The Juneau Icefield is a group of interconnected glaciers just north of Juneau, Alaska that extends into British Columbia, Canada and covers an area the size of Rhode Island. Maybe you’ve heard of the Mendenhall Glacier? It is part of the Juneau Icefield! The Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) has been collecting data on the icefield since 1948.
Coordination, Data Management and Enhancement of the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP), and US Interagency Arctic Buoy Programme (USIABP)
This research studies sea ice and interaction with the ocean and atmosphere and also works on the International Buoy Program. There is a test site around Utqiagvik, Alaska and for the 2024 season, work will likely take place in late March/early April. On site work will include deploying and tracking instrumentation on the sea ice and surrounding areas. This season’s work will also include a two day partnership with Hopson Middle School in Utqiagvik, Alaska where students will participate in learning about the research taking place in their community and participate in traditional activities related to the sea ice.
Participants Involved in This Project
Keegan Heron | Educator Fellow
Riverside HS, Durham Public Schools | Durham, North Carolina
Ignatius Rigor | Researcher Fellow
University of Washington | Seattle, WA
From the Blog
An Unforgettable Adventure Begins As a high school science teacher, the invitation to join Macall Hock on an expedition to study the effects of a warming Arctic ecosystem on stream carbon cycling in Utqiagvik, Alaska, felt like stepping into a thrilling adventure. The beauty of the Arctic wilderness was a sight to behold, but the
Drs. Peter Ungar, Mary Heskel, and Aleksey Sheshukov explained (patiently) their areas of expertise, Arctic research projects, and provided me with a virtual mountain of photographs from their fieldwork. We talked about what projects would be suitable and appropriate for a variety of audiences. What would be engaging to different ages, interests and levels of scientific knowledge? I knew that I wanted my Photoshop class to be involved with this project, so I suggested creating a comic book.
Today we got set up and met the local 8th graders out on the ice! For some of them it was the first time they had been on the land-fast sea ice (which is ice that is "fastened" to the coastline). For some, it was old news. It was quite cold (-30F with the windchill), so many students hid in the tents we had set up. The previous days had been relatively warm, hovering around 0-10F degrees. The students were split into groups and rotated between the stations.
Made possible with funding by the National Science Foundation Award #2221990. The information contained here is those of the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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