REPEAT PHOTOGRAPHY OF HISTORICAL U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHS IN GATES OF THE ARCTIC NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, ALASKA

Using repeat photography techniques the National Park Service (NPS) documented over a century of change in the physical, biological, and cultural landscape of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR), Alaska. GAAR, the second largest and least visited National Park in the U.S., is a remote, roadless wilderness park located above the Arctic Circle in the Brooks Range in Alaska. The isolated nature and lack of infrastructure present significant challenges for studying and managing park resources. It is critical for effective park management to understand how the natural resources of GAAR have changed during the past century and how the ecosystems and landscape of the park are responding to climate change. Repeat photography was selected as the investigation method for this project because it is an efficient tool for documenting landscape changes and communicating the complex effects of climate change to diverse audiences, including park visitors, resource managers, and scientists. Repeat photography methodology involves obtaining historical images from early Alaska expeditions, locating the photographer’s position in the field, and then reproducing the original image using modern photographic techniques.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted numerous expeditions and surveys in Alaska during the past 125 years. The authors identified many high-quality photographs taken in the GAAR area during expeditions by USGS geologists Walter C. Mendenhall in 1901 and Arthur T. Fernald in 1952. The authors gathered field notes, photographs, publications, and maps from these two expeditions and used the material along with consultation with GAAR staff familiar with the area to map the photographers’ probable locations. Twelve sites were identified near Walker Lake, a National Natural Landmark situated inside GAAR’s boundaries. During July 2018, a three-person NPS team spent a week at Walker Lake and located and replicated images at six of the twelve sites. This project contributes to the understanding of the history of scientific exploration in GAAR area and provides information about how park physical and cultural resources have changed over the past century. Preliminary analysis of several images suggest variations in vegetation density and distribution and resultant impacts on stream morphology.