics, snowmelt timing from satellite data, and interdisciplinary studies on equity in science. His work spans glaciology, hydrology, climate change, and environmental geomatics, with increasing emphasis on open data and collaborative science.

Scientific Awards:

• No awards listed in the provided text.

Dr. Shea supervises MSc and PhD students in the NRES program and has advised multiple theses on snow, glaciers, and hydrology. He leads field projects in Nepal and Canada and collaborates on large-scale assessments such as The Canadian Mountain Assessment. His lab, MOSH Lab, emphasizes open-source tools and field-based research. Current projects include snowpack monitoring in the Robson Valley, glacier studies in Langtang, and UAV applications in cold regions.