After 50 years of attempts, a high resolution map of McCall Glacier may have just been acquired. During the International Geophysical Year 1957-58, eight glaciers in Alaska were selected for long-term research. A primary component of this research was the use of topographic maps – by making such maps periodically, the evolution of the shape of the glacier could be tracked and its dynamics better understood. McCall Glacier was the centerpiece of this research and the only glacier of the eight where a major field program was established. As such, the first tests in making topographic maps were done there as that is where it would be most useful to the field team. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented the mapping team’s return to McCall Glacier, and all that we were left with is a map made with an uncalibrated lens, which is essentially unusable for research purposes. Mapping efforts again were made in the early 1970s, but failed for other reasons. So all that we have is the coarse-scale USGS map made in 1956, and these maps are notorious for errors, especially in the Far North and on glaciers. Without good maps, it’s hard to do any type of modeling and hard to make many types of measurements of change. Now we are one step closer to having an accurate and up-to-date map.

The weather in the mountains has been troublesome, but at least sufficient for some work to get done. The dynamic there is what we’ve observed while in the mountains – by early morning on clear day, the sun evaporates moisture from the glaciers and rivers and lifts it high into the sky, creating clouds and sometimes thunderheads. So basically by about 10AM, we can't do any lidar in the mountains. So the first day back, Nick and Jessica flew the river corridors along the coastal plain, where it was still nice. The next day we were up at about 4AM – when the clouds from the day before have settled down but the new ones have not yet started up – and were able to fly a square around McCall Glacier, our highest priority target, for a few hours. This morning we employed the same early-morning trick and were able to get 8 of the 35 long east-west flight lines done. So it seems that all we need is another 12 hours of clear weather and we could knock out the remaining work, but getting those 12 hours might take 12 weeks…

McCall Glacier is just to the right of the high peak in the center of the photo, as seen from the runway in Kaktovik.

Great weather for lidar!

The locals do a lot of hunting. The caribou have been wandering around on the island lately, and it often sounds like Iraq around here. Lawrence had too much and was giving the meat away. (Click on the panorama and drag to look around, press Shift to zoom in, Command (Mac) or Control (PC) to zoom out.) Enlarge this panorama


Benny and I took a walk one night down to the bonepile. The locals hunt whales in fall, then leave the carcasses on the beach for the bears to eat. It makes for interesting photos, but next time I want to use my tower mount to get a panoramic view looking down on the pile. (Click on the panorama and drag to look around, press Shift to zoom in, Command (Mac) or Control (PC) to zoom out.) Enlarge this panorama