Berry Picking in the Tongass

Berry Picking in the Tongass

Shawnee Reynoso, Sonoma State University

On the morning of June 30th the seven of us in trail party number three set out to hike to the Juneau Icefield. Little did I know this hike would be filled with laughs, challenges, empowering moments, and a sense of accomplishment. In our ten hour journey to camp we found ourselves pulled away from the trail by the lush wild blueberry bushes that ran alongside. Mo and Stan are the two members of our trail party that took advantage of these lush bushes.  They even began to collect the blueberries in a water bottle to save for the next couple of days on the Icefield. These blueberry adventures added about an hour or two extra to our trip, but we knew with every accomplishment along the trail came the promise of more blueberries. From this point on our group quickly became known as BAA (Blueberry Addicts  Anonymous).

This addiction became progressively pronounced as we trekked through the vertical swamp. The swamp appeared as we gained in elevation. It seemed the higher we went, the deeper it got. They continued to pick berries as I wrestled with trees in an attempt to free myself from the quicksand-like patches of mud. The swamp was unforgiving and allowed little room for error. With one overly confident step I found myself two feet into the mud. As I freed my foot I realized that only a sock remained where my shoe once was. In an attempt to regain my balance I stepped beside my stuck shoe and watched as the mud began to swallow my shoe. After a vicious tug of war with the mud my boot finally came out.

That night we slept about a two hour hike away from our final destination. As we made our journey up the snowy slopes the next morning I was robbed of my breath and overcome with emotion. As I trekked up this steep snowy mountain side I took a moment to take in the view. Snow topped mountains rising above a glacier, various waterfalls, and a lake. At the bottom of the mountain lay another lake, and beyond that green meadows with beautiful wildflowers and a river. As I looked up I saw the flag to our final destination atop the mountainside. Then I flashed back to every decision I had made leading up to this moment. Every TV show, every movie I had seen, every talk I had listened to, or inspiring person I had met and thought “Wow. I want to do that. Someday I will do that.” That moment was now. At this very moment I was that person in the movie or giving the talk that would inspire people to get out of their comfort zone and never stop striving to experience life, regardless of how out of reach those wants may seem. I am a reminder to myself and others to never deem experiences impossible but instead to hold onto them and never stop working towards them. Exhausted but not defeated I was proud. I had hiked over ten miles, gained 4600 feet in elevation, survived the vertical swamp, picked berries and exhausted every muscle in my body to get here. I was the person who could inspire others through my experience. I had made it. I was here, where I had told myself since I was a child I would be someday. I held back tears of joy as my heart skipped a beat. With the widest grin on my face I continued my traverse up the mountain. I had made it, we had made it, and it’s only the beginning. 

Author Shawnee Reynoso heading out on the Camp 17 to Camp 10 traverse. Photo courtesy of PBJ Photography.

The Oozy Flats

The Oozy Flats

by Cezanna Semancher (Principia College) and Alex Burkhart (Willamette University)

While learning how to ascend ropes using prusiks in the Rock Dump Climbing Gym in Juneau, Matt Beedle, our Academic Director, pulled us aside (Alex, C, Olivia, and Evan) and asked us if we would be interested in taking an excursion to the Taku terminus for GPS Surveying. Now you may ask, what is the Taku Terminus? Well, the Taku Glacier is one of the few advancing glaciers, however, in recent years GPS surveying has identified it to be stagnant, and perhaps receding. If you can imagine glaciers as rivers, gradually meandering through and carving out valleys, the terminus of a glacier is equivalent to the delta, or end of the river.

Stemming from the Taku Glacier, Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier appears below us as we flew above in the float plane. Here you can see the river like characteristic of the glacier as it flows through the valley surrounding it.

Our reaction to this offer from Matt was of course thrilled, yet we didn’t quite know what was in store for our upcoming three-day adventure. From staffers who had gone on the trip in years past we were told four things – 1) bring extra food, 2) there is no coffee, pack your own, 3) there will be superfluous amounts of mud to trudge through, and 4) there will be more spam than you would ever want or need. Knowing all of this, of course we took the offer. The next day, we found ourselves packing bear capsules into our packs and then loading onto a float plane in Gastineau Channel near downtown Juneau. Our pilot Al, a longtime JIRPer, flew us over expansive glaciers and other extraordinary topographic features before making our way to the Taku Lodge. From there, we took a flat bottomed river boat downriver to our rugged wilderness campsite that was only a few minutes’ walk away from the Taku terminus. We set up camp and ducked into our tents away from the swarm of mosquitoes and no-see-ums.

The glacier’s complex hydrology system displays a waterfall emerging near the terminus.

The next day we oriented ourselves with our GPS units and proceeded to the terminus through a patch of lupins. Upon arrival, we split up into two teams: Alex and Evan went with Scott McGee (a former JIRP student and one of the faculty for the Taku Surveying Project) and Cézanna and Olivia surveyed with Uwe. Throughout the day, we took GPS waypoints and collected data (see blog by Evan and Olivia titled “Taku Turmoil”) of the location of the terminus. However, the majority of our time was spent on route-finding through the complex labyrinth of the Taku Glacier’s terminal moraines of quicksand-like glacial silt and deceiving glacial runoff streams. These tricky areas are better known as the Oozy Flats. This was likely the most challenging and thus, most exciting part of the trip. It really brought about a lot of camaraderie and lightheartedness to our group dynamic. Are you at all stuck on the word “moraine”? If you’re not familiar with the term, a moraine is the deposit of rock and dirt from the glacier that forms piles at the terminus of an advancing glacier.

The Taku terminus lies to the left as Olivia and Uwe navigate across the terminal moraine.

When we had completed our surveying, we awaited our boats’ arrival. Once loaded up and about 15 feet away from the shore, our boat got stuck in the shallow, muddy waters. Enthusiastically, we rolled up our pants and jumped into the glacial runoff water (which is quite cold) to reduce this insupportable displacement of the boat so it could float out to the main channel. After a successful second departure, we motored upriver to the Taku Lodge where we would pitch our tents for the night. Welcomed with a warm dinner, ginger snap cookies, a cozy fireplace, and a mellow bear, we reminisced and laughed over our newfound experiences and were grateful to take part in such a rare endeavor.

Taku Turmoil

Taku Turmoil

by Evan Koncewicz (St. Lawrence University) and Olivia Truax (Amherst College)

Over the past 50 years, glaciers around the world have been in sustained retreat in response to climatic warming. However, a small number of glaciers are advancing. At first glance this may seem like a contradiction, but this is because glacial dynamics are affected by an interplay of factors in addition to climate (glacial geometry, nature of the landscape they are in, among others). In 1946 JIRP was founded in part to study a particularly complex glacier in Southeast Alaska, the Taku Glacier, which was steadily advancing even as most other Alaskan Glaciers were in retreat. During the first week of JIRP 2016 we spent two days mapping the terminus of Taku Glacier with high precision GPS but, before we get in to what we found, a quick word on how glaciers work.

Glaciers, whether they are advancing or retreating, are always flowing downhill. Glaciers are formed when snow falls in the winter and doesn’t melt in the summer – the weight of this accumulation adds up each year and compacts the underlying snow into ice. This ice grows in mass, responds to gravity and begins to flow downhill. The area where the winter snow persists year round and adds to the overall mass of the glacier is called the accumulation zone. Downslope, where all of the snow and some of the underlying ice that has flowed down from a higher elevation melts in the summer, this section of the glacier is called the ablation zone. If the amount of melt lost in the summer in the ablation zone is equal to the amount of snow gained in the accumulation zone during the winter the glacier will remain the same size. If the amount of snow that falls in the accumulation zone is larger than the amount lost in the summer the glacier terminus will advance. On the other hand, if ice melt outpaces the accumulation and downhill flow of ice, the glacier will retreat.

Olivia Truax and Cézy Semnacher taking a GPS point at the boundary between ice and sediment at the terminus of the Taku Glacier.

The Taku is unique because it has an unusually large accumulation zone: most glaciers in equilibrium are comprised of about 60% accumulation zone and 40% ablation zone. By contrast, the Taku has about 80% accumulation zone and 20% ablation zone, helping to drive ongoing advance despite the warming climate However, conditions at the terminus of the Taku make rapid retreat a possibility in the near term. Because the base of the Taku is grounded below sea level, if the Taku begins to retreat, water may be able to slip between the glacial ice and the sediment. This would trigger a rapid retreat as the ice melted due to contact with the warmer water.

The Taku has advanced seven kilometers since 1850, but in the last few years it appears to be holding steady at its current position. We went out to survey the terminus of the Taku glacier to investigate if a retreat like this may begin in the near future. At the terminus we used GPS accurate to +/- one centimeter to map points along the glacier front. Wading through streams of meltwater, clambering over piles of sediment, and walking over sections of ice, we collected data points to mark where the exact end of the Taku glacier is this year. When processed, these points will give us a map of the terminus of the Taku Glacier in 2016. From past years we then have a sequence of maps of where the Taku has been year to year.

Our preliminary results suggest that parts of the Taku have retreated from its location in 2015 by roughly 10-20 feet (or approximately 5 meters) in certain locations. This, combined with the data from 2013-2015 that showed no change in the terminus extent after decades of advance of as much as 300 feet (approximately 100 meters) per year may indicate that the Taku is at the beginning stages of retreat. However, a year of melting at the terminus does not necessarily mean that the glacier is receding: these trends must be present for perhaps a decade before we can rely on them to make definitive conclusions.

Our survey data from the glacier helps contribute to JIRP’s long-term dataset of the Taku, which is one of the largest of its kind in the world. What makes our survey of the Taku special is that we very well could be witnesses to the beginning of the retreat of one of the last advancing glaciers in the world. Time will tell.

Olivia Truax, Alex Burkhart, Evan Koncewicz, and Cézy Semnacher on top of the ablation zone of the Taku Glacier.

Assumptions

Assumptions

Kate Bartell, Wittenberg University

When my professor first told me about JIRP, I didn’t quite have a picture in my mind of what it could be. After looking at the website a few hundred times, I could determine that it would be a “cool” experience and even something interesting to tell loved ones about afterwards. You don’t quite get the actual picture of what exactly JIRP is until you get to experience it all first hand.

Camp 17

I may have been told what climbing a mountain may be like, for instance, “challenging”, requires “lots of physical effort”, or even that “you don’t have to be an Olympian to climb it”. That all may be true, but facing it with your own sweat and your almost-tears truly changes everything.

I may have been told what living at a camp would be like, but until you get your twenty roommates, your layer of grime (that doesn’t even seem to come off in a snow bath), and the beautiful view that will probably be covered up with clouds half the time, you have no idea.

I may have been told what eating on the Icefield is like, with the canned foods and the SPAM. But until you actually experience what SPAM really means to JIRPers, you have no idea.

So now, when I look to what being a part of JIRP means to me, I see a lot of hard work, sweat, and more “almost-tears” in my future. I see waking up at 7 ‘o’clock by a knock or yell at the door and getting ready for the day in clothes I’ve already worn for the last four days. I see a lecture straight after breakfast, followed by six hours of ski and risk management practice, and then followed by two more lectures. What I see in JIRP now is an opportunity to challenge my body, learn, and make connections with people sharing the same experience as me. Because, at the end of the day, I will have the opportunity to learn from the professors who volunteer their time here, from the staff who use their experience to guide me, from my colleagues who come from different backgrounds, and from the cold and slightly unforgiving Icefield we will eventually cross. I am looking forward to the rest of this journey with my eyes a little wider, my fears a little smaller, and my stomach a lot more full with SPAM.

Meet the 2016 JIRP Field & Logistics Staff!

The volunteer efforts of the JIRP Field Staff are the heart and soul of running this successful, safe, and inspiring field program. These folks support the JIRP mission all season by spearheading the safety training, overseeing the operations of each camp, and supporting JIRP students and faculty in research efforts (along with so much more!). The 2016 crew begin to arrive in Juneau this week for pre-season skills and emergency medical training at Camp 17. This year's crew is thrilled to kick off another fantastic season on the Juneau Icefield!

NEWT KRUMDIECK - Operations Manager

Originally a student in 2008, I knew immediately that the icefield was a place to which I would return. I have been working on the staff side of life since 2010, and have filled roles from safety staff to carpenter to operations manager. I have a BA in geology from Colby College, and although I worked and taught in the sciences for several years, I am now working as a finish carpenter/woodworker.The environment and community that combine to make the JIRP experience are totally unique and inspiring, and getting to share these things with a whole new group of folks every year is incredibly exciting and satisfying!

TRISTAN AMARAL - Field Staff

Soooooooooooooo my name is Tristan and I'm hailing from the forest of Warner, New Hampshire. I was a student on JIRP in 2014 and despite all the sunburns and ski wipe-outs and the (occasionally) abysmal Icefield weather, I was so inspired by the Icefield grandeur and the incredible people I met that I returned in 2015 as a JIRP safety staff member. I graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2015 with a hard won degree in Earth Science- Climate and plans to return to graduate school in a few years to study the melting parts of the planet. My worst fear is getting attacked by a water snake so I try to avoid dark murky water at all costs. I enjoy watching sunsets, eating cheese, and skiing uphill. JIRP has inspired me to embrace cold, rainy weather and to experience the high and cold landscapes of Earth beyond the textbooks. This summer as staff again I am most looking forward to seeing the helicopters do aerial tricks after they bring supplies up to the Icefield.

KIRSTEN ARNELL- Field Staff

I am very excited to be returning to JIRP for the third time this summer! I was a student in the summer of 2014, and a junior safety staff member in the summer of 2015, during which I had a blast leading JIRP's longstanding mass balance program with fellow staffer Annika Ord. I was born and raised in Western Canada, but am currently in my 5th and final year at Columbia University in NYC. I will be graduating in May with undergraduate degrees in Earth Science and Mechanical Engineering. I'm planning to take time off to travel next year, then eventually work in aviation mechanics before pursuing my helicopter's license. I love helicopters, and love having the chance to talk to the helicopter pilots who support JIRP! This summer I am most looking forward to meeting another great group of inspirational students. A lot of cool changes are continuously being made in the program thanks to its dedicated higher-ups, and I never stop being proud to be able to associate myself with a program that has had such a positive, lasting influence on so many people!

ANNIE BOUCHER - Field Staff & Science Communications Lead

My name is Annie Boucher. I first came to JIRP as a student in 2012. I've been involved with the program since then, working as field staff, helping out with academics, and doing research for my master's thesis on glacial erosion. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, graduated from Carleton College in 2011 with a B.A. in Geology, and I'm finishing up my M.Sc. at the University of Maine.

This summer I'm going to be active both on the day-to-day logistics/operations side of the program, and on the academic side. I'm excited to work with Kristin Timm to teach science communication and literacy. After graduate school I hope to find a job as a high school science teacher; I'm passionate about exploring the common ground between teaching science and teaching scientists how to communicate their research. JIRP has been instrumental in showing me the advantages of place-based, experiential education. I'm thrilled to be able to help continue that mission and to introduce a new group of students to a part of the world that has inspired so many people.

My list of favorite things about JIRP is long and varied, but I always look forward to the jaw-dropping sunsets on the icefield. There's nothing more satisfying than a bunch of tired JIRPers drinking hot chocolate together and watching a the sun go down over the Taku Glacier. Other than that, I'm always excited for pancake breakfasts looking out over the Gilkey Trench, trying to conduct synchronized dance routines on skis, and sleeping outside under the northern lights at the end of the summer.

LARA HUGHES-ALLEN - Field Staff & GPS Survey Lead

Lara Hughes-Allen is a recent graduate in Geographic Information Systems Technology Master’s Program at the University of Southern California. She graduated from Pitzer College in 2011 with a double major in Environmental Biology and Geology. In the summer of 2015, she participated in the Juneau Icefield Research Program where her passion for glaciology and arctic climate research was solidified. Previously, Lara was a researcher for the Institute for Bird Populations, studying the foraging habits of Black-backed Woodpeckers, a contender for the Endangered Species List. She also worked as a researcher for Under the Trees, a privately owned forest research firm, which conducts carbon inventories and forest management inventories for private and public landowners. A level two PSIA certified ski instructor, she is currently a ski instructor and training assistant at Northstar Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, CA. Lara is interested in using GIS to analyze the effects of recent anthropogenic climate change on the condition and extent of glaciers and the long-term implication of these changes on surrounding watersheds.

RACHEL MEDAUGH - Juneau-based Logistics Lead

I first participated in JIRP as a student the summer of 2015, my focus was mass balance research, one of the many ongoing projects on the Icefield. This upcoming summer I will be working alongside Deb Gregoire as a main logistics lead down in Juneau, this means that I will be helping coordinate various aspects of off field necessities, anything from loading helicopter shipments or shopping for food to send up to the camps, the list goes on, but my main goal is to help ensure on field success. I am currently finishing my second year of undergrad at the University of Miami, where I am a double major in Ecosystem Science and Policy as well as International Studies. My ultimate goal as far as education goes is to end up in law school, focusing on environmental law.

   It may seem that JIRP is not applicable to my specific area of interest, but after my experience in the field last summer I can confirm that this program teaches you so much more than the various aspects of glaciers. During JIRP you learn how to both mentally and physically push yourself past any limits you previously had; the personal growth I went through because of JIRP has forever shaped me and made me a better person, and not only did I grow as a person, but academically my growth was astronomical. Actually being in the field and applying the concepts you learn in the classroom to the real thing changed my entire thinking process, I learned that there are so many different ways to approach your research and that none of those ways are right or wrong, they are just another layer of data collection on something as mysterious yet intriguing as a glacier. I believe that anyone can grow from this experience and I hope that this upcoming season the incoming students really get that amazing experience of personal and academic growth. I know that this season is going to be awesome and I can't wait to see how much everyone grows together as a team from Juneau to Atlin.

ANNIKA ORD - Field Staff

Annika grew up in a commercial fishing family, floating between Juneau and their remote cabin on the Chilkat Peninsula in Southeast Alaska. Since graduating from Carleton College in 2014 with a degree in biology, Annika has returned to her Southeast homeland to walk the outer coast, snorkel in kelp forests, and make art about this wildly inspiring place. This past year, she spent at the Island Institute in Sitka developing a place-based documentary film program for young Alaskans and organizing a ferry tour that explored links between climate change and culture in Southeast. Annika is excited to return to JIRP for her third summer, and cannot wait to dig some burly snow pits and share the magic of the icefield with the next bunch of JIRPers.

MATT PICKART - Field Staff

My name is Matt Pickart. I first came to JIRP as a student in 2011, and came back as field staff in 2013 and 2014. After a one-year hiatus, I’m excited to return for another icefield summer in 2016.

I majored in Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College, and participated in glaciological research both as a student on JIRP and for my senior project. After graduating, however, I have mostly pursued other interests; I have spent the last year and a half in Europe for postgraduate study in French and Spanish. One of my favorite parts about JIRP is turning off my computer and phone for two months!

ALLIE STREL - Field Staff

Hello!  I'm Allie Strel, hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  I am currently a master's student in Munich, Germany where I'm studying cartography, GIS and remote sensing.  I'm a total map geek but I still get most excited about glaciers, mountains and cold places, so I'm always looking for ways to connect cartography with polar/alpine sciences.  

My experiences as a JIRP student last year were so amazing that I couldn't stay away! This summer, I'm looking forward to disconnecting (from emails, smartphones, laptops, and daily showering) and reconnecting (with the great energy and people of JIRP)!

From the Archives: JIRP 1953 Forecasts Mild Winter in 2053

Recent communication between George Argus (JIRP '52) and JIRP surveyor Scott McGee (JIRP '88) has brought to light a short piece on JIRP in Popular Science - "Scientists Probe Glaciers for Tomorrow's Weather" - from November 1953. Most enlightening, perhaps, are the aspects of JIRP that have not changed in the 60+ years since this article was published.

As we prepare for JIRP 2016, it is these commonalities that are striking. Dr. Calvin Heusser was one of the on-ice leaders in the early 1950s, and his quotes on botany, ecology, glacier surface color and the riddle of the advancing Taku Glaicer resonate and continue as areas of study today. And with humanity continuing to grapple with the challenges of climate change, it's with more than a bit of awe to read about some of the early understanding and indeed forecasts of a warming Earth. 

Look forward to announcements of JIRP 2016 details in the coming weeks, including core research areas, participating faculty and the fantastic group of students we look forward to welcoming to the JIRP family in 2016.

As you wait, enjoy this short article and delight in what has made JIRP a phenomenal experience, and vital scientific endeavor for 70 years. In the words of Dr. Heusser:

"It makes you feel all's right with the world, and is a big reason you go up there aside from the scientific purposes."

Access the November 1953 Popular Science article here.