Nicolas Wiener

Nicolas Wiener
Name	Nicolas Wiener
Birth date	01 January 1990
Birth place	Paris, France
Nationality	French
Fields	Glaciology; Cryospheric science; Remote sensing
Workplaces	Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Université Grenoble Alpes
Alma mater	École Normale Supérieure (Paris); Paris-Saclay University
Known for	Studies of ice cores; paleoclimate proxies; remote sensing of snow and ice

Nicolas Wiener is a French glaciologist and cryospheric scientist known for research on ice cores, paleoclimate proxies, and remote sensing of snow and ice. He has held positions at major French research institutions and collaborated with international groups on Arctic and Antarctic field campaigns. His work integrates field measurements, laboratory analytics, and satellite observations to reconstruct past climates and assess contemporary cryospheric change.

Early life and education

Wiener was born in Paris and raised near the Seine River where early exposure to natural history museums such as the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle influenced his interests. He earned undergraduate degrees at École Normale Supérieure (Paris) and completed graduate studies at Paris-Saclay University, where he studied geochemistry and paleoclimatology under advisors affiliated with the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. During his doctoral research he participated in fieldwork linked to programs led by the European Space Agency and the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor.

Career

Wiener began his professional career in the research laboratory of the Université Grenoble Alpes before joining teams at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and laboratories associated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. He has been involved with multinational consortia including projects coordinated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change–affiliated research networks and collaborative expeditions supported by the British Antarctic Survey and the Alfred Wegener Institute. His roles have ranged from lead field scientist on ice-core campaigns to principal investigator on remote-sensing initiatives focusing on seasonal snowpack dynamics monitored by instruments aboard satellites such as Sentinel-1 and ICESat-2.

Research and contributions

Wiener's research addresses cryospheric change using ice-core geochemistry, luminescence dating, and multispectral remote sensing. He has advanced methods for interpreting isotope ratios from ice cores, building on foundational work by researchers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center and techniques popularized in studies by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. His studies linked trace-element analysis to atmospheric transport processes characterized in research by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and climate modeling performed by groups at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Wiener contributed to improved proxy calibration against instrumental records such as those maintained by the Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In field campaigns in Greenland and Antarctica, Wiener collaborated with teams from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project and the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica. He helped implement novel sampling protocols compatible with mass spectrometry platforms used in laboratories at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Wiener’s analyses have informed reconstructions of Holocene and late Pleistocene climate variability previously explored in studies by the PAGES community and researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research.

Wiener also integrated satellite-derived albedo and microwave backscatter observations from missions like MODIS and SMOS with in situ measurements, contributing to improved detection algorithms used by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and operational services at the Met Office. His interdisciplinary collaborations have spanned glaciology, atmospheric chemistry, and geochronology with partners at institutions including the University of Cambridge, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of California, Irvine.

Selected works

- "Trace-element constraints on Holocene atmospheric composition from Greenland ice cores" — coauthored with researchers from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry; published in an interdisciplinary paleoclimate journal. - "Satellite and in situ synthesis of Arctic snow albedo trends" — collaborative paper with scientists at the Met Office and the European Space Agency. - "Methodological advances in continuous-flow mass spectrometry for ice-core analysis" — methods article developed with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. - "Deglaciation signals in alpine ice cores from the European Alps" — regional study coauthored with researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research and the Université Grenoble Alpes.

Awards and honors

Wiener has received research grants and awards from national and international bodies, including competitive funding from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche and fellowships linked to the European Research Council. He has been invited to present keynote lectures at conferences organized by the International Glaciological Society and the European Geosciences Union. His collaborative projects received recognition from polar research organizations such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Personal life

Wiener resides in Grenoble and maintains active field seasons in polar and alpine regions, coordinating logistics with institutions including the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor and the Alfred Wegener Institute. He participates in outreach with museums like the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and engages students through teaching appointments at the Université Grenoble Alpes.

Category:French glaciologists Category:Cryospheric scientists