Student Researcher
By Amanda Newcombe ‘25The Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) is an immersive, cross- disciplinary science mountaineering program and maintains the longest-running study of any glacier in the Western Hemisphere.
The JIRP field season is highlighted by drilling snow cores, digging mass balance pits, deploying seismometers, using ground penetrating radar, and conducting GPS surveys. An integral part of this science is the ski mountaineering skills required to conduct remote polar field work, including snow anchors, rope teams, self arrests, radio communication, and crevasse rescue. Using these science and mountaineering skills, I focused on an icefall seismics project. Five seismometers were deployed either buried in the glacier above the Vaughan Lewis Icefall or in soil on the nunatak beside the icefall. We then analyzed the frequency and power returns from the seismometers to study crevassing events, basal ice quakes, and the system of water flow within the icefall.
By reinforcing my love for skiing, teaching me mountaineering skills, and showing me how I can combine these interests with my passion for earth science and hydrology, JIRP has opened my eyes to the field of glaciology and inspired me to hopefully pursue a masters degree studying glacier dynamics.
The combination of technical mountaineering, polar science, group dynamic, and leadership skills I learned at JIRP have set me up to pursue careers in guiding or science in challenging field settings, and I’m excited to build upon these skills at Bowdoin and beyond!
Internship funded by the Peter Buck Internship Fund.