The Hike to C17

By Grayson Carlile, Photos by Jeff Barbee and Mira Dutschke

After almost two weeks of hot weather in the Juneau area we had an extremely rare experience for Southeast Alaska, on the long trek up to Camp 17, the trail wasn't a stream!  Our hike up to Lemon Creek Glacier was truly unique.  Most amazing was the  sunlight that filtered through the high forest canopy as we wound our way up, up, up the valley.

The trail wasn't a stream, but we still had a number of stream crossings to challenge us.  Photo:  M. Dutschke

Hiking through the dense understory of Lemon Creek Valley.  Photo:  M. Dutschke

Ascending the "vertical swamp".  Photo:  J. Barbee

The alleged "vertical swamp" that took us up past tree line, was pleasantly un swamp-like and after a muddy mosquito filled trip through southeast Alaska's temperate rain forest we were finally greeted with a refreshing drizzle of rain in the high alpine valleys. Skirting a glacial "tarn" lake, a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder caught us exposed near a ridge.  We found safe lower ground and waited out the worst of the danger before heading up towards Camp 17 once again.

Hiking in the alpine after ascending from Lemon Creek Valley.  Photo:  J. Barbee

Ascending to the low pass that leads into Ptarmigan Valley.  Photo:  J. Barbee

Descending into Ptarmigan Valley.  Photo:  J. Barbee

Climbing the upper Ptarmigan Glacier near camp, the most amazing thing of all were the cloud-free views of Juneau's Auke Bay, the fjords of the inside passage, and the jagged ridge lines that mark the far western edge of the Juneau Icefield.  While it was a tiring 14 hour day, we could not have asked for a more amazing introduction to our first research camp.

Beginning the climb up Ptarmigan Glacier to camp.  Photo:  J. Barbee

The fantastic view from Camp 17 across the upper Lemon Creek Glacier.  Observation Peak is on the right.  Photo:  J. Barbee

Lemon Creek Glacier Geochemistry

By Molly Blakowski

It’s great to be back in Juneau.  Last summer, I spent three and a half months at the terminus of Lemon Creek Glacier assisting Ph.D. candidate Carli Arendt with her research into the length of time water resides beneath the glacier. Carli and I are part of Dr. Sarah Aciego's Glaciochemistry and Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory (GIGL) group at the University of Michigan, where we are currently working on projects in ice core research, glacier and ice dynamics, dust transport, oceanography, and soils. The main objective of the Lemon Creek Glacier work has been to test a novel method for calculating residence time of subglacial water using uranium-series (234U – 222Rn) isotopes.  Our work at the glacier has since expanded as new students and researchers have become involved, and we are now examining how the isotopic signatures correlate to weathering and nutrient products (i.e. water-bedrock interactions) by measuring physical characteristics of suspended sediment and radiogenic strontium isotopic composition of meltwater.  

Preparing for a day of sampling in the ever-lopsided "Chem Tent." Photo: E. Stevenson

Working and living in the snow allowed me to cultivate far more than just technical data collection skills. Life in an isolated environment with a small group or one other person comes along with many unanticipated physical and mental demands. On an interpersonal level, I learned how to collaborate with group members to accomplish a daily set of tasks, and overcome any obstacles encountered along the way, ranging from rescuing thousands of dollars worth of equipment from blowing off a cliff, to slowly but surely perfecting a recipe in which Spam actually tastes new and exciting. On an intrapersonal level, I learned to maintain a calm and positive attitude on a day-to-day basis, not only for my own benefit, but for the sake of the group morale. Even after the poop tent blew away, the numbers wore off the Yahtzee dice, plagues of mice, etc. etc…

Our campsite and the middle lake as seen from the Lemon Creek Glacier terminus. Photo: M. Blakowski

Last Wednesday, JIRP Director Jeff Kavanaugh and I flew up to the terminus of the nearby Eagle Glacier, where, using the same methods as last year, we were able to collect some preliminary samples to send back to Michigan. Due to the uncharacteristically sunny, hot weather they've been having here in Juneau, we weren't able to get quite as close to the terminus as we would have liked (the channel was seriously raging), but we made it work.

Molly Blakowski preparing a filter, and likely laughing at one of Jeff's *hilarious* jokes. Photo: J. Kavanaugh

All in all, we ended up with some pretty great weather and were able to accomplish everything in about two hours—just in time for dinner. Of course, strong winds coming off the glacier ensured that everything we ate for the next 24 hours tasted vaguely of glacial flour, which we are still trying to get out of our ears.

This image does not do much justice to the turbulent waters as it does to the "Fly Girl" in the vogue chest waders. Photo: J. Kavanaugh

I'm thrilled that I have the unique opportunity to revisit the Juneau Icefield and to observe landscape variations since my time there last summer. Plus, I'm told that JIRPers aren't prone to being dive-bombed by aggressive gulls, or waking up with mice crawling out of their sleeping bags, so those are certainly pluses. Bring on the snow pits!

JIRP Students Begin a Storied Traverse

By Matt Beedle

With their initial steps along Lemon Creek Trail today, Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) participants marked the beginning of an annual expedition to the Juneau Icefield.  This hallowed academic expedition has roots reaching back to 1948, and a history of visioning and reconnaissance beginning in the early 1940s.

In August and September of 1941, a team that included William O. Field, Jr. and Maynard M. Miller (amongst others) studied the glacier termini of Glacier Bay and the inlets and fjords near Juneau (Field, 1942). Field and Miller would later recall that it was during this expedition of the 1940s that it began to become apparent that it was necessary to study the upper reaches of these Alaska glaciers to understand their disparate behavior (Field and Miller, 1950).

Until the 1940s the vast bulk of scientific observation of Alaska glaciers was of their termini, with many hundreds of stations established for repeat photography and surveying of glacier length change. What was apparent – and what dominated as the key ‘problem’ in the glaciology of southeast Alaska at the time – was how some glaciers (most notably those of Glacier Bay) were receding dramatically, while others (such as Taku Glacier) were advancing vigorously. What was the cause of this dichotomy? Field and Miller  were being drawn to the upper reaches of these glaciers as the best place to uncover what was driving the terminus changes that had been observed for decades. However, these upper reaches – the massive icefields of the Coast Mountains - were still, for the most part, unexplored:

“Taku Glacier heads far back in the mountains, no one knows where . . .”

--Israel Russell, Glaciers of North America, 1897

At the American Geographical Society in 1946 Field and Miller began to collaborate on what would become the Juneau Icefield Research Project (Field, 2004).  In 1948, with American Geographic Society funding, Field and Miller initiated which was envisioned then as:

“ . . . a program for which would initiate over a period of years comprehensive studies not only of the Juneau Ice Field but on other representative ice masses in both North and South America . . .”

--Field and Miller, The Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1950 

Members of the first JIRP "high ice" expedition to the Juneau Icefield in the summer of 1948.  Left to right:  Maynard Miller, W. Laurence Miner, Lowell Chamberlain, Melvin G. Marcus, William A. Latady and Anthony W. Thomas.  Photo taken at Camp 4 on "Hades Highway," the upper Twin Glaciers' neve.  Photo:  FGER Archives

JIRP work on the icefield began in the summer of 1948 with a reconnaissance party tasked with searching for routes to access the accumulation area of the Juneau Icefield, and to begin to determine the gear and logistics necessary to carry out thorough investigations. Over the course of three weeks a team of six carried out this early reconnaissance and also initiated glaciological, geological, botanical and meteorological studies.

Following the early, more exploratory years of JIRP in the late-1940s, extensive field research in the 1950s was lead by a host of collaborators, including Calvin Heusser, Art Gilkey, Ed LaChappelle, and Larry Nielson along with Field and Miller.  These early years of JIRP are brilliantly chronicled in a recent retrospective by Calvin Heusser, complete with wonderful journal entries from the early expeditions on the Juneau Icefield (Heusser, 2007).

In the late-1950s and early-1960s JIRP the 'Project' became JIRP the 'Program'.  This transition, and subsequent half-century of JIRP, was lead by the team of Maynard and Joan Miller.  And while it was Maynard and Joan who were the driving force behind JIRP for many decades, I would be remiss if I did not mention the efforts of hundreds of devoted volunteers and financial supporters that have brought to fruition this experience for further generations.

JIRP truly has become multi-generational, with the children and grandchildren of Maynard Miller and Tony Thomas (both members of the 1948 reconnaissance) also participating in and helping to lead JIRP in subsequent decades.  And while JIRP can count familial generations as participants, it has also inspired multiple generations of scientists, adventurers and artists:

“My JIRP experience strengthened in me a love of exploration that ultimately led to my participation in the space program, including the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. JIRP was fundamental to my growth as a scientist and as a person.”

--  Dr. Steven Squyres, Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University; Principal Investigator of Mars Exploration Rover Project

“I’d always wanted to be an explorer when I grew up . . . JIRP essentially taught me how.  It’s not about being the first person to plant flags and leave footprints somewhere.  It’s about mapping the world in new ways, and in the process, discovering untrammeled territory in yourself.”

--Kate Harris, author and adventurer, named one of Canada’s top 10 adventurers by Explore Magazine

Six of the JIRPers of 2004 on top of 'Taku B'.  From left to right:  Kate Harris, Riley Hall, Evan Burgess, Keith (Laskowski) Ma, Winston Macdonald, and Robert Koenig.  Photo:  M. J. Beedle

And today, 65 years after the first reconnaissance team of six, JIRP continues as an unrivaled academic expedition.  Over the next seven weeks, across the Juneau Icefield from Juneau, AK to Atlin, BC, 25 new JIRPers will join the storied history of JIRP.  From the Vertical Swamp to the Vaughan Lewis, the Lemon Creek to the Llewellyn, Split Thumb to Storm Range, this country, this experience never ceases to inspire.  Be inspired, JIRPers of 2013!

References

Field, W. O.  1942.  Glacier Studies in Alaska, 1941, Geographical Review , 31, 1, 154-155.

Field, W. O.  2004.  With a Camera in my Hands:  William O. Field, Pioneer Glaciologist:  A Life History as Told to C. Suzanne Brown, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, 184 pp.

Field, W. O. and Miller, M. M.  1950.  The Juneau Ice Field Research Project, Geographical Review , 40, 2, 179-190. 

Heusser, C. J.  2007.  Juneau Icefield Research Project (1949-1958):  A Retrospective, Developments in Quaternary Sciences, 8, 232 pp. 

Russell, I. C.  1897.  Glaciers of North America, Ginn and Co., Boston, 220 pp.  

Arrival in Juneau and Hike to Mendenhall Glacier

By Sarah Bouckoms, Photos by Adam Taylor

Happy solstice everyone!  We celebrated by arriving in Juneau on a warm sunny day and to stunning views of the glaciers.  It's a fun experience meeting all the people we are going to get to know so well over the next eight weeks.  Everyone seems pretty nice so far, no apparent poor hygiene practices . . . as of yet.  Everyone is super cool and has an amazing story to tell.

The 2013 JIRP crew en route to Mendenhall Glacier.  Photo:  Adam Taylor

Today we hiked to Mendenhall Glacier.  It was really exciting for those of us who had never been on a glacier before.  Pretty special moments to see those dreams come true.  No one was deterred by the slight rain and gray clouds, but rather it made for some majestic photos.  The weather was still warm, in the mid 60s, and the clouds lifted as the day went on. 

A view of the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier.  Photo:  Adam Taylor   

We learned how to put on crampons, worked out the cobwebs in our legs and got to know everyone a bit more.  The trail mix was fabulous and we enjoyed the luxury of fresh apples.  Oh and cereal WITH MILK for breakfast.  Savor it . . .

The group puts on crampons for some practice on the lower Mendenhall Glacier.  Photo:  Adam Taylor

The best part about the day has to be the ice cave.  The ceiling was literally glowing.  It was indescribably beautiful.  Thanks to Adam's photography skills for capturing the scene.  Walking in the cave, the stream was flowing, the walls dripping, ice forms everywhere and cameras snapping.  I think everyone has already been wowed beyond belief and the "best day ever" quotes are often heard, as will probably happen every day.  We're so happy to be here. 

Inside an ice cave at the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier.  Photo:  Adam Taylor

Preparing for JIRP and the 2013 Expedition Blog

By Sarah Bouckoms

[EDITOR'S NOTE:  Sarah Bouckoms is a physics and physical science faculty member at the Hebrew High School of New England in West Hartford, CT.  Sarah is a JIRP 2013 expedition member and will be instrumental in organizing the JIRP 2013 Expedition Blog.  Thank you, Sarah!]

Yeah! School is out! But for me my ‘summer vacation’ will last about 36 hours then it’s back to the classroom. Except that my classroom will consist of a massive piece of ice.  Not everyone’s idea of a day at the beach but for the students of the Juneau Icefield Research Program it sounds awesome.

Students at the Hebrew High School of New England help Sarah (second from right) model some of  the gear that she'll use to traverse the Juneau Icefield.  "They can't wait to see how I use an ice axe." 

I am getting ready to provide logistical and research support for the Juneau Icefield Research Program, aka JIRP. It’s my first year on this eight-week expedition, but JIRP has been bringing students onto the icefield to conduct research since the 1940s! We will be skiing from one hut to the next traversing 125 miles of ice all the way into Canada from Alaska. On our way we will conduct many science experiments using instruments such as ground penetrating radar, and studying topics such as glacier mass balance and ice flow amongst many others in the fields of  environmental and earth systems science.

 

We wish everyone could come along with us, but you can live vicariously through the JIRP 2013 Expedition Blog! We will do our best to keep in touch and send you lots of pretty pictures, and even video via pen drive sent by helicopter (sorry to all you Carrier Pigeon fans).

 

Please follow the expedition on our blog, and on Facebook and Twitter where we’ll be posting links to the latest posts, images, and tweets from the ice.  Also, please use the blog comments or social media to ask us questions in the field. I’m sure we will love to have the contact from the outside world.  We are all super excited and busily gearing up for a fabulous summer on ice. But before we can go, there is still lots of prep work to be done including checking off all the boxes on a 12 page gear list! Oh goodie, I do love gear.

Follow the JIRP 2013 Expedition:

JIRP 2013 Expedition Blog - All blog posts will be archived here.  Please use the blog comments for questions for the JIRPers of 2013.

JIRP on Facebook - Join the JIRP community on Facebook!  We'll post links to new posts, images, and videos here.  Another spot where we encourage you to submit your questions for the expedition members.

JIRP on Twitter - We'll also notify you of new posts via Twitter - also, watch for "tweets from the ice"!

JIRP on YouTube - All videos will be posted on the JIRP YouTube channel.

Sarah's students (future JIRPers?) pose with a selection of her gear. 

Spring Fieldwork - Taku Glacier 2013

By Chris McNeil 

During the first week of April 2013, Pat Dryer from University of Alaska Southeast, and Shad O’Neel and I from the US Geological Survey, flew to Camp-10 on the Juneau Icefield. We landed on the main trunk of Taku Glacier just below C-10 and unloaded our gear from the ski plane.  The engine started and the plane took off, leaving just the three of us among the vast expanse of the Taku. Slogging what gear we would need immediately, we skinned up the nunatak to the almost completely buried camp. We spent the following hours digging into various buildings of C-10, retrieving what supplies and items we would need for our research over the next few days.

 

The “Cookshack” at Camp-10 on the Juneau Icefield, after digging for quite some time to unbury it from meters of snow.  Photo:  C. McNeil

Our purpose for coming to C-10 so far removed from the normal field season of the Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) is related to a project aimed at better understanding runoff into the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). The Taku River is a large contributor of fresh water to the GOA. Our task this spring was measuring snowfall at multiple glaciers around the GOA where we used high frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) to determine winter snowfall.  Our aim is to connect the glacier mass balance with the hydrology, which carries nutrients to the ocean, drives the Alaska Coastal Current, and ultimately feeds the critters that we end up eating!

Pat Dryer tows the GPR in front of a snow covered Taku Range.  Photo:  C. McNeil

Over the next few days we collected GPR data along the main trunk of the Taku Glacier, including the historic survey line of “Profile 4” just in front of C-10. We also completed a snow pit at the long measured “Taku Glacier test pit #4”, a snow pit that has been dug in front of C-10 every summer by JIRP participants since the late 1940s.

 

Pat Dryer and Chris McNeil trying to stay out of the weather while drilling a snow core at Taku Glacier snow pit site #4.  Photo:  S. O'Neel

With a large storm system threatening to pin us in camp for what could have been a week, we had Coastal Helicopters pick us up. Touching down in Juneau, Shad and I soon hopped on a plane back to Anchorage, making the C-10 to Anchorage traverse in just 12 hours! Our nightly readings of the literature in the radio room at C-10 informed us that we were the first people doing fieldwork out of C-10 during April since 1966. As Shad and I are both JIRP alumni we were proud to be part of another milestone in JIRP history. Although we didn’t accomplish everything we hoped to, we got a good start on the project. When combined with all the other field data collected this spring, the Taku data will help to fill a big gap in snowfall measurements around the state.  In future trips we will continue accumulation measurements and place ablation wires along the centerline of the ablation zone of the Taku.  The data collected this spring and in future trips will supplement measurements made by JIRP participants and also be a large part of my graduate thesis.

[EDITOR'S NOTE:  Chris McNeil and Dr. Shad O'Neel are multi-year JIRP participants, with their first JIRP field seasons in 2009 and 1996 respectively.  The Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research (FGER, JIRP parent organization) is excited to continue and expand research partnerships with affiliated and external researchers.  Thank you, Chris!]   

Welcome to the 2013 JIRP Expedition Blog

By Jeff Kavanaugh, JIRP Director

Taku Towers as seen from Camp 10, JIRP 2012.  Photo:  J. Kavanaugh

Welcome to the 2013 Juneau Icefield Research Program expedition blog.  Over the course of the program, students, staff, and faculty will post entries describing their experiences on the icefield.  Through these entries, you will be able to traverse the icefield with us, participate in a wide range of field research, and share in the day-to-day life on the icefield.  You will also meet and get to know the members of this year’s expedition.

The main program begins on June 21, and runs through August 16.  In the days leading up to our arrival in Juneau, we will be bringing you a few pre-JIRP posts that will demonstrate some of the preparations that go into a successful expedition – and will set the stage for both the field season and the main blogging effort.    

We invite you to check back regularly.  If you would like to be notified of new postings, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter; your comments are also welcomed.  If you have a question you would like answered “from the ice”, please feel free to ask – we’ll do our best to answer them!  Post your questions in the blog comments or on Facebook.

Here’s looking forward to a fantastic summer on the icefield – please join us!

Dr. Jeff Kavanaugh

Director, JIRP

 

Links:

JIRP 2012 – Blogging From the Field

JIRP on Facebook

JIRP on Twitter

JIRP on YouTube

Welcome to the new JIRP website

We are pleased to bring you a new Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) online presence starting in 2013! The site is still a work in progress, but we are excited to provide greater functionality and improved opportunities to learn about JIRP and engage with the JIRP community. 

We value your input on the new website and encourage you to give us your feedback on what you would like to see at juneauicefield.com.  Please make suggestions in the comments for this post (below).

Current efforts by JIRP (and its non-profit parent organization the Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research) are focused on preparation for the 2013 expedition.  As we prepare we are continually motivated by the energy, excitement, and experience of past summer adventures on the Juneau Icefield.

To help keep the JIRP energy flowing in the off season have a look at the following short video by acclaimed film maker Chip Duncan.  Also, experience JIRP 2012 through the awesome blogging efforts of this past summer.  All 'Blogging From the Field 2012' posts are archived here.