Juneau Icefield

Good Morning at Camp 10, Juneau Icefield

One of my favorite adventures was when I was part of the expedition team of 45 students and staff traversing the Juneau Icefield with the Juneau Icefield Research Program in 2003. The research program covers geological and glaciological studies in the Juneau Icefield. Throughout the two-months, the expedition team hiked and skied 75 miles/120 kilometer from Juneau Alaska to Atlin, British Columbia. There were 4 main camps that we stayed at on the Juneau Icefield.

A map of the Juneau Icefield traverse and the major Icefield camps. Credit: Allen Pope. (http://juneauicefield.org/icefield-traverse)

Skiing between Camps in July 2003 taken by David Cheung

Skiing and Hiking to Camp 10 taken by David Cheung

Throughout the 2-months, several geological and glaciological studies were completed including glaciological surveys, mass balance testing, meteorological monitoring of the different glaciers. One of my favorite memories as safety training where we had to rappel into and ascend out of a crevasse. I did not have much experience in climbing but with the training I was able to complete the task.

Picture taken from inside the crevasse by David Cheung

One of my main projects for the summer was to conduct test to determine the sub-glacial topography of the Vaughan-Lewis and Llewellyn Glaciers. We had used the method of seismic refraction and with this method we had placed geophones connected to a seismometer to measure refraction of the different layers.

I am placing geophones at specific intervals for seismic refraction testing

Below are some pictures taken during the two month expedition. If you ever have a chance to travel to the Juneau Icefield, the area is breathtaking. Other than the Juneau Icefield Research Program http://juneauicefield.o rg/, there are also other skiing/trekking tours and helicopter tours to the Juneau Icefield as well.

Camp 18 overlooking the Gilkey Trench taken by David Cheung