He is interested in the fundamental problem of observing, understanding, and predicting the behavior of ice and water in the earth system, particularly the role that subglacial water plays in the evolution and stability of continental ice sheets and their contribution to the rate of sea level rise. He is also interested in the development, use, and analysis of geophysical radar remote sensing systems that are optimized to observe hypothesis- specific phenomena, considering himself an instrument scientist and approaching problems from both an earth system science and radar system engineering perspective. By focusing on the flow of information and uncertainty through the entire process of instrument development, experimental design, data processing, analysis, and interpretation, Dusty draws upon a multidisciplinary set of tools to test system-scale and process-level hypotheses.