Laura Larocca
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Mail code: 7904Campus: Tempe
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Laura Larocca is an Assistant Professor in the School of Ocean Futures and a Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.
Her research investigates past and contemporary climate change, with a focus on understanding how Arctic systems (e.g., the cryosphere) evolve under sustained warming. Her work employs a variety of approaches including the use of lake sediment and other geologic archives; historical and remotely sensed observational records; and geospatial tools and modeling.
- PhD Northwestern University
- MSc City College of the City University of New York
- BFA New York University
Contemporary and Holocene climate change; the cryosphere (glaciers and ice sheets); paleoclimatology; paleolimnology; geospatial analysis and remote sensing; Arctic environmental change
Allen, H.T., Kaufman, D.S., McKay, N.P., Schiefer, E., Larocca, L.J., Jensen, B.J., Bolton, M.S., North, K.R., Praet, N., Van Daele, M. and De Batist, M., 2026. Holocene glacier fluctuations at Eklutna Lake, Chugach Mountains, south-central Alaska. Quaternary Science Reviews, 390, p.110107.
Larocca, L. J., Kaufman, D. S., Erb, M. P., *Schultz, T. M., McKay, N. P., Brooks, J. P., & Carrivick, J. L. 2026. Glacier equilibrium-line altitude change across Alaska and adjacent Canada indicates a cold, dry little ice age and weaker Aleutian low. Geophysical Research Letters, 53, e2025GL119840.
Larocca, L.J., Lea, J.M., Erb, M.P, McKay, N.P., *Phillips, M., Lamantia, K., and Kaufman, D.S. 2024. Arctic glacier snowline altitudes rise 150 meters over the last 4 decades. The Cryosphere, 18, 3591–3611.
Lamantia, K.A., Larocca, L.J., Thompson, L.G., Mark, B. 2024. El Niño enhances snow-line rise and ice loss on the Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru. The Cryosphere, 18, 4633–4644.
Larocca, L.J., Twinning-Ward, M., Axford, Y., Schweinsberg, A., Larsen, S.H., Westergaard-Nielsen, A., Luetzenburg, G., Briner, J.P., Kjeldssen, K.K., & Bjørk, A.A. 2023. Greenland-wide accelerated retreat of peripheral glaciers in the twenty-first century. Nature Climate Change, 13(12), pp 1324-1328.
Brooks, J.P., Larocca, L.J., & Axford, Y. 2022. Little Ice Age climate in South Greenland inferred from quantitative geospatial analysis of alpine glacier reconstructions. Quaternary Science Reviews, 293, p.107701.
Larocca, L.J. & Axford, Y. 2022. Arctic glaciers and ice caps through the Holocene: a circumpolar synthesis of lake-based reconstructions. Climate of the Past, 18, p.579-606.
Larocca, L.J., Axford, Y., Bjørk, A., Lasher, G.E., & Brooks, J.P. 2020. Local glaciers record delayed peak Holocene warmth in South Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 241, p.106421.
Larocca, L.J., Axford, Y., Woodroffe, S.A., Lasher, G.E, & Gawin, B. 2020. Holocene glacier and ice cap fluctuations in southwest Greenland inferred from two lake records. Quaternary Science Reviews, 246, p. 106529.
Lasher, G. E., Axford, Y., Masterson, A.L., Berman, K.S., & Larocca, L.J. 2020. Holocene temperature and landscape history of southwest Greenland inferred from oxygen isotopes and geochemical lake sediment proxies. Quaternary Science Reviews, 239, p.106358.
Courses
2026 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SEA 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SEA 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| SEA 590 | Reading and Conference |
| SEA 792 | Research |
| SEA 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SEA 592 | Research |
| SEA 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| SEA 450 | Comm for Ocean Futures |
| SEA 598 | Special Topics |
2026 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SEA 792 | Research |
| SEA 592 | Research |
| SEA 595 | Continuing Registration |
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SEA 590 | Reading and Conference |
| SEA 792 | Research |
| SEA 330 | Digital Blue Planet |
| SEA 330 | Digital Blue Planet |
| SEA 599 | Thesis |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SEA 598 | Special Topics |
| SEA 450 | Comm for Ocean Futures |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SEA 494 | Special Topics |
| SEA 598 | Special Topics |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SEA 310 | Paleoclimate Cntmp Climate Chg |