EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATE IN FIELD RESEARCH AT BERING GLACIER, ALASKA

Eleven EarthWatch institute volunteers from five countries participated in field studies at Bering Glacier, Alaska, during June/July, 2004, Although from professions other than the field sciences, volunteers enthusiastically helped advance project goals. Most volunteers had previous experience in remote regions and were capable of dealing with the rigors of the glacial environment. Under the direction of experienced staff, EarthWatch volunteers were trained for mapping projects and data collection. GPS mapping along the eastern piedmont ice front yielded an annual retreat rate between 50-75 m for land-based ice, 100-200 m in shallow water and up to 800 m of calving retreat. Renewed development of lacuna depressions (~90 m diameter and ~60 m depth), in the same location as before the 1993-95 surge, is now occurring within a downwasting zone of passive, marginal ice. This suggests englacial conditions uniquely common to this specific segment of the piedmont lobe. Mapping confirmed the field association of subglacial tunnel channels with ice front outburst sites. Volunteers measured ice surface ablation rates that varied between 7.1 cm/day to 9.5 cm/day within one kilometer of ice front. They also recorded till fabric linking flute formation to overriding ice. Multiple foreland stratigraphic sections were described and correlated utilizing data recorded by volunteers and the fossil wood samples they collected. Unlike undergraduate research associates, volunteers did not participate in the design of field projects nor do they assist with post-field data analysis. Nonetheless, the involvement of EarthWatch Institute volunteers at Bering Glacier yielded numerous mutually valuable outcomes.