Hello and welcome friends to the 2014 JIRP Blog!
On June 22, 2014, we kicked off the 68th year of the Juneau Icefield Research Program. We are happy to have 33 student participants from around the US participating in JIRP this year, and they have already embarked on their summer of learning, research, adventure, and fun on the incredible Juneau Icefield.
We did, however, have a little trouble getting the blog started at the beginning of the program this year due to some technical difficulties. For those who have been looking for updates — we sincerely apologize. The students have already written several posts and are anxious to share their experiences, and several blogs will be posted online in the coming days.
Students look out at the Mendenhall Glacier, and reflect on their new home for the next two months. (Photo by: Alexandre Mischler)
We hope that you’ll continue to follow the blog throughout the summer. Please be aware that blogs may not be posted regularly. The path of a JIRP blog is long and demonstrates how truly challenging communications can be from the wilderness of the Juneau Icefield. After being skillfully written and reviewed, these reports from the Icefield travel via USB drive with the scheduled helicopter resupply flights to the logistics base in Juneau, Alaska. From there, the blog content is uploaded and shared with our dedicated website volunteers who format and post the blogs online.
We welcome your engagement in our expedition through the JIRP blog — so please read, share, comment, and ask questions, and join us on our educational adventures this summer!
Kind Regards,
Jeff Kavanagh
JIRP Director