Josefino C. Comiso is a senior emeritus scientist at the Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.  At Goddard, his research led to new insights into many important processes in the polar regions including: (a) deep ocean convection and the influence of polynyas and Odden on bottom water formation; (b) phytoplankton blooms and relationships with the sea ice cover and (c) climate change signals as revealed by the changing sea ice cover and accelerated warming in the Arctic region.