The JIRP academic curriculum is built around workshops and student research projects. Students will participate in several short-term research projects throughout the summer, assisting in research design, field data collection, and analysis. All participants will practice presenting findings to a variety of audiences, including their peers and the residents of Atlin, BC at the end of the expedition.
The research projects depend on the faculty who attend, so the projects are slightly different every year. Student projects may relate to any of the objectives listed on the Academics page.
JIRP has shifted away from full-season research projects in an effort to give participants exposure to a wider range of topics. Linked below are some example student project proposals and presentations from 2016-2018, when students spent the whole summer working on one project. 2025 participants will still produce research presentations and visuals.
2018 Projects
In 2018, students were split into groups at the beginning of the season and spent the entire expedition working with their research group. Each of the groups started with a faculty-authored topic overview. These documents, linked below, were meant to draw some boundaries around each research area and give the students interested in the project somewhere to start. The students were primarily in charge of further defining the scope of the research efforts over the summer.
In addition, each student group came up with a summary illustration to use with their presentations at the end of the summer.
Illustration of the sampling wall of a mass balance snow pit on the Juneau Icefield. Image credit: Mia Vanderwilt.
Illustration of GPR imaging of the snowpack and ice/bed interface. Image credit: Bertie Miller.
Isotope Geochemistry sampling methods. Image credit: Nadia Grisaru.
Plant succession and soil development in progressively deglaciated zones. Image credit: Abby Case.
Glacier velocity and surface elevation loss on the Canadian side of the Juneau Icefield. Image credit: Grace Juneau.
Carbon weathering cycle schematic.