Juneau Icefield Research Project (1949-1958), Volume 8 (Developments in Quaternary Sciences) (Developments in Quaternary Sciences)

JUNEAU ICEFIELD RESEARCH PROJECT (1949–1958) A RETROSPECTIVE

Developments in Quaternary Sciences (Series Editor: Jaap J.M. van der Meer) Volumes in this series 1. The Quaternary Period in the United States Edited by A.R. Gillespie, S.C. Porter, B.F. Atwater 0-444-51470-8 (hardbound); 0-444-51471-6 (paperback) – 2003 2. Quaternary Glaciations – Extent and Chronology Edited by J. Ehlers, P.L. Gibbard Part I: Europe ISBN 0-444-51462-7 (hardbound) – 2004 Part II: North America ISBN 0-444-51592-5 (hardbound) – 2004 Part III: South America, Asia, Australasia, Antarctica ISBN 0-444-51593-3 (hardbound) – 2004 3. Ice Age Southern Andes – A Chronicle of Paleoecological Events By C.J. Heusser 0-444-51478-3 (hardbound) – 2003 4. Spitsbergen Push Moraines – including a translation of K. Gripp: Glaciologische und geologische Ergebnisse der Hamburgischen Spitzbergen-Expedition 1927 Edited by J.J.M. van der Meer 0-444-51544-5 (hardbound) – 2004 5. Iceland – Modern Processes and Past Environments Edited by C. Caseldine, A. Russell, J. Hardardóttir, Ó. Knudsen 0-444-50652-7 (hardbound) – 2005 6. Glaciotectonism By J.S. Aber, A. Ber 0-444-52943-8 (hardbound) – 2007 7. The Climate of Past Interglacials Edited by F. Sirocko, M. Claussen, M.F. Sánchez Go~ni, T. Litt 0-444-52955-1 (hardbound) – 2007 8. Juneau Icefield Research Project (1949–1958) – A Retrospective By C.J. Heusser† Present volume

The cover photo shows the 1958 field party. (From left to right, Dick Scott, Mel Marcus, Cal Heusser, Larry Nielsen, Dave Bohn, and Dave Chappelear.) Photograph by Dave Bohn.

JUNEAU ICEFIELD RESEARCH PROJECT (1949–1958) A RETROSPECTIVE

by

Calvin J. Heusser† Tuxedo, New York, USA

Amsterdam – Boston – Heidelberg – London – New York – Oxford – Paris San Diego – San Francisco – Singapore – Sydney – Tokyo

Elsevier The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands First edition 2007 Copyright © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone (+44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (+44) (0) 1865 853333; email: [email protected]. Alternatively you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier web site at http://elsevier.com/locate/permissions, and selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material Notice No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made ISBN-13: 978-0-444-52951-0 ISBN-10: 0-444-52951-9 ISSN: 1571-0866

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Preface

The volume in front of you is remarkable in a number of ways. In the first place it is a record of early days in glaciology. This book series is called “Developments in Quaternary Science” which will be read by many as recording developments in the “contents” of science: “this is what we knew twenty, fifty years ago and this is where we stand now or this is where we ought to go.” Instead this volume is much more about how we worked in glaciology fifty years ago. Although the book contains a record of the scientific achievements of the Juneau Icefield Project, it is much more about how things were done and by whom. And although there is no chapter on how the same project would have been done nowadays, it still shows how glaciology developed. One of the things that struck me, and that I did ask Cal about, was the easy, apparently unlimited access to air support. There always seemed to be a plane available that you could hop on to. Cal told me that it was the Society’s contract with the Office of Naval Research which opened channels to the military at no cost. That definitely is a big difference with present day funding where everything has to be costed. In the second place this is a remarkable book, because as some people say, the best science is in our diaries. Diaries reflect what we did, how we did it, when we did it, and under what conditions. In many cases our diaries are a direct reflection of our thoughts on what our work of that day, that week meant, the accidental finds, why the things we were doing were important (to us). This idea of where to find the best science opposes the idea that the best science should be in the papers and reports that we produce. But somehow those papers and reports are cleaned up versions, they do not show how we struggled with what our findings meant. In published papers there always seems to be straight progression from an idea to data collection to outcome, there is no record of the setbacks or of detours. And if we put such records in our manuscripts, editors force us to take them out as being irrelevant. Personally, I think that it is better to see our diaries as purer science, not necessarily better science. And if this notion of the purest science being in diaries is true, this book is science at its purest and its best. It not only contains reflections of the science in its published format, but also gives a remarkable insight into the science kitchen by many citations from Cal’s diaries. This brings me to the third reason why this is a remarkable volume, which is at the personal level. This book was presented not long ago to the publisher as a complete manuscript. It contained everything from a frontispiece, table of contents, text and layout for chapters, to loads of pictures and where they should go, in short it could almost go straight into production. As things go, as editor I then started to pick out things that needed to be added, figures that needed tidying up or made more uniform, etc. Corrections and additions made, complete new versions of the manuscript appeared on my desk at great speed, snapping at my heels to hurry up. This was more remarkable when it became clear to me that Cal was seriously ill and in between the lines I read that all this (re-)writing was done in between hospital visits. Cal showed a fantastic drive to finish the book and he has succeeded. It makes it all the more sad that he himself will not see the end product as he passed away earlier this month. As such, this volume is a true testimony to Cal Heusser, to the man, his science and his drive to share his experiences and intimate thoughts with us.

v

Jaap J.M. van der Meer Series Editor November 2006

Dedicated to the field parties that traversed the Juneau Icefield over the years of the Project, the people, places, and happenings, in lasting memory.

vi

Prologue

June 1950, beginning of a field season of the Project on Taku Glacier, the ski-wheel C-47 touched down smoothly on the snow at 1100 m. It was early evening with long daylight hours approaching the summer solstice. Shadows marking sun cups that barely had begun to form defined the flat speckled surface, making depth perception for landing far better than in the glare of midday. The C-47, from the 10th Air Rescue Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, had been assigned to provide the Project with air support. This occasion, while the field season had barely gotten underway, gave air crews an opportunity not only to transport supplies and equipment but also to practice landing and takeoff and familiarize themselves with Taku Glacier. In half-an-hour of flying time from Juneau Airport, the earth, transformed, had taken on the image of a past ice age. After gaining altitude over Gastineau Channel, the flight at first followed Mendenhall Glacier to the north and later, turning eastward, crossed over to the Taku. As the dark Pacific coastal forest receded, a seemingly endless alpine snowscape, lapped onto intervening horned peaks and sharp-edged ridges, came into view. Under a pale sun, hung low in the sky, the flight entered the ice-sculptured sanctum of another world. Nunataks studding the sky stood like watchmen that for millennia had guarded an eternity of ice and snow. Upon deplaning and unloading of cargo, overcome by the size and distance of physical features, one became transported by the vastness of the Juneau Icefield. The immediate, wide expanse of landing area had not been readily apparent in aerial perspective. Visibility extended to peaks over 6 km distant. Across the glacier, the Taku Towers at over 1950 m in altitude, stood in sharp relief on the skyline. Cooling from the heat of day, the light air, carried by a gentle wind, was deceptively mild. Inescapable, in the stillness of oncoming night, evolved an engrossing atmosphere of unparalleled tranquility and spiritual cleansing. In lingering twilight, takeoff from the Taku Glacier and return to the airport, as worlds changed in flight, continued to spell magic. With skis retracted, the C-47 landed mid files of runway lights, coming to rest in semi-darkness at the edge of the tarmac. Back in Juneau, sleep was slow to overtake a feeling of exhilaration with its myriad of mental images so vividly captured only hours before. Made more than a half century ago, the initial foray to the Taku was for me the first of countless unforgettable flights into the icefield that followed during eight ensuing field seasons through the International Geophysical Year of 1957–1958. At midpoint last century, The American Geographical Society of New York had launched a ten-year study of the glaciers of the Juneau Icefield located in the Coast Mountains of southeastern Alaska. Interdisciplinary by design, research was focused on the relationship between glacier hydrology, advance and recession of ice fronts, and climatic trends. In conjunction, the Project investigated the geomorphic and paleoecological setting of the Coast Mountains in the icefield sector. Data were placed in the context of related findings from other parts of northwestern America to gain a perspective of the present and past cordilleran environmental controls. My association with the Juneau Icefield Research Project began in 1950. As a graduate student in botany and geology at Oregon State College, the period from early June until early September was spent on the icefield. In spring of the year, the Society had written with an invitation to participate as plant ecologist. Previously in 1949, an invitation had been tendered but other commitments precluded participation. vii

viii

Prologue

Upon completion of graduate studies in January 1952, I accepted a position of Research Associate at the Society in New York. The work under contract with the Office of Naval Research involved planning the Project’s scientific operations and logistics, organizing field parties, and editing and processing reports. The position, in addition, provided an opportunity to complete ecological studies on and about the icefield and elsewhere in the northwestern Cordillera. As Research Associate in the Department of Exploration and Field Research, I was given charge of the Project in 1952 (incorrectly recorded as 1950 in Brown, 2004), a responsibility that continued until completion of the Office of Naval Research contract in 1958. My 15 years at the Society continued until 1967, at which juncture I joined the faculty of New York University. The Retrospective put forth at this time, embracing a decade of activity, is long overdue. Halfa-century after the fact, it is intended to bring together under a single heading, the place, work, personnel, events, and results of studies to serve as a scientific and historical document. Scientific achievements, taken from the literature in most cases together with logistical operations, are summarized and placed in perspective. Units of measurement employed follow the Metric System. All radiocarbon dates calibrated, 24,000-0 cal years BP, are from Stuiver et al. (1998). Scientific binomials for vascular plants updated are taken from Hultén (1968). Chapters include entries from personal journals, which offer an informal aspect of day-to-day activities in the field. Photographs are those of the author unless otherwise indicated.

Acknowledgments

The Juneau Icefield Research Project, conceived and set forth in its formative years, owes much to the forward thinking of W.O. Field and M.M. Miller. Their dedication to glaciological research coupled with Alaskan field experience prior to 1948, when the first extended reconnaissance of the icefield was accomplished, led inexorably to the execution of studies focused on Taku Glacier. Without this spark of enthusiasm imbued in the undertaking, the Project may never have originated. Despite hard work under cold, wet, and snowy conditions with menial tasks that decimated time available for research, accomplishments paved the way to a rewarding momentum of investigative activity during successive years. The Project’s decade-long, multi-faceted studies received supplies and equipment from the Quartermaster Corps, Signal Corps, Corps of Engineers, and the Air Matériel Command. Air support was flown by aircraft from the Kodiak Naval Air Station, 10th Air Rescue Squadron and 54th Troop Carrier Squadron from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, and U.S. Coast Guard from Annette Island. Military Air Transport Service, in addition, made travel orders available for Project personnel. The U.S. Forest Service in Juneau assisted with logistics. B. Frank Heintzelman, who later became Governor of Alaska, and A.W. Blackerby arranged for warehouse space and transportation. The friendliness of the people of Juneau, the local interest and attention given to the Project and personnel, deserves special recognition. The Hotel Juneau, in particular, offered unusual hospitality. The late Tony Thomas, U.S. Forest Service, in a liaison capacity all the years of the Project, could invariably be counted upon to make a radio contact, act on business and personal requests from the field, and ensure the pickup of field parties at Twin Glacier Lake or other remote places in and about the icefield. Ken Loken, Juneau Air Taxi Service, flew an incalculable number of flights on floats or ski-wheels during the decade, always conveying his skill and a sense of confidence, whether the day be cloudy or bright, in his ability to fly the airplane. In the preparation of the Retrospective, thanks are extended to Dave Bohn for offering his 1958 journal (which covered loss of my own), as well as personal commentary plus photos; Austin Post for bringing me in touch with happenings on Lemon Creek Glacier in 1953, while I was in the Canadian Rockies with Bill Field; Ed LaChapelle for his “Snow Studies on the Juneau Icefield” to replace an original copy from my shelves; Charlie Morrison for reporting on activities with Mel Marcus at ice-dammed Tulsequah Lake and calling attention to the map, “Glacier Bay and Juneau Icefield Region” (Molenaar, 1993), and brochure, “The Juneau Icefield” (U.S. Forest Service, 2003); Roman Motyka for reprints of the latest studies of Taku and other icefield glaciers; and in large measure my wife, Linda Olga. The American Geographical Society is acknowledged for permission to use copyrighted material. Jaap J.M. van der Meer, Series Editor, gave considerable attention to the work, for which I am most grateful.

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Contents

Preface v Prologue vii Acknowledgments ix List of Figures xv List of Tables xxi

Part 1 Background of the Project

1

Chapter 1 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5.

Introduction 3 The Juneau Icefield Research Project 3 Tempo of Scientific Inquiry 6 Glaciology in North America Twentieth Century Project Field Leaders and Field Parties 11 The American Geographical Society 12

Chapter 2 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4.

Juneau Icefield 15 Glacial Setting 15 Coast Mountains 18 Climate 21 Vegetation 22

Part 2 Early Years of the Project (1949–1952)

7

27

Chapter 3 1949 Field Season 29 3.1. Introduction 29 3.2. Juneau – Base of Operations 34 3.2.1. Juneau – Capital of the Territory 34 3.2.2. Hotel Juneau 34 3.2.3. Warehouse Facilities and Equipments 35 3.3. Research 36 3.3.1. Seismic Profiles of Taku Glacier 36 3.3.2. Regimen of Taku Glacier 39 3.3.3. Meteorological Parameters 39 3.3.4. Glacier Variations During the Past Six Centuries Chapter 4 1950 Field Season 43 4.1. Introduction 43 4.2. Research 47 4.2.1. Drilling Operation on Upper Taku Glacier 47 4.2.2. Regimen of Taku Glacier 48 4.2.3. Late Quaternary Paleoecological Events 50 4.3. Journal Entries 54

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39

xii

Contents

Chapter 5 1951 Field Season 61 5.1. Introduction 61 5.2. Research 61 5.2.1. Regimen of Taku Glacier 61 5.2.2. Nunatak Flora and Vegetation 64 5.2.3. Paleoecology of Southeastern Alaska 5.3. Journal Entries 65

64

Chapter 6 1952 Field Season 71 6.1. Introduction 71 6.2. Research 71 6.2.1. Regimen of Taku Glacier 71 6.2.2. Geobotanical Studies on the Taku Glacier Anomaly 6.2.3. Nunatak Flora 77 6.2.4. Paleoecology of Pacific Coastal Alaska 83 6.3. Journal Entries 83

Part 3 Later Years of the Project (1953–1958)

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93

Chapter 7 1953 Field Season 95 7.1. Introduction 95 7.2. Research 97 7.2.1. Micrometeorology of Lemon Creek Glacier 97 7.2.2. Regimen of Taku Glacier 98 7.2.3. Camp 10 Meteorological Observations 99 7.2.4. Geobotanical Studies 99 7.2.5. Triangulation 100 7.2.6. Glacier Variations in the Canadian Rockies 100 7.3. Journal Entries 100 Chapter 8 1954 Field Season 113 8.1. Introduction 113 8.2. Research 115 8.2.1. Micrometeorology of Lemon Creek Glacier 115 8.2.2. Hydrological Budget 1953–1954 118 8.2.3. Variations of Lemon Creek Glacier 118 8.2.4. Paleoecology of Pacific Coastal British Columbia 121 8.3. Journal Entries 121 Chapter 9 1955 Field Season 129 9.1. Introduction 129 9.2. Research 129 9.2.1. Hydrological Budget 1954–1955 129 9.2.2. Seismic Work 130 9.2.3. Upper Lemon Creek Glacier Moraines 130 9.2.4. Paleoecology of Coastal British Columbia 131 9.2.5. Glacier Variations in the Olympic Mountains 133 9.3. Journal Entries 137

Contents

xiii

Chapter 10 1956 Field Season 143 10.1. Introduction 143 10.2. Research 145 10.2.1. Hydrological Budget 1955–1956 145 10.2.2. Gravity Profiles on Lemon Creek Glacier 146 10.2.3. Paleoecology of the North Pacific Coast 146 10.3. Journal Entries 146 Chapter 11 1957 Field Season 159 11.1. Introduction 159 11.2. Research 159 11.2.1. Hydrological Budgets for 1954–1957 159 11.2.2. Movement Profiles for Lemon Creek Glacier 11.3. Journal Entries 163

160

Chapter 12 1958 Field Season 167 12.1. Introduction 167 12.2. Research 169 12.2.1. Hydrological Budgets for 1956–1957 and 1957–1958 12.2.2. Recession of Lemon Creek Glacier 172 12.2.3. Ice-Dammed Tulsequah Lake 174 12.2.4. Variations of Gilkey Glacier 176 12.2.5. Glacier Mice 181 12.3. Journal Entries 182

Part 4 Summation

169

187

Chapter 13 Taku Glacier Variations

189

Chapter 14 Lemon Creek Glacier Variations

193

Part 5 Chronology and Paleoecology of North Pacific America During and Following the Last Glacial Maximum 199 Chapter 15 15.1. 15.2. 15.3.

Chronology and Paleoecology 201 Glaciation, Deglaciation, and Climate Refugia and Plant Migration 207 Glacier–Climate Cycles 216

Epilogue 219 References 221

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List of Figures

1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5. 1.6. 1.7.

Location of the Juneau Icefield in southeastern Alaska. 4 Expanse of the Juneau Icefield. 5 Terminus of Taku Glacier in 1955. 5 Lemon Creek Glacier in 1957. 6 Seward–Malaspina Glacier system on the Gulf of Alaska. 8 Bering Glacier on the Gulf of Alaska. 10 The American Geographical Society. 13

2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. 2.5. 2.6. 2.7. 2.8. 2.9.

Sketch map of the Juneau Icefield and its regional setting. 16 View of southwest of Taku accumulation area from summit of Exploration Peak. 17 Icefall of West Twin Glacier, the terminus calving into Twin Glacier Lake. 17 Forbes bands (ogives) of East Twin Glacier. 18 Ice-dammed lake occupying former branch of Gilkey Glacier. 18 Nunataks of the Juneau Icefield. 19 Ice-sculptured towers at 2150 m bordering upper Taku Glacier. 19 Devils Paw in the easternmost sector of the Juneau Icefield. 20 Altitudinal limits of Cordilleran Glacier Complex in southeastern Alaska and adjacent British Columbia. 21 Vegetation in relation to the Juneau Icefield shown chiefly by arboreal elements of Pacific Coastal Forest. 23 Pacific Coastal Forest and Arctic-Alpine Tundra on Cairn Ridge. 24 Arctic-Alpine species of the nunatak flora. 24 Heath covering upper slopes of Taku B nunatak. 25

2.10. 2.11. 2.12. 2.13. 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 3.4. 3.5. 3.6. 3.7. 3.8. 3.9. 3.10. 3.11. 3.12. 3.13. 3.14. 3.15.

Loading ski-wheel C-47 at Juneau Airport for flight to Taku Glacier. 30 Unloading equipment flown to the Taku. 30 Research Station (Camp 10B) overlooking the main stream of Taku Glacier. 31 Mail pickup atop back slope behind the Research Station. 31 Camp 10B in aircraft landing area. 32 Organ Pipe Range at the junction of Northeast Branch and the main stream of Taku Glacier. 32 Exploration Peak centrally located in the icefield. 33 Shoehorn to the far left fronting the Taku Towers of the Taku Range. 33 Juneau at mid-twentieth century. 34 Alaska–Juneau Mine before it ceased operation and was demolished. 35 Location of seismic profiles and stations on Taku Glacier. 37 Cross-sectional profiles of Taku Glacier. 38 Surveying movement stakes on Taku Glacier. 38 Terminus of Mendenhall Glacier. 40 Record of Mendenhall Glacier variations in recent centuries. 41

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4.1. 4.2. 4.3. 4.4. 4.5. 4.6. 4.7. 4.8. 4.9. 4.10. 4.11. 4.12. 4.13. 4.14. 4.15. 4.16. 5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4. 5.5.

List of Figures

“Tent Camp,” Camp 10B, site of Taku Glacier drilling operation. 44 Field party at the Research Station in 1950. 44 Sledging supplies to be backpacked to the Research Station. 45 Henri Bader and Gerry Wasserburg, last minute instructions. 45 Bob Forbes and Doc Nicholl, Juneau Airport. 46 Geological field party on Juncture Peak. 46 Drilling operation at Camp 10B. 47 Art Gilkey on the drill rig. 47 Andy Anderson in charge of the drilling. 48 Mal Miller in pit at Camp 10B. 49 Pit dug to a depth of over 7 m for snow studies on Upper Taku. 49 Locations of sections taken in muskegs for paleoecological study. 51 Remains of tree trunks dated to 3500 14C years BP in exposure at Lower Lemon Creek. Chronostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlation of regional muskegs. 52 Lateglacial–Holocene vegetation change in the course of marine regression. 53 Summit of Mount Edgecumbe on Kruzof Island west of Sitka. 53 Weasel drop on Taku Glacier. 62 Parachuting equipment and supplies at Research Station. 62 Research Station, left to right, Dick Zoerb, Bucky Wilson, and Bob Smith. Recovering parachuted parapack at outlying camp. 63 Relict plant community, Taku B. 65

63

6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6. 6.7. 6.8. 6.9. 6.10. 6.11. 6.12.

SA-16 Albatross triphibian on Taku Glacier. 72 John Howe preparing 42-man-day rations in parapacks. 72 Ed LaChapelle hauling fabricated sledge of corrugated aluminum. 73 Weasel camp for snow study, lower Taku. 73 Camp 9B snow pit study site, Northwest Branch. 74 Survey party, John Howe and George Argus, Northeast Branch. 75 Unweathered bedrock, grooved and denuded, below trimline on Taku B. 75 Stabilized tundra community, above trimline on Taku B. 76 Rush (Luzula parviflora) colonizing ground below trimline, Taku B. 76 Profiles of late-postglacial and 1952 ice surfaces of Taku Glacier. 77 Sampling sites in the northern sector of southeastern Alaska. 84 Sampling sites on the Kenai Peninsula and in Prince William Sound. 84

7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4. 7.5. 7.6. 7.7. 7.8. 7.9. 7.10. 7.11.

Lemon Creek Glacier and its regional setting. 96 View of Lemon Creek Glacier in 1951 above the icefall. 96 Micrometeorological station on Lemon Creek Glacier. 97 Outline of Taku Glacier showing locations of glaciological data. 98 Vertical velocity profiles of Taku Glacier borehole. 99 Sketch map with locations of glaciers studied in the Canadian Rockies. 101 Field party at Berg Lake. 102 Packtrain going up the Athabaska River to Columbia Glacier. 102 Interstadial spruce dated to 450 ± 150 14C years BP. 103 Cross section of trunk of glacier-tilted tree at Southeast Lyell Glacier. 104 Variations of glaciers studied in the Canadian Rockies. 105

52

List of Figures

xvii

7.12. 7.13. 7.14. 7.15.

Robson Glacier viewed from Mt. Mumm. 105 Southeast Lyell Glacier flowing from the Lyell Icefield. 106 Freshfield Glacier descending from the Freshfield Icefield. 106 Ten-year running means of meteorological data at Banff. 107

8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 8.4. 8.5. 8.6. 8.7. 8.8. 8.9. 8.10. 8.11. 8.12. 8.13. 8.14. 8.15. 8.16. 8.17. 8.18.

Field party and visitors at Lemon Creek Glacier Research Station. 113 C-124 Globemaster for parachuting parcels of Jamesway hut. 114 Rigging parcels for aerial delivery to Lemon Creek Glacier. 114 Elevator lifting equipment through the cargo bay into the aircraft for air drop. Target (“T”) in the drop zone on Lemon Creek Glacier. 115 Parcels about to be parachuted through the cargo bay. 116 One of seven passes over Lemon Creek Glacier. 116 Hauling of parts of Jamesway hut to bedrock ridge for erection. 117 Jamesway hut assembly. 117 Jamesway ready for occupancy. 118 Ski-wheel Piper Super Cruiser operating on Lemon Creek Glacier. 118 Ed LaChapelle and Bob Goodwin laying out stakes for budget study. 119 Little Ice Age maximum in Lemon Creek Valley. 119 Trimline of glacier in Lemon Creek Valley. 120 Upvalley from Little Ice Age maximum of Lemon Creek Glacier. 120 Coring trees in ancient forest outside trimline. 121 Sampling locations on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. 122 Steve Den Hartog en route from Masset to Langara Island. 122

9.1. 9.2. 9.3. 9.4. 9.5. 9.6. 9.7. 9.8. 9.9. 9.10. 9.11. 9.12. 9.13. 9.14.

End moraines beyond the ice divide on upper Lemon Creek Glacier. 130 Lobate end moraines at upper Lemon Creek Glacier. 131 Sketch map of moraines bordering upper Lemon Creek Glacier. 132 Bob Peters in Prince Rupert en route to the Queen Charlotte Islands. 132 Locations of Blue, White, and Hoh Glaciers during Little Ice Age and in 1955. 133 Blue Glacier viewed upglacier from the terminal area. 134 White Glacier showing trimline indicating former extent of the ice. 134 Hoh Glacier terminus mantled by slide debris. 135 Blizzard Pass at the head of Blue Glacier. 135 Weathered and unweathered moraines bordering Blue Glacier. 136 Dick Hubley, Hoh Glacier camp. 136 Mike Hane, Hoh Glacier camp. 137 Time–distance relationships of glaciers relative to Little Ice Age maxima. 137 Ten-year running means of temperature and precipitation at Tatoosh Island. 138

10.1. 10.2. 10.3. 10.4. 10.5. 10.6. 10.7. 10.8.

Lemon Creek Glacier principal gravity traverses and ice thickness. 143 Bouguer anomalies and cross sections of Lemon Creek Glacier. 144 Al Hawbecker, Juneau float dock, Gastineau Channel. 145 Norseman, Fitzhugh Sound, British Columbia. 145 Locations of mire sections taken bordering the Gulf of Alaska. 147 Locations of mire sections collected in and adjacent to the Alexander Archipelago. Locations of sections collected from mires in coastal British Columbia. 149 Locations of mire sections taken in Washington, Oregon, and California. 150

115

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11.1. 11.2. 11.3. 11.4. 11.5. 11.6. 11.7. 12.1. 12.2. 12.3. 12.4. 12.5. 12.6. 12.7. 12.8. 12.8. 12.9. 12.10. 12.11. 12.12. 12.13. 12.14. 12.15. 12.16. 12.17. 12.18. 12.19. 12.20. 12.21. 12.22. 12.23. 12.24. 12.25. 12.26. 13.1. 13.2. 13.3. 13.4. 13.5.

List of Figures

Field party at the Jamesway hut. 159 Dick Scott, Bucky Wilson, and Mel Marcus at the summit of Cairn Peak. 160 Directions and velocity vectors for stakes on Lemon Creek Glacier. 161 Stake, pyramidal in form, one of ten set out five each on two profiles. 162 Longitudinal section in the vicinity of the firn limit. 162 Angles of inclination and velocity vectors of stakes on Profiles I and II. 163 Vector velocities and directions of stakes on profiles in cross sections of the glacier. 163 Transient snow line on Lemon Creek Glacier. 167 Lemon Creek Glacier terminus. 168 Field party at Jamesway hut in 1958. 168 Tony Thomas, U.S. Forest Service. 169 Ken Loken, Juneau Air Taxi Service. 169 Members of field party at Hotel Juneau. 170 Above treeline on Cairn Ridge en route to Lemon Creek Glacier. 170 (A) Lemon Creek Glacier mapped during the IGY. 171 (B) IGY map of glacier showing cross sections and movement. 172 Limits of Lemon Creek Glacier between about 1750 and 1957–1958. 173 Glacier recession compared with Juneau temperature and precipitation. 174 Ice-dammed Tulsequah Lake following outburst in 1958. 175 Recession of ice front with formation of Tulsequah Lake. 175 Gilkey Glacier at the northern edge of the Juneau Icefield. 176 Camp 15 branch of Gilkey Glacier. 177 Piper Super Cruiser servicing Camp 15. 177 Dave Chappelear rappelling en route to “Ogive Camp.” 177 “Ogive Camp” on the Camp 15 branch. 178 Lateral moraine on east wall of Camp 15 branch. 178 Boulders of lateral moraine marking upper limit of flow in recent centuries. 179 Camp 15 branch seen from the height of the lateral moraine. 179 Stream erosion of the ice surface. 180 Water-filled, englacial drainage tunnel. 180 Terminal area of Gilkey Glacier. 180 Bouldery outwash among morainal segments at Gilkey Glacier terminus. 181 Valley train of the South Fork of the Antler River below Gilkey Glacier. 181 Polsters of “glacier mice.” 182 Glaciers of the lower Taku River-Taku Inlet area. 189 Advancing Taku Glacier (above) and receding Norris Glacier (below) in 1955. Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier advancing in 1955. 190 Steep advancing snout of Taku Glacier in 1955. 191 Area–altitude relationships of Taku and Norris Glaciers. 192

190

14.1. Mal Miller observing stratum of stumps in situ in outwash overridden by Mendenhall Glacier. 194 14.2. Don Miller (USGS) sampling forest debris buried during Mendenhall Glacier advance. 194 14.3. Sketch map of North Pacific coastal region showing locations of study sites noted in the text. 195

List of Figures

xix

15.1. Locations in coastal British Columbia and western Washington referred to in the text. 202 15.2. Exposure at Cape Ball, eastern Graham Island, Queen Charlotte Islands. 202 15.3. Gulf of Alaska region and contiguous British Columbia, Yukon, and interior Alaska. 203 15.4. Unglaciated ground upslope beyond limits of Crillon and Lituya Glaciers, Lituya Bay. 204 15.5. Modern pollen rain locations on the North Pacific coast. 205 15.6. Modern pollen frequency of coastal vegetation at stations sampled between Alaska and California. 206 15.7. Reconstruction of Lateglacial and Holocene average July temperature and annual precipitation for core taken at Munday Creek. 207 15.8. Pollen frequency diagrams for core taken from Humptulips mire. 209 15.9. Queen Charlotte Ranges viewed to the south from Takakia Lake. 210 15.10. Saxifraga taylori among endemics at Takakia Lake in the Queen Charlotte Ranges. 210 15.11. Pollen diagram from Langara Island, Queen Charlotte Islands. 211 15.12. Distribution of disjunct outliers of alpine fir in southeastern Alaska. 212 15.13. Disjuncts associated with the Kodiak Island refugium. 213 15.14. Pollen diagram at Munday Creek on the Gulf of Alaska. 214 15.15. Pollen diagram at Golden in Prince William Sound. 215 15.16. Sitka spruce migrating on eastern Kodiak Island. 215 15.17. Tundra on the Alaska Peninsula. 216 15.18. Lateglacial–Holocene pollen record (AP-3) from the Alaska Peninsula. 217 15.19. Modern range of Selaginella selaginoides and fossil sampling sites in the North Pacific. 217 15.20. Migratory pattern shown by stratigraphic ranges and radiocarbon chronologies of fossil Selaginella selaginoides in the North Pacific. 218

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List of Tables

3.1. Contents and amounts of 42-man-day rations supplied to outlying camps. 36 6.1. Trend of net accumulation (snow and water equivalent) with altitude on Taku Glacier. 74 14.1. Lemon Creek Glacier hydrological budgets and firn lines estimated between 1945–1946 and 1952–1953 and measured from 1953–1954 to 1957–1958. 197 14.2. Taku Glacier hydrological budget and equilibrium line altitudes for 1945–1958 for comparison with data from Lemon Creek Glacier. 198

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Part 1 Background of the Project

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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1. The Juneau Icefield Research Project Under sponsorship of The American Geographical Society of New York, the Juneau Icefield Research Project evolved as a result of reconnaissance expeditions made in southeastern Alaska in 1946, 1947, and 1948 (Fig. 1.1; Miller, 1947, 1948b, 1949a, b). The undertaking culminated a lengthy period of conception during the early part of the last century (see Brown (2004) for extended background). Studies in Glacier Bay (Cooper, 1923, 1931, 1937, 1939; Field, 1937, 1942, 1947), around 80 km west of the Juneau Icefield (Fig. 1.1), had concentrated on the behavior of glacier termini at sea level with scant attention given to conditions prevailing at their sources. The Project, in contrast, proposed the study of mass balance of advancing Taku Glacier, that is, accumulation versus ablation of the glacier’s hydrological regime (Field and Miller, 1950, 1951). Mass balance was expected to provide a meaningful assessment of glacier–climate relations and environmental trends. In that other glaciers flowing out of the icefield were in a state of retreat, the Taku’s asynchronous advance was in need of assessment. The advance gave an added dimension for study of the icefield. Behavior of the Taku was unusual but not unique among regional glaciers. The effect of climate on glacier performance had been observed to be variously modified by tidal calving, source altitude, slope aspect, and with reference to storm tracks, among other factors. In Glacier Bay (Fig. 1.1), for example, Toyatte Glacier under apparent steady-state climatic conditions was fluctuating out of phase (cycles <100 years; Field and Heusser, 1952). Commenting on the contrasting behavior of Johns Hopkins Glacier and nearby Muir Glacier in the Bay, Goldthwait (1966) had rightly pointed out the significance of their locations and the individualistic precipitation and temperature profiles that controlled their variations. The Juneau Icefield (Fig. 1.2), an area just over 1800 km2 (Motyka and Echelmeyer, 2003), was selected for study owing to its location at midlatitude where glaciological and paleoenvironmental research on the North Pacific coast could be undertaken profitably with a reasonable amount of effort. Glaciers of different sizes, terminating in varying aspects along the icefield’s perimeter, offered an opportunity to record fluctuations at low altitude compared with changes observed in the accumulation area. Of considerable importance was availability of Juneau’s meteorological data, recorded there since the late nineteenth century. From Juneau, the icefield was accessible by air, as well as on foot, thus making Juneau an effective base of operations. At mid-twentieth century, the upper reaches of the Juneau Icefield were virtually unknown. Jesuit Father B.R. Hubbard, the “Glacier Priest,” had ventured into the southwestern sector in the late 1920s and in 1936 had penetrated the source area of the Twin Glaciers (Miller, 1949a, 1951a). The Project at its outset in late summer of 1948 also chose to investigate the Twin Glacier accumulation area. The period for gathering data by the six-man party was short, however, lasting only around 2 weeks on account of poor weather conditions. Studies were limited primarily to plane table triangulation of movement stakes, photogrammetry, meteorological measurements, and firn line observations. Nevertheless, experience gained in dealing with problems of logistics, deployment of ground parties, and gathering of scientific data was of value in planning future field seasons. 3

4

Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 1.1. Location of the Juneau Icefield in the Coast Mountains of southeastern Alaska. Icefield outlined by stippling is continuous with the glacier complex that bounds the crest of the Coast Mountains to northernmost British Columbia. Redrawn from Falconer et al. (1958).

The Project in 1949, in contrast with that of 1948, was on a scale commensurate with resources required to lay emphasis on a comprehensive study of Taku Glacier with an area, according to Motyka and Echelmeyer (2003), of 700 km2 (Fig. 1.3). This was made possible by contract (Task Order N9onr-83001) between the American Geographical Society and the Geography Branch of the Office of Naval Research (Field and Miller, 1950; Miller and Field, 1951). By arrangement with the Research and Development Board, National Military Establishment, supplies and equipment were made available. Air support was flown by aircraft from Elmendorf Air Force Base and the Kodiak Naval Air Station. The U.S. Forest Service in Juneau, through its Tongass National Forest administrative center, set aside warehouse space and aided with local transportation of material and personnel. A Research Station (Camp 10) on a nunatak above Taku Glacier served as a base of icefield operations until 1953, when because of logistical demands, glaciological observations relevant to Taku’s advance became less frequent. Studies thereafter shifted to Lemon Creek Glacier at the southwestern margin of the Juneau Icefield. Lemon Creek, a small 9.21 km2, well-defined, more tractable glacier for hydrological and historical studies (Fig. 1.4) could be better taken into account, given the resources of the Project. As many as 30 participants, not including support personnel, and

Introduction

5

Figure 1.2. Expanse of the Juneau Icefield captured to the southwest from over the Alaska–British Columbia Boundary. Photograph by Dave Bohn.

complex logistics were required to maintain operations during the Taku years; Lemon Creek Glacier parties each year numbered less than a dozen. An added advantage was the location of the glacier at less than 10 km from U.S. Weather Bureau stations in Juneau and at Juneau Airport. In 1954, a Jamesway hut, assembled on the west ridge bordering the glacier (Camp 16A) following a parachute drop, was used as a Research Station during remaining years of the Project. During the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958), Lemon Creek was selected as a representative glacier in the North American glaciological network. The Juneau Icefield Research Project at mid-twentieth century occupied an early stage in the attempt to come to grips with variations of mountain glaciers of the northwestern American Cordillera, global climatic change, and the periodicity of future climatic cycles. The Project laid

Figure 1.3. Taku Glacier shoaling at its terminus during advance in Taku Inlet in 1955.

6

Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 1.4. Lemon Creek Glacier above the icefall. Location of Camp 16 on ridge in the foreground (September 15, 1957). Photograph by M.G. Marcus.

emphasis on glacier variations of a time interval equivalent to the Little Ice Age of recent centuries (Grove, 1988), which followed the milder European Middle Ages (AD 500–1500). In broader perspective, attention was given to glaciers and climate during and since the Last Glacier Maximum (25,000–14,000 14C years BP), particularly during the Lateglacial and Holocene. To solidify the database for the glaciers of the Juneau Icefield, concurrent observations and dating were conducted in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta–British Columbia and Olympic Mountains of Washington State. Excursions made elsewhere in southeastern Alaska, southcentral Alaska, and on the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia were for the overall purpose of collecting stratigraphic sections from mires. Ultimately, a wider reconnaissance survey was carried out between Kodiak Island in southwestern Alaska and northern California. Fossil pollen and spores and macroremains contained in the mires served to reconstruct paleoenvironmental change in North Pacific America at and since the Last Glacier Maximum.

1.2. Tempo of Scientific Inquiry Time was ripe to advance the Project. On the heels of World War II, resumption of peacetime activity was at a peak. Inquiry as to the nature of glaciers in relation to climate, present, past, and future, had begun to draw considerable interest in scientific circles. The subject of glaciology was being given significant notice in Europe (Ahlmann, 1953), making it propitious to undertake in global perspective a similar research program in North America. Studies of snow and firn undertaken in Scandinavia, today classics, were sources for stimulating emulation in American glaciology. The Scandinavian work had been done on Isachsen’s Plateau in Spitsbergen (Ahlmann, 1935, 1936) and included investigations of mass balance on Kårsa Glacier in Swedish Lapland (Wallén, 1948) and Stor Glacier in the Kebnekajse Range (Schytt, 1947). Variations of the glacier termini registered maxima during cold intervals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and early twentieth century with overall retreat thereafter corresponding to a distinct warming trend.

Introduction

7

On the North Pacific coast, aside from the records kept of variations in Glacier Bay during recent centuries (Cooper, 1923, 1931, 1937, 1939; Field, 1937, 1942, 1947, 1954), studies of glacier behavior were few, embodying essentially early works in terminal areas by Russell (1893), Grant and Higgins (1910), Tarr and Martin (1914), Wentworth and Ray (1936), and Cooper (1942). In the Pacific Northwest, most notably, were the observations and dating of glaciers on Mount Garibaldi in southwestern British Columbia (Mathews, 1951) and on Mount Hood in Oregon (Lawrence, 1948). As in Scandinavia, ice fronts that had similarly reached maxima in the early eighteenth century and middle nineteenth century had been retreating widely since the second or third decade of the twentieth century. The latest period of wastage was shown to be primarily coincident with a rise of temperature. Unlike records in Europe, where historical glacier variations were widely documented by written accounts, photographs, and maps, those from North Pacific America were few and fragmentary, derived from observations made in 1794 by Vancouver (1799) and by other early explorers, as well as from native legends. Dendrochronology was virtually entirely the means for ascertaining the ages of moraines and outwash before the advent of radiocarbon dating. Later, radiocarbon dating (Arnold and Libby, 1951; Libby, 1952) gave access to a chronology of paleoecological events during the Lateglacial and Holocene. However, few laboratories for dating were available during the years of the Project, while waiting times for results were lengthy. Twenty-four dates, applied to the North Pacific chronology, were reported by the Project, comprising only a limited basis for working out a regional chronostratigraphy (Heusser, 1959). Pollen analyses of coastal mires and lacustrine deposits, as sources for the interpretation of Holocene climate from reconstructed vegetation, were restricted (Fig. 2.10) to a single study on Kodiak Island (Bowman, 1934) and another on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Hansen, 1950). On Kodiak, the study traced the initial occurrence of Sitka spruce in relation to the tephra layer produced by the 1912 eruption of Mount Katmai. A companion investigation of the ages of spruce in the forest communities by Griggs (1914, 1934) indicated that arrival and spread of the conifer on Kodiak took place over the last few hundred years. On Vancouver Island, original conifer forest of lodgepole pine was subsequently supplanted by Douglas fir and western hemlock under an increasingly humid climate. A tephra layer in the Vancouver Island sediments, originally assigned to an eruption of Glacier Peak in the Washington Cascades (Rigg and Gould, 1957), was later found to have come from the eruption of Mount Mazama in Oregon. According to Powers and Wilcox (1964), Mazama tephra dated to 6600 14C years BP (7500 cal years BP). It proved to be a key tephrochronological marker for the Holocene thermal maximum throughout the Pacific Northwest (Hansen, 1947). That mires in the humid climate along the Gulf of Alaska had been subject to periods of warmth and dryness was evident from woody recurrence horizons interbedded among deposits of sedge and moss peat (Dachnowski-Stokes, 1941).

1.3. Glaciology in North America Twentieth Century In 1948, while the Project became a reality, a comparable study, Snow Cornice, was undertaken in the St. Elias Mountains in the Yukon Territory of Canada, 400 km northwest of the Juneau Icefield (Fig. 1.5). Continuing until 1951 sponsored by the Arctic Institute of North America under the direction of W.A. Wood, work on Snow Cornice concentrated on the Seward–Malaspina Glacier system along the Gulf of Alaska. Investigated were accumulation and ablation, thermal regimen, and diagenetic changes in firn leading to the formation of glacier ice (Sharp, 1949, 1951a–c).

8

Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 1.5. Seward–Malaspina Glacier system on the Gulf of Alaska. Modified from Sharp (1951).

Introduction

9

Seward Glacier, its upper part occupying an intermontane basin, is spread over approximately 1335 km2. Upper Seward Glacier, at altitudes between 1525 and 2135 m, is bounded by peaks at attitudes between 4290 and 6050 m. Via an ice stream 12-km long, the glacier feeds the piedmont lobe of Malaspina Glacier. At the Airstrip Station at 1790 m (Fig. 1.5), where studies were concentrated, the firn, 30–36 m deep, overlaid 655 m of ice. While geophysically temperate (isothermal), the upper Seward is set in a more continental climate than that of the Malaspina. Significant were studies of the nature of accumulation in pits that revealed an irregular downward increase of density in firn (incipient glacier ice), caused by about 25% meltwater percolating from above and about 75% by compaction (Sharp, 1951a). Beneath horizontal ice masses formed at depth, values proved to be consistently lower. The effect occurred through a layer, 24–30 m thick, subject to freezing. Under annual accumulation averaging 152 cm, meltwater affected each annual firn layer for about a decade. It is estimated that 20–25% of the Seward ice was generated in this manner. In later years, 1961–1974, inaugurated by W.A. Wood under auspices of the American Geographical Society and Arctic Institute of North America, the Icefield Ranges Research Project extended the work of Snow Cornice (Wood, 1963, 1969). The sector of the St. Elias Mountains studied lies northeast of the area encompassed by Snow Cornice (Fig. 1.5). Glacier regimen for 1964–1965 was evaluated from traverses made of snow accumulation, which amounted to maxima of 5800 mm on Seward Glacier, 3100 mm on Hubbard Glacier, and 3700 mm on Kaskawulsh Glacier, respectively, 2120, 1300, and 1513 mm of water equivalent (Marcus and Ragle, 1970). Net accumulation increased 200–300 mm in the early 1960s, fluctuating from intervals with minimal variation in the late 1950s and in 1964–1965 and 1965–1966. A surge of Steele Glacier was recorded during 1966–1968 (Wood, 1972). Data suggested that air mass frequency and intensity have greater impact on accumulation at higher altitudes of the St. Elias Mountains than short-term temperature fluctuations. Moreover, the relationship between temperature and mass balance is less clear than for glaciers at altitudes below 2000 m in southern Alaska and British Columbia, where temperature had been falling since the early 1940s (Marcus, 1964; Meier and Post, 1962). At the 5360-m level on Mt. Logan during 1968 and 1969 summers, primarily in response to regional climate, temperatures were comparable (Marcus and LaBelle, 1970). Mean daily July temperature ranged between –17.4∞ and –17.2∞C with mean maxima of –10.8∞ and –11.2∞C and mean minima of –22.2∞ and –23.9∞C. Climate on Mt. Logan in summer, aside from barometric pressure, compares with winter conditions in the Arctic and the northern Great Plains. Blue Glacier on Mt. Olympus in the Olympic Mountains of Washington State (see Chapter 9) was chosen along with Lemon Creek Glacier for mapping and study during the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958 (Hubley, 1957b). Of a total of nine glaciers selected in northwestern North America, Blue Glacier was southernmost in a temperate maritime climate and northernmost was McCall Glacier in the Brooks Range of arctic Alaska. Precipitation falling annually on Blue Glacier was estimated at altitudes between 3800 and 5080 mm with snow contributing 80% at higher altitude; snow accumulation above 2000 m amounted to 10 m with July temperature at about 10∞C (LaChapelle, 1960). The glacier’s mass budget, among studies of micrometeorology and surface energy exchange, was assessed for the period 1956–1960 (Hubley, 1956a; LaChapelle, 1958, 1959, 1960). In 1956, a surplus equal to 1.4 m of water equivalent was calculated, followed in 1957 by a small deficit and in 1958 by a substantial deficit of 1.7 m. Small deficits, respectively 0.06 and 0.08 m, are equated with 1959 and 1960, at which times the mass of Blue Glacier was considered close to equilibrium. Systematic aerial photography of glaciers in the northwestern Cordillera during the 1960s by Austin Post added considerably to the glaciological record. Coverage included not only the Pacific coastal margin but extended inland to the American and Canadian Rockies and Interior Alaska. Receiving initial support from the National Science Foundation through the University of

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Washington in Seattle, Post produced a superb collection of photographs during an extended series of flights, recording a wealth of personal experiences in the course of the work (Post, 1995). A selection of the photographs is contained in Glacier Ice (Post and LaChapelle, 1971, 2000). The Institute of Polar Studies at Ohio State University began studies in Glacier Bay National Monument in 1958 (Goldthwait and McKenzie, 1976). For the period of 1958–1976, 25 field parties investigated glaciers in the Bay and namely at Brady Glacier and North and South Crillon Glaciers in the Lituya Bay area of the Fairweather Range to the west (Fig. 1.1). Emphasis was placed on stratigraphy, chronology, and mapping of the glacier deposits. On Burroughs Glacier in Glacier Bay (1948–1960), among hydrological measurements made, average annual rate of lowering of the surface was 0.8 m at 500 m altitude, compared with 6–8 m at 175 m. Annual ablation rates varied from 2.35 m of water equivalent at 275 m altitude to 3.33 m at 120 m. Heat balance and the mass budget were made of Casement Glacier. For 1966–1967, a mass budget of –235 ± 46 ¥ 109 kg was in keeping with the glacier’s recession. From ground and satellite imagery, the terminus of Muir Glacier receded > 7.3 km between 1973 and 1992 (Hall et al., 1995). The U.S. Geological Survey in Tacoma conducted an expanded coverage of glacial surges (Post, 1967a, b) with a review of the behavior of Columbia Glacier in Prince William Sound (Fig. 2.10; Meier et al., 1980; Brown et al., 1982). Icebergs from Columbia Glacier, should the ice front become active, were a potential danger to tankers traveling in shipping lanes from Valdez in the Sound. Attention was also given to the behavior of the tidewater glaciers of the Gulf of Alaska. Under the direction of Austin Post, who acted as a skipper of the R/V Growler, studies were conducted of the glaciers of the Kenai Fjords, Prince William Sound, and Icy Bay (Heusser, 1983b, 1995; Porter, 1989). Much notice most recently has been given to surges during Holocene intervals of retreat and advance of Bering Glacier (Fig. 1.6). Originating in the St. Elias Mountains, the Bering at 191 km

Figure 1.6. Bering Glacier, Gulf of Alaska. Dashed line is maximum Holocene extent of the ice front. Redrawn from Molnia and Post (1995).

Introduction

11

in length, is the longest glacier in North America. Its 910 km2 piedmont lobe spreads out west of the formidable Malaspina lobe within 100 km of the Gulf of Alaska (Molnia and Post, 1995). The glacier was in a forward position between 1000 and 500 years ago, reaching a maximum within the last 100–200 years. At least six surges, causing the terminus to advance, have cycled every 20–30 years (A. Post, personal communication, 2006). The latest surge monitored during 1993–1994 was at rates of 2.1–7.4 m day-1 (Muller and Fleisher, 1995).

1.4. Project Field Leaders and Field Parties Sound leadership in the field in order to achieve success was essential. During the initial years, the Project was under the leadership of M.M. Miller, who had considerable mountaineering experience having led the first American ascent of Mt. St. Elias (5490 m) in the St. Elias Mountains (Fig. 1.5) and surveyed the status of regional southeastern Alaskan glaciers (Miller, 1947, 1948a, b, 1949a). As an undergraduate at Harvard in 1941, Miller had assisted W.O. Field in Glacier Bay; later, he had assisted R.P. Sharp on Snow Cornice. But it was in 1948 with reconnaissance of the source of the Twin Glaciers in the Taku River valley sector of the Juneau Icefield that the Project originated. Miller, co-organizer with William Latady, photogrammetrist, coordinated the six-man reconnaissance party, which included L.W. Miner, Stanford; L. Chamberlain, Harvard; M.G. Marcus, Yale; and A.W. Thomas, observer from the U.S. Forest Service. Having gained considerable familiarity with the glaciers of the Juneau Icefield, Miller with his Alaskan experience, capacity for leadership, and organizational skill was ideal as the leader of the Project in its formative years beginning in 1949. Although jointly conceived (Field and Miller, 1950), the division of labor on the Project broke down to W.O. Field doing the deskwork and collaborating with Miller in the fieldwork. Observations in 1949 on Taku Glacier, including movement, regimen, physical properties of snow and firn, surveying, and weather, initially concentrated on seismic measurements of the lower glacier by a party from Stanford Research Institute, led by T.C. Poulter assisted by C.F. Allen and S.W. Miller (Poulter et al., 1949). The Project at the same time set down the chronology of fluctuations of the icefield’s major glaciers during the latest centuries, which was accomplished by D.B. Lawrence, University of Minnesota, assisted by E.G. Lawrence and L.C. Hulbert (Lawrence, 1950a). Snow studies were carried out by M.M. Miller and F. Beach Leighton; weather observations by N.F. Turner and C.O. Harrington; surveys and mapping by R.G. Merritt and M.G. Marcus; and plant collections by R.T. Ward. R.B. Forbes of the University of Washington, worked on the petrology and granitization of the batholithic bedrock, that is, how granites develop from rocks containing an abundance of alkalies, silica, and alumina (Forbes, 1959). Associated were T.R. Haley, A.E. Holben, W.R. Latady, D.A. McCollester, and Z. Stewart. Glaciological study in 1950 was devoted to drilling a borehole in the Taku to ascertain differential movement of the glacier at depth. For this purpose, a string of pipes was implanted and changes in flow rate measured by inclinometer (Miller, 1958). Physical characteristics of the core included ice petrofabrics studied by H. Bader and G. Wasserburg. Personnel included A.K. Anderson (driller), C.E. Anderson, R.B. Forbes, A.K. Gilkey, C.O. Harrington, C.J. Heusser, W.R. Latady, P. Livingston, M.G. Marcus, R.G. Merritt, F.A. Milan, M.M. Miller, W. Nicholl, F.A. Small, N.F. Turner, and C.R. Wilson. In 1951, budget parameters on the Taku were measured. The core party consisted of C.E. Anderson, F.A. Golomb, C.J. Heusser, D.L. McCollester, F.A. Milan, M.M. Miller, A. Schmieder, R.L. Schuster, F.A. Small, R.B. Smith, W. Webb, C.R. Wilson, and R. Zoerb. In 1951, observations of winter conditions on Taku Glacier were made by a six-man team made up by C.E. Anderson, T.R. Haley, F.A. Milan, M.M. Miller, A. Schmieder, and F.A. Small. M.M. Miller’s association with the Project later attenuated as a result of demands of graduate work at the University of Cambridge. During the 1952 season, A.K. Gilkey of Columbia University,

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

who had been on Taku Glacier in 1950, became field leader. His contribution to the record included nunatak structural geology (Gilkey, 1953). Snow studies were continued by LaChapelle (1954) and M.M. Miller and by the application of pollen stratigraphy to determine net seasonal snow increment (Heusser, 1954b). G.W. Argus and J. Howe oversaw survey work; F.A. Milan and J.H. Hickey recorded weather data; C.J. Heusser with A.K. Gilkey and R.L. Schuster undertook study of the nunatak flora and vegetation (Heusser, 1954c; Heusser et al., 1954); and R. Crocker, D.B. Lawrence, E.G. Lawrence, and R. Schoenike extended the study of glacier variations at low level. L.E. Nielsen, senior scientist at Monsanto Chemical Company, was field leader in 1953 at the time focus of the Project shifted from the Taku to Lemon Creek Glacier. Nielson, a chemist, worked with plastics, which explains his interest in the problem of the deformation of ice and glacier flow (Nielsen, 1955, 1957). He was also an accomplished mountaineer, having climbed in the Fairweather Range and Chugach Mountains (Figs. 1.1, 2.10; Bohn, 1957, 1967). On Lemon Creek Glacier, micrometeorology was accorded special study by initiation of research on surface heat exchange carried out by R.C. Hubley of the University of Washington (Hubley, 1957a). Associated with the Project in various capacities were J. Hickey, J. Howe, M.M. Miller, A.P. Muntz, R. Pierce, and A. Post. E.R. LaChapelle, who had been associated with the Project in 1952, became field leader in 1954 and continued in that role in 1955 and 1956. LaChapelle applied the latest techniques of snow study developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos, Switzerland; in winter, he was involved with avalanche study in Alta, Utah. Later, associated with the University of Washington, he retired as Professor Emeritus of Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences. During the 1954 and 1955 field seasons, the hydrological budgets of Lemon Creek Glacier were assessed in conjunction with micrometeorological work having to do with diurnal variation of snow albedo (Hubley, 1955). Ice thicknesses on four traverses of the glacier were ascertained from gravity measurements by E. Thiel and J. Behrendt from the University of Wisconsin and E.R. LaChapelle (Thiel et al., 1957). Besides E.R. LaChapelle in 1954–1956, members of field parties in 1954 included S. Den Hartog, R.J. Goodwin, C.J. Heusser, R. Hubley, and G.C. Ray; in 1955, K. Bengtson, R. Decker, R.B. Forbes, C.J. Heusser, D.B. Lawrence, E.G. Lawrence, R. Peters, and R. Scheonike; and in 1956, J. Behrendt, M. Hane, A. Hawbecker, C.J. Heusser, R. Hubley, W. Long, R. Mason, J. Maxwell, and E. Thiel. C.R. Wilson, a physicist from Case Institute and subsequently at the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska, acted as a field leader in 1957. Wilson’s objective was to evaluate surface movement in the accumulation area of Lemon Creek Glacier and relate it to the average annual hydrological budget (Wilson, 1959). Coordinated with the work were M.G. Marcus’s climate–glacier studies (Marcus, 1964). Completing the field complement were R.B. Forbes, C.J. Heusser, and R. Scott. M.G. Marcus served as a leader of the 1958 party, at which time the glacier’s budget, as well as a detailed map of Lemon Creek Glacier, were entered into the record of the 1957–1958 International Geophysical Year (Case, 1958; American Geographical Society, 1960). Variations of Lemon Creek Glacier since the Lateglacial, as well as changes in the terminus of Gilkey Glacier in the northwestern sector of the icefield, were part of the record (Heusser and Marcus, 1964a, b). Involved in fieldwork during the final season of the Project in 1958 were D.V. Bohn, D.C. Chappelear, D. Gray, C.J. Heusser, M.G. Marcus, C. Morrison, L.E. Nielsen, R. Scott, and E. Thiel.

1.5. The American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society, having celebrated its centennial in 1951, was at the time of the Project located at Audubon Terrace, 156th Street and Broadway in Upper Manhattan, New York City (Fig. 1.7). Receiving support from government contracts and private endowments, the Society was part of a complex of museums and institutions developed by the philanthropist,

Introduction

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Figure 1.7. In mid-twentieth century, American Geographical Society at Audubon Terrace, Upper Manhattan, New York City. From Society Archives.

Archer Milton Huntington (see Wright, 1952). Its resources were largely a comprehensive geographical library and map collection; publications included the Geographical Review, Focus, and Research Series. Cartographers, librarians, map curators, editors, and researchers numbered an essential part of a staff of 50–60 persons. Renowned for its contribution to geography was the Society’s “Millionth Map of Hispanic America.” The Department of Exploration and Field Research, responsible for the planning, organization, and carrying out of the Juneau Icefield Research Project, originated in 1938. Begun by W.A. Wood and later headed by W.O. Field, the Department had been up to this point essentially a one-man operation of limited scope. The Office of Naval Research contract vitalized its resources by providing added secretarial assistance and professional help to oversee and coordinate various aspects of the undertaking (Morrison, 1995). The long-term objective relevant to the Project was to establish midlatitude interhemispheric connections between glacier variations in Alaska and Chile–Argentina, thus setting up on a global scale a database for the interpretation of present and past climatic fluctuations and a foundation for paleoclimatic theory. Initiating this goal, early on, were observations made on the Moreno Glacier in Argentine Patagonia (Nichols and Miller, 1951, 1952).

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Chapter 2 Juneau Icefield

2.1. Glacial Setting The Juneau Icefield (Fig. 2.1; see also, Molenaar (1993) and U.S. Forest Service (2003) for the latest maps) lies in the Coast Mountains east of lower Lynn Canal and west of Taku Inlet–Taku River (Field, 1975; Molnia, 1982). Bostock (1948) refers to this northern portion of the Coast Mountains, which continue south in British Columbia, as the Boundary Ranges. A megalineament aligned with Gastineau Channel on the west marks the extent of the mountain mass (Brew and Ford, 1978). Spread over approximately 1800 km2, centered at latitude 58∞40¢N and longitude 135∞05¢W, the icefield is dominated by drainage of Taku Glacier with its zone of accumulation between approximately 900–1800 m (Fig. 2.2). In 1950, the Taku (700 km2) descended 21 km from the British Columbia–Alaska Boundary to Taku Inlet, the main ice stream fed by branches extending to the northeast, northwest, and southwest (Field and Miller, 1950, 1951). Since the turn of the century, the glacier had come forward 2.17 km, while at the same time it had thickened for at least 4.34 km above the terminus. The front of Taku Glacier, formerly reaching tidewater, was then shoaling and bounded by moraine. Subsidiary sources of accumulation in the icefield feed less extensive glaciers. On the west are the Gilkey, Eagle, Herbert, Mendenhall, and Lemon Creek; Norris, Hole-in-the-Wall, West Twin, and East Twin, besides Taku, terminate in Taku Valley; and to the north–northeast in British Columbia are the Tulsequah (also referred to as Talsekwe) and the Llewellyn. Adjoining the Taku at the crest of accumulation along the Canadian Boundary, Llewellyn Glacier measured about 13.6 km to a terminus close to Lake Atlin. Glaciers of the Juneau Icefield are classified as geophysically temperate (isothermal), that is, firn and ice are at the pressure-melting temperature, except for subfreezing temperature that prevails at their upper levels in winter. Many glaciers head in icefalls, below which arcuate ogives or Forbes bands, as on West Twin Glacier, are clearly inscribed (Fig. 2.3). The opposing East Twin Glacier, which descended from an icefall at its head 335 m in a horizontal distance of 200 m, exhibited as many as fifteen definitive bands (Fig. 2.4). By upthrusting of subglacial lithic debris and subsequent ablation, band formation is regulated by periodicity of extrusion flow at the base of the icefall (Leighton, 1951). With the exception of Taku and its Hole-in-the-Wall branch, glaciers emanating from the icefield were in a state of recession. Trimlines, identifying former ice maxima, were widely discernible above freshly exposed ground at the margins of flow. Connecting downvalley with terminal moraines, trimlines outlined the extent of earlier glacial episodes. On recession of East and West Twin Glaciers, Twin Glacier Lake, its basin gouged out at the time of outermost advance, arose from behind a morainal barrier (Fig. 2.1). Along Gilkey Glacier, tributary valleys, blocked by the main stream and no longer active, likewise became lakes (Fig. 2.5). Tulsequah Lake, situated in a former trunk valley of Tulsequah Glacier (Fig. 2.1), was the source of sudden discharges (“jökulhlaups”), whereby water from the lake bursts annually from the terminus after flowing, englacially or subglacially, for kilometers (Marcus, 1960).

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 2.1. Sketch map of the Juneau Icefield showing locations of physical features discussed in the text. Modified from Project Archives.

Juneau Icefield

17

Figure 2.2. Main stream of Taku Glacier flowing to the left, as seen from the summit of Exploration Peak (1770 m). Southwest Branch lies distant beyond and to the right.

Figure 2.3. West Twin Glacier, its calving terminus in Twin Glacier Lake. Ogives are displayed below the upper icefall. Trimlines of the glacier, formed during the Little Ice Age, are visible above the glacier’s edge. Photograph by Dave Bohn.

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 2.4. Ogives of East Twin Glacier studied by Leighton (1951). Ogives represent shear planes produced by the icefall at the glacier’s head.

Figure 2.5. Ice-dammed lake formed in lateral valley of Gilkey Glacier where ice no longer feeds the glacier.

2.2. Coast Mountains Peaks and ridges, many of which as nunataks completely surrounded by ice, stand above the glacier complex (Fig. 2.6). The upland, currently being eroded by alpine glaciation, is replete with classic ice-carved cirques, horns, areˆtes, couloirs, and cols (Fig. 2.7). Devils Paw at 2617 m above sea level at the eastern edge of the icefield is the highest peak (Figs. 2.1, 2.8); summit altitudes of 2135 m bordering upper Taku Glacier rise to 2348 m on Mt. Ogilvie. Lowering at mid-course downglacier, altitudes are generally not much higher than 1525 m. Bedrock in the interior of the upland is made up by batholithic intrusives of granodiorite, diorite, and other igneous rocks; from the west,

Juneau Icefield

Figure 2.6. Nunataks rising above the surface of the Taku’s Southwest Branch.

Figure 2.7. Ice-sculpted towers at 2150 m along the Alaska–British Columbia Boundary.

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 2.8. Devils Paw (2617 m) and Michaels Sword easternmost in the Juneau Icefield distant from Camp 4.

metamorphics including greenstone, slate, schist, and gneiss, grade eastward at the margin of the batholith (Himmelberg et al., 1984). Subject in the past to both continental and alpine glaciations, the Coast Mountains show variable evidence of overriding by Pleistocene ice at high altitude (Miller, 1952a, 1964a, 1976). The altitudinal limit of glaciation in the Juneau Icefield sector is estimated at between about 1700–1830 m in the interior and from about 1525 and 1675 m along the coastal margin. Evidence centers on the distribution of erratics and on locations where frost wedging of well-jointed bedrock is prominent. The argument is made that in terrain overridden by ice, the bedrock would have been plucked and displaced. Other estimates (Falconer et al., 1958) place the limit of glaciation at an average altitude of 1800 m, rising from about 1500 m on the western side of the icefield to over 2100 m to the east (Fig. 2.9). When the Cordilleran Glacier Complex expanded at times of maxima, the higher summits, as nunataks, probably stood above the ice. At the close of glaciation in the Lateglacial–Early Holocene, a composite glaciomarine deposit, the Gastineau Channel Formation, became widespread in the course of submergence of the lowland. The distribution of perched beach and deltaic sediments indicates that rebound of the land since has

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Figure 2.9. Altitudinal limits of the Cordilleran Glacier Complex during the Pleistocene in southeastern Alaska and adjacent British Columbia. Redrawn from Falconer et al. (1958).

been in the order of at least 150 m, locally about 215 m, above present mean sea level (Miller, 1973). Submergence, followed by crustal rebound in the course of deglaciation, has undoubtedly cycled repeatedly during stades and interstades of the last ice age.

2.3. Climate The climate of the Juneau Icefield is controlled for the most part by nearby marine waters, hyperhumid air masses of the Westerly Wind regime, and topographic barriers (Marcus, 1964). The oceanic North Pacific Drift moving northward offshore is effective in creating a measure of warmth and greater atmospheric humidity among the fjords of southeastern Alaska. The Aleutian Low Pressure System of cyclonic storms causes heavy precipitation in autumn and winter. In summer, under the influence of North Pacific High pressure, cyclonic activity diminishes, giving rise to periods of sunshine and lower humidity. On average, annual precipitation is between 1500 and 4500 mm, amounts varying from sector to sector not only seasonally but also as a function of altitude and topography. Snowfall amounts to between 1.5 and 5.0 m on the windward western slope of the Coast Mountains. At the upper source of Taku Glacier at 1800 m, the depth measured in mid-July during the 1951–1952 budget year was just over 4 m, indicating significantly high levels of annual accumulation at this altitude (LaChapelle, 1954). On the Canadian side of the mountain crest, precipitation under the orographic effect of the Coast Mountains is at a mean of around 150 mm.

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Temperatures in summer close to sea level at Juneau average 10–15∞C and in winter are seldom below 0∞C. In the icefield at midaltitude, summer temperatures in daytime average around 5∞C, while at night are often at or below the freezing level. During the summer season, wet snow accumulates periodically to depths of several centimeters or more but usually melts soon afterward. The Canadian High Pressure system, at times, is effective in causing colder and drier air to move into the region. Such was the case on the upper Taku in the winter of 1951 when temperatures fell to –25∞C with wind reaching velocities of over 100 km h-1. Ten days of blizzard conditions produced over 1.8 m of dry powder snow (Miller, 1951e). Cloudiness and fog, characteristic of the regional climate, are brought on by moist air from the ocean uplifted and cooled over the glacial terrain. Temperatures near the freezing point at the ice–snow interface bring water vapor in the air to the dew point, causing condensation as fog and drizzle. Fog often producing whiteouts has been a serious impediment to parties traversing the icefield and to logistical operations.

2.4. Vegetation At the icefield’s periphery, end moraines and outwash have been invaded by Pacific Coastal and Subalpine Forests (Cooper, 1923; Taylor, 1932, 1935), the principal vegetation with elements fronting the Cordillera from southern California to Kodiak Island, Alaska (Fig. 2.10). Successional communities consist of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa), alder (Alnus crispa subsp. sinuata), and willow (most commonly, Salix barclayi, S. sitchensis, S. alaxensis subsp. longistylis). Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), the climax dominant in ancient forest stands, progressively invades surfaces as glaciers have continued to pull back. Regionally at low altitude, vegetation tends to be a mosaic of forest and muskeg (Neiland, 1971). Muskeg, representing mired ground, occupies benches and low-angle sloping terrain. Poor drainage is typical of sites, giving way to accumulation of sphagnous peat and a cover of heath, principally crowberry (Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum). Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), shade intolerant and unable to compete in forest communities, disperses in muskeg. Pacific Coastal Forest on mountain slopes near Juneau is confronted by a zone of alder at higher altitudes between approximately 425 and 730 m (Fig. 2.11). The zone appears to have developed within the past century, as the regional snowline has risen. Associates in the zone include Rubus spectabilis, Urtica lyallii, Heracleum lanatum, Spiraea beauverdiana, Veratrum viride subsp. eschscholtzii, Aruncus sylvester, Dryopteris dilatata subsp. americana, and Picea sitchensis. Above the alder to where Arctic-Alpine Tundra begins at about 915 m, slopes are occupied by a diverse cover of ecotonal shrubs and herbs, most distinctive of which are Phyllodoce aleutica subsp. glanduliflora, Cladothamnus pyroliflorus, Fritillaria camschatcensis, Artemisia arctica subsp. arctica, Valeriana sitchensis, Aconitum delphinifolium subsp. chamissonianum, Lloydia serotina, and Anemone narsissiflora subsp. alaskana. Ranging in low numbers from sea level to treeline, mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) is locally manifest in Pacific Subalpine Forest. Alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), as a treeline species, is known from a single site at about 1000 m at the northern end of the ridge bordering the lower east side of Taku Glacier (Heusser, 1954a). Upglacier to about 1200 m in the interior of the icefield, are occasional scraggly decumbent specimens of Sitka spruce. Arctic-Alpine Tundra pervades ground above an altitude of between approximately 900 and 1000 m. At the margins of the icefield, tundra is comparatively widespread, whereas in the interior, representative plant communities are scattered, less extensive, and bound for the most part to soils in place on southerly or southwesterly exposures. Plant cover is contributed mostly by heaths,

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TH TM PS

CN

TP AA

PM

AG

SS

CN AA

TP PS TH AG

PM TM SS PM

Figure 2.10. Sketch map of vegetation in relation to the Juneau Icefield shown chiefly by distribution of arboreal species of Pacific Coastal Forest. Modified from Heusser (1985).

followed in order by sedges, grasses, and rushes; composites; rosaceous species; willows; lycopods and polypods; and saxifrages (Fig. 2.12). Heath mats (Fig. 2.13), consisting predominantly of Cassiope mertensiana, C. stelleriana, and Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum, develop at altitudes up to 1525 m. At higher edaphically xeric altitudes, vascular plant species are few; at 2130 m, only lichens and mosses are encountered.

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 2.11. Pacific Coastal Forest and Arctic-Alpine Tundra on Cairn Ridge, Gastineau Channel, and Douglas Island distant. Pacific Coastal Forest on the lower slope merges above with broken bands of Pacific Subalpine Forest and Arctic-Alpine Tundra. Ecotonal vegetation distributed above the Coastal Forest follows rise of the snowline, which had lowered during the Little Ice Age.

Figure 2.12. Representative Arctic-Alpine species of the nunatak flora: (upper left) Cassiope mertensiana, (upper right) Luetkea pectinata, (middle left) Silene acaulis subsp. acaulis, (middle right) Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. oppositifolia, (lower left) Campanula lasiocarpa, and (lower right) Cryptogramma crispa var. acrostichoides.

Juneau Icefield

Figure 2.13. Heath on upper slopes of Taku B nunatak above Taku Glacier.

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Part 2 Early Years of the Project (1949–1952)

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Chapter 3 1949 Field Season

3.1. Introduction The opening thrust of the Project in 1949, requiring a significant amount of manpower, a storehouse of equipment, and coordinated services from a number of support groups, was by all accounts a major undertaking. At the American Geographical Society during fall–winter of 1948–1949, planning by W.O. Field and M.M. Miller was in high gear. The research program was mapped out, members of the field party selected, and a schedule of operations with objectives outlined. Project studies covered a wide range of topics dealing with the regional setting of the Juneau Icefield. Emphasis was placed on Taku Glacier and its state of advance in relation to recession of nearby Norris Glacier. The schedule took into account (1) seismic measurements of ice thickness on the Taku, (2) hydrological budget and meteorological parameters, and (3) historical fluctuations of glacier termini. As many as 24 participants with backgrounds in glaciology, meteorology, geology, geophysics, ecology, and surveying were on the icefield during various periods from June to September (Miller, 1950, 1951a, c, 1952a). The group consisted, for the most part, of university-affiliated professionals, graduate students, and technicians from different parts of the country. Individual selection of personnel was by discipline with experience in mountaineering techniques, an important criterion. Research tasks by the Project, directed primarily toward investigating the glacier–climate environment, were on the whole team oriented. Need to establish a network of outlying camps and to construct a Research Station on a nunatak bordering the Taku, of necessity, initially took considerable precedence over scientific work. This was so much so that at one point, when M.M. Miller posted a list of participants and their respective fields on the bulletin board, one member of the party crossed out the scientific discipline beside his name and wrote in “carpenter.” Aerial delivery of material to the icefield operated out of Juneau Airport (Figs. 2.1, 3.1). Eighteen flights by PBY and R4D aircrafts of the Kodiak Naval Air Station transported supplies and equipments (Miller, 1951a, c). A total of approximately 12,000 kg, delivered by 55 parachute and 300 free-fall drops, made possible the establishment of 14 widely distributed camps. A ski-wheel C-47 of the 10th Air Rescue Squadron, landing directly on Taku Glacier, brought in easily damaged equipment (Fig. 3.2). Landing with takeoff, using JATO (Jet-Assisted Take Off) were accomplished at altitudes between approximately 900 and 1220 m. When snow in the landing area during the day at times became unusually soft, takeoff had to be delayed until temperatures dropped sufficiently to harden the surface. Beneficial to operations were the long daylight hours in the latitude of the icefield (58∞40¢N). At the summer solstice, daylength is approximately 18 h, lasting from about 3 am until 11 pm. The Research Station on Taku B at 1175 m, was built overlooking Taku Glacier, 25 km from its terminus (Fig. 3.3). Designed by the U.S. Forest Service, the building constructed of pre-cut lumber measured 4.3 by 6.1 m with a 2.4-m ceiling. Wallboard insulated by fiber glass was used in the interior with the entire structure covered by corrugated aluminum siding. Space within was given over 29

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Figure 3.1. Equipment and supplies being loaded on ski-wheel C-47 of 10th Air Rescue Squadron at Juneau Airport for flight to Taku Glacier.

to cooking, eating, communications, writing up notes, and reading; a garret provided sleeping accommodations. Weather conditions at the station were reported daily by radio contact with the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Juneau and in turn relayed to the U.S. Weather Bureau. Mail strung on a line erected between poles on the backslope behind the Research Station was picked up in flight by a hook reeled out from low-flying light aircraft (Fig. 3.4). Field parties traveling on foot and skis reached the Research Station (Camp 10, Fig. 2.1) by a choice of routes via: (1) Lemon Creek Glacier, Camps 16 and 14 and the Taku’s Southwest Branch, ~41 km; (2) Camp 12 (Goat Ridge) on the east side of Taku Glacier from Taku Valley, ~25 km; and (3) East or West Twin Glacier by way of Camp 4 and the Northeast Branch, ~24 km. Personnel were transported by float plane to route heads in Taku Valley and, weather and availability permitting, directly to Taku Glacier by ski-wheel C-47. Camp 10B, just west of the Research Station, was located in the aircraft landing area at about 1100 m (Fig. 3.5).

Figure 3.2. Unloading C-47 upon landing on Taku Glacier.

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Figure 3.3. Research Station at Camp 10 with vantage across Taku Glacier to Shoehorn and peaks of the Taku Range. Camp 10B at midglacier is visible to the left.

Place names applied to surroundings of the Research Station were virtually nonexistent. Naming of features for the purposes of logistics and mapping was therefore an immediate concern of the Project. Hodgkins Mountain at 1768 m, on the south side of the Northeast Branch where it meets the main stream of Taku Glacier, was the only summit identified on the U.S. Geological Survey Juneau, Alaska–Canada topographic sheet of 1951 at a scale of 1:250,000. Hodgkins adjoins the gendarme-crested Organ Pipes (Fig. 3.6). Nunataks in succession on the east side of the Taku upglacier to the northwest at 1525–1890 m were given the names Taku A, B, C, and D, including

Figure 3.4. Mail pickup atop back slope behind the Research Station.

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 3.5. Camp 10B early in the season at the ski-wheel aircraft landing area on Taku Glacier.

Vantage Peak at 1703 m, a continuation southeast of Taku B, and Exploration Peak at 1770 m (Fig. 3.7), which rises northeast of Taku C. On the west side, Shoehorn rises across from Taku B; Juncture Peak, to the south, guards the entrance of the Southwest Branch. Set back across the glacier beyond Shoehorn are the Taku Towers in the Taku Range at altitudes to over 2000 m (Fig. 3.8). As melting of snow surfaces progressed during the summer, crevasses began to appear that because of their danger needed to be crossed with considerable care or avoided. Backpacking of supplies through crevasse fields, as well as travel in general, required parties to be roped up. Distributed equidistantly on a 120-foot (36.8-m) nylon climbing rope of seven-sixteenths-inch (1.1-cm) diameter, each member was tied in using a bowline knot. Shafts of individual ice axes were

Figure 3.6. Organ Pipes and Hodgkins Mountain viewed from above the Northeast Branch at close to its juncture with the main stream of Taku Glacier.

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Figure 3.7. Main flow of upper Taku Glacier below the Alaska–British Columbia Boundary. Exploration Peak to the left and the Taku Range distant on the horizon.

passed through adjoining loops, making the entire party secure should the need arise to arrest a fall if anyone were to break through a snow bridge. A carabiner and pair of slings, loops of quarter-inch (0.64-cm) nylon line each about 1 m in length, were worn by Project members. Wound around the climbing rope in a crevasse, the loops served as a kind of stirrup. By shifting weight from one foot to the other and alternately slipping each loop upward on the climbing rope, it was possible to reach the glacier surface. Leather climbing boots with bramani soles were worn by most individuals. Together with insoles and socks, boots were regularly dried overnight and frequently greased, as they never ceased to be damp. Rubber Barker boots, of vapor-barrier construction, were ideal for keeping feet relatively warm and dry. Oversized and clumsy, they were limited, for the most part, to use in camp. On ice, boots with tricouni soles and crampons offered needed traction.

Figure 3.8. Taku Range southwest across Taku Glacier viewed from the north side of Taku B. Bedrock locally exposed by downwasting since the Little Ice Age.

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Intensity of ultraviolet light reflected from the snow surface necessitated wearing sun glasses or tinted goggles. Cream containing paraaminobenzoic acid (PABA) offered protection from sunburn. Lips and finger tips commonly split, requiring antiseptic care. Healing was slow and often failed to occur until after leaving the icefield.

3.2. Juneau – Base of Operations 3.2.1. Juneau – Capital of the Territory Located in the “panhandle,” Juneau, the capital of Alaska with its governmental services is around 560 km northwest of Seattle and about 22 km distance via Taku River Valley from British Columbia, Canada. Precipitous mountainsides of Juneau Mountain at 1090 m and Gastineau Peak at 1118 m have thwarted the city from spreading beyond its waterfront along Gastineau Channel (Fig. 3.9). Juneau developed from the discovery of gold in the latter part of the nineteenth century, followed by mining that continued through the mid-twentieth century (Newberry and Brew, 1988). Adits of the Alaska–Juneau Mine penetrated the lode at a distance 4 km east in the vicinity of Gold Creek. Through a tramway, the ore was transported to the stamping mill on the outskirts (Fig. 3.10), where it was crushed, the gold extracted, and the tailings dumped in the channel. At mid-twentieth century, while Alaska remained a territory, Juneau had a population of approximately 5800. Pan American World Airways (PAA) and Pacific Northern Airlines (PNA) maintained daily flights between Seattle and Juneau Airport. Using float planes, Alaska Coastal Airlines on the downtown waterfront was a regional carrier. The characteristic high roar of Grumman Goose aircraft on takeoff resounded from the mountain front above Gastineau Channel from dawn till dusk. Transporting cargo and passengers, the Alaska Steamship Company worked population centers along the Inland Passage.

3.2.2. Hotel Juneau Headquarters for Project personnel while in town was the Hotel Juneau on Main Street below the Federal Building. Left over from Juneau’s illustrious past, the hotel, which no longer exists, afforded comfortable accommodations that were sparse but clean, no-frills, and ideal for grubby field parties; facilities on each floor were located down the hall. For years the hotel was run by the Gray family,

Figure 3.9. Juneau at mid-twentieth century. Federal Building is centrally located; lower right, U.S. Forest Service facilities at the Subport.

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Figure 3.10. Alaska–Juneau Mine, built into the mountainside above Gastineau Channel at the southern outskirts of Juneau, before being demolished.

managed by Doug and Gordon Gray. Tom Smith, then retired, worked the registration desk; Oscar, a veteran of earlier Alaskan days, served as night watchman and porter. Smith, former skipper of the Yakobi, had accompanied William Skinner Cooper in Glacier Bay in the course of his early ecological studies. Notable eateries frequently patronized nearby were the Mug Up, Belle’s Coffee Shop, and Percy’s. Hotel Baranof with its convenient Coffee Shoppe on North Franklin Street was the residence of the sophisticated traveler. In the lobby, huge canvasses by Sydney Lawrence portrayed vividly the northern lights and native Alaskan settings. The hotel’s Bubble Room, a center of nightlife, was an oasis for thirsty Taku itinerants. In contrast, was the more earthy Red Dog Saloon on South Franklin.

3.2.3. Warehouse Facilities and Equipments Supplies and equipments were stored in the U.S. Forest Service warehouse at the Subport. Material was organized and made ready to be transported to the Juneau Airport, less than 14 km to the northwest by way of Glacier Highway, for aerial delivery to the icefield. A variety of material required allocation according to research activity and camp location. The wide range of camp items to be dealt with included tents, tarps, ropes, rope ladders, packboards, ice axes, sleeping bags, air mattresses, parkas, skis, ski bindings, ski poles, boots, crampons, willow wands, lanterns, Aladdin stoves, and cooking utensils. In addition, easily damaged radios, meteorological instruments, and met shelters necessitated individual handling and transport. Gasoline containers also required extra attention to ensure safe delivery. Food was a major item given special consideration. Food items had to be carefully arranged and padded in parapacks to avoid damage during parachute drops and free fall. This was of less concern with C-rations and 5-in-1 rations, which were contained in heavy cardboard boxes strapped by steel bands. C-rations proved popular because of their convenience in backpacking and during short stays of two or three persons at outlying camps. Of practical use with large groups, 5-in-1 rations were

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Table 3.1. Contents and amounts in 42-man-day rations supplied to outlying camps. Cocoa (50 pkg) Powdered coffee (1 jar) Tea (100 bags) Pilot bread (2 boxes) Roman meal cereal (1 box) Oatmeal (2 boxes) Cream of Wheat (1 box) Processed cheese (2 boxes) Powdered milk (large box) Fig pudding (can) Dried apricots (2 boxes) Dried prunes (1 box) Raisins (1 box) Rice (large box) Carrots and peas (3 cans) Port Clyde sardines (20 cans)

Salt (2 boxes) Nuts (1 can) Grapefruit (can) Wieners (4 cans) Ripe olives (1 jar) Corned beef hash (2 cans) Pears (2 cans) Fruit cocktail (2 cans) Cane sugar (large box) Brown sugar (1 box) Spam (4 cans) Lipton noodle soup (15 pkg) Orange and grapefruit (2 cans) Sweet potatoes (1 can) Asparagus (2 cans)

Dot chocolate (3 pkg) Hershey bars (24) Spaghetti dinners (2) Jello (3 pkg) Baked beans (4 cans) Jam (2 jars) Oleo (2 boxes) Beef stew (3 cans) Matches (1 box) Paper towel (1 roll) Toilet paper (2 rolls) SOS soap pads (1) Corn (4 cans) Peas (2 cans) Tomato sauce (1 can)

especially well received when menus were varied, combined with fresh commercial items, and prepared with imagination. Nonetheless, there was no substitute for a platter of grilled salmon and baked potato with tossed green salad, as could be had in Juneau. A 42-man-day ration, alternatively for six men over 7 days or two men for 3 weeks, supplemented a 5-in-1 diet (Table 3.1). The 42-man-day ration was arrived at by general consensus. Items selected were by overall preference. In certain cases, substitutions were made, as dictated by personal taste. One item, Port Clyde sardines, presumably highly favored by a packer, was most plentiful and ubiquitous. Apparently intended as the ultimate survival food, stocks of Port Clyde sardines could always be counted on to turn up in caches at outlying camps.

3.3. Research 3.3.1. Seismic Profiles of Taku Glacier Of first-order priority in the scientific program was the profiling of Taku Glacier to the altitude of the firn line, where snow that has outlasted the ablation season equaled loss by melting of ice. Ice thickness, rate of flow, and ablation–accumulation ratios are parameters required for calculating glacier regimen. Profiling was accomplished through use of a Unitized Portable Seismograph by a team headed by T.C. Poulter from Stanford Research Institute (Poulter et al., 1949). At each recording station, two lines of six geophones were arranged in the form of a cross with geophones spaced 7.6 m apart. Seismic waves were produced by charges of C-3 explosive or dynamite that were detonated on metal stakes at 1.8–2.4 m above the surface. Locations were established on a map of the Taku from bearings by Brunton compass to observable reference points. Altitudes were taken from altimeter readings, which were corrected according to pressure changes recorded by the U.S. Weather Bureau at Juneau Airport. The seismograph was first taken by boat directly to the ice front and man-hauled for use at stations in the terminal area. Seismic measurements of ice thickness were found to be comparable with depths recorded from bathymetry before the Taku had reached the area in its advance beginning at around the turn of the mid-twentieth century. Vertical velocity for sound waves in the ice was

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ascertained to be 3933 m s-1. This value, employed for all calculations of thickness, was arrived at from a charge detonated at a depth of 34.8 m in a dry moulin. Upon completion of the work, equipment was returned to Juneau, where it was then transported by ski-wheel C-47 for measurements upglacier. More than 100 thickness measurements of Taku ice were made at stations along four cross profiles at altitudes of 305–317, 759–774, 842–902, and 1035–1066 m. Three profiles (I–III) were located across the main axis of flow and a fourth (IV) across the entrance of the Northeast Branch (Fig. 3.11). Thicknesses amounted to 319–420 m on Profile I, 182–315 m on Profile II, 222–468 m on Profile III, and 170–349 m on Profile IV (Fig. 3.12). The seismic soundings proved valuable from a number of viewpoints. Results substantiated a perspective of the Taku advance. The glacier in Profile I at the snout was shown to be unusually thick by comparison to Profile II, 6.2 km upglacier, suggesting the presence of a kinematic wave. Most importantly, data collected afforded a means for estimating amounts of flow from movement that was periodically measured by survey from stakes across profiles (Fig. 3.13) and from trends anticipated from movement of a pipe to be installed in a borehole at Camp 10B the following

Figure 3.11. Seismic stations and profiles on lower Taku Glacier where ice thicknesses were measured. From Poulter et al. (1949).

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LINE I A

A 15 14 13

12

11

10

9

8

7

LINE II B 22 21A

21

20

19

18

17

B

16

LINE III C

C 31

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

LINE IV D D

41

40

32

38

37

36

35

32

33

0

32

1000 m

VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL SCALE

Figure 3.12. Cross-sectional profiles of lower Taku Glacier. Modified from Poulter et al. (1949).

Figure 3.13. Party surveying movement stakes on the Northeast Branch with Organ Pipes in the distance to the right.

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field season. Moreover, the profiles constituted a datum for comparison with future seismic soundings, thus offering a means for monitoring the glacier’s budget.

3.3.2. Regimen of Taku Glacier As explained by Sharp (1988), a glacier is sensitive to environmental changes influencing accumulation and wastage of its hydrological budget. As a dynamic system, snow is transported from the accumulation area to the area of ablation. In the process, as the transient summer snow line retreats, snow is converted to firn and ultimately to ice, which downglacier is subject to melting. The firn line marks the lower limit of snow that has outlasted one or more ablation seasons, as opposed to the equilibrium line, or equilibrium line altitude, which separates the areas of accumulation and wastage during a given budget year (Post and LaChapelle, 2000). An accumulation area ratio, that is, area of accumulation divided by the total area of the glacier, reflects annual mass balance. Years with excessive gain in accumulation generally result in growth and advance of the glacier, coupled with greater loss in the enlarged terminal area. When the situation reverses and accumulation becomes less, recession at the terminus is usually the result. Studies bearing on the hydrological budget were made of the seasonal snow layer and underlying firn taken from walls of pits dug in the glacier (Miller, 1951a, 1952a; Leighton, 1952). These included measurements of density (g cm-3) to a depth of 7 m, which according to Miller (1971) gave values of 0.1–0.45 in snow and 0.45–0.75 in firn, 0.75–0.88 in firn–ice, and 0.88–0.90 in ice. The objective was to make use of the data for the purpose of positioning the firn line for 1949 and equilibrium line for the entire year of 1948–1949. Seismic soundings with average velocities of 2042 to over 3354 m s-1 indicated that the firn layer was at a depth of 4.2–7.6 m (Poulter et al., 1949). The quantity of meltwater percolating in the snow layer and refreezing at depth was also measured by an arrangement of pans and connecting containers recessed at different levels in pits. Besides surface wastage that takes place mostly by solar heating, meltwater percolating in the accumulation increment at depth required measurement (Miller, 1954a, 1955). Ablation at the glacier surface was approximated from stakes implanted in the snow, firn, and ice surface, supplemented by aerial photographs of the seasonal snow and firn lines. For the firn line in 1949 at an altitude of approximately 793 m, surplus accumulation amounted to almost 1525 mm of water equivalent (Miller, 1971). Compared with 1948, these figures show an increase of over 635 mm of accumulation and lowering of the firn line by 244 m.

3.3.3. Meteorological Parameters An integral part of the glaciological program was the collection of meteorological data (Marcus, 1964). Records were kept from July to September mainly at the Research Station and at Camp 12, about 60 m in altitude on the ridge bordering the lower Taku (see Fig. 2.1). Additional short-term records were kept at outlying camps. At the Research Station, standard observations of temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and wind also included sunshine, using a Campbell–Stokes sunshine recorder, and cloud cover (Field and Miller, 1950). Data from the two locations, one in the southern sector of the icefield and the other in the central part, generated a first approximation of the meteorological profile applicable to the ablation season of Taku Glacier. Standard observations continued to be made during field seasons from 1949 until 1953.

3.3.4. Glacier Variations During the Past Six Centuries A study of glacier variations of outlet glaciers was conducted by D.B. Lawrence of the University of Minnesota. Its major contribution was the relationship drawn between solar activity, as a

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

causal factor, and the incidence of moraine formation (Lawrence and Lawrence, 1949; Lawrence, 1950a, 1958). Glaciers taken into account were the Mendenhall, Herbert, and Eagle, north of Juneau on the west side of the icefield, and Norris, Taku, Hole-in-the-Wall, and Twin Glaciers in the Taku River Valley (Fig. 2.1). Dendrochronological techniques (Lawrence, 1950b) were used together with aerial photographs, maps, and surveys for dating and outlining moraines and trimlines. The oldest Sitka spruce found growing on a deglaciated surface approximated the time of glacier withdrawal and gave a minimum date for the formation of each moraine. Coring of the trunks of trees with a Swedish increment corer penetrated growth axes in order to ascertain the number of annual growth layers. Ideally, cores were taken from the region of the root crown where growth begins at the base of the trunk. In most cases, the collection of a core from this level is not easy to achieve because of limitations created by basal flaring of the tree or by a restricted work area. Consequently, the average number of years required for seedlings to reach coring height needed to be added to the ages of cores. Also, the time necessary for the surface to stabilize and become a seedbed following glacial recession (ecesis), estimated at 5–7 years, was of additional significance in the dating process. Where the glacier has pushed over trees at the margin of the outermost advance, changes in their growth pattern and age, as they continued to grow and become erect, date the time of tilting. In conifers, following tilting, the typically concentric pattern of growth found in trees growing erect converts to an eccentric pattern (see Fig. 7.10). The change in conifers is caused by compression of growth layers on the upper side of the trunk and expansion of corresponding layers below. Broadleaf trees exhibit a reversal of the pattern. The behavior of Herbert, Mendenhall, and Twin Glacier (Fig. 2.1) during recent centuries was chosen for intensive investigation because of historical records of variations, multiple moraines, and easy access. At Mendenhall Glacier (Fig. 3.14), forest communities occupying the moraines, as Lawrence (1950a) showed, were first generation (Fig. 3.15). Spruce in the overstory and climaxdominant hemlock in the understory were in the process of supplanting original stands of alder, willow, and cottonwood. Beyond, in contrast, forests were dominated by large western hemlocks in place for many centuries among rotten logs and stumps on thick organic-rich soils (Crocker and Dickson, 1957). From these observations, Lawrence (1950a) concluded that the terrain possessed by ancient forest had not been invaded by advancing glaciers for at least six centuries.

Figure 3.14. Fluvially eroded outwash beyond the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier (June 4, 1952). Willow-alder community in the foreground is representative of an early stage in Pacific Coastal Forest succession.

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Figure 3.15. Variations of the ice front of Mendenhall Glacier during and following the Little Ice Age of recent centuries. From Lawrence (1950).

Results of the study revealed that Juneau Icefield glaciers reached respective terminal areas, coincident with the cold climate of the Little Ice Age. In Europe, centuries of the Little Ice Age had followed the milder Middle Ages or Medieval Period between 500–1500 AD (Grove, 1988). Glaciers of the Juneau Icefield had periodically readvanced, forming maxima in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. When glaciers were at maxima, moraine formation in a number of instances was shown to coincide with sunspot minima over an 11-year cycle. Lawrence (1950a) attributed the glacial maximum in the middle eighteenth century, from which recession had begun by 1765, to diminution of solar radiation.

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Chapter 4 1950 Field Season

4.1. Introduction With the advent of mechanical drilling on Taku Glacier, the diversity of glaciological study increased during the summer of 1950 (Miller, 1951b–d, 1954b). Innovative techniques and measurements in both glaciology and meteorology were added to previous lines of research. Concurrently, survey and mapping work was extended to include not only topography but also bedrock geology (Gilkey, 1951; Forbes, 1959; Forbes and Engels, 1970). An intensive study of the alpine flora on nunataks was made. At low level about the west side of the icefield, the paleoecology of millenniaold deposits received initial attention. Supply of the camp network was again accomplished via parachute and freefall by aircraft from the Kodiak Naval Air Station and by landings of ski-wheel C-47 of the 10th Air Rescue Squadron from Anchorage. The drilling operation alone employed excessive metric tonnage contributed by the drill rig, 92 m of 50-mm aluminum pipe, and water immersion pump and accessories, all of which had to be transported directly to the glacier. Camp 10B, about 0.6 km west of the Research Station, was the site chosen for drilling. It was conveniently located in proximity to the C-47 landing area. In time, as drilling commenced, Camp 10B became a veritable “tent camp,” with a pair of U.S. Forest Service wall tents, joined by way of a fly, used for cooking, eating, and as a center of operations; nearby hexagonal tents, supplied by the Quartermaster Corps, were used for sleeping (Fig. 4.1). The hexagonal tents, constructed of durable heavy canvas, were kept upright by a center pole and anchored by guy ropes. A cloth, flameproof lining, suspended from the canvas and held in by lightweight lines, made for a comfortable interior. Thermal stratification on heating at night was such that temperatures at or near freezing on the snow surface at the floor rose to 27∞C or more above. This condition made the lines ideal for drying clothing. Camp maintenance on the ablating surface of the Taku required constant attention. Tents had to be struck and relocated every few days, as they became elevated on snow pedestals and tended to topple from differential heating and melting of the surroundings versus the immediate tent area. This was the case, as well, with the drilling platform, which had to be relevelled periodically in the course of operation. Moreover, there was the problem created by the opening of crevasses as the ablation season progressed. In one case, a tent when reset was found to be located dangerously beside a crevasse. Another problem had to do with availability of water to cool the drilling engine. Fortunately, a shallow englacial reservoir could be tapped nearby. A supply of potable water sufficient to satisfy the need for drinking, cooking, washing, and personal hygiene was also required for efficient operation of the drilling camp. Snow, the source of water, had to be melted by heating in galvanized pails. The Research Station at Camp 10 was reoccupied to accommodate additional personnel (Fig. 4.2) and for radio communication. As the season progressed, the need for supplies intensified. Essential food and gasoline were sledged or backpacked from Camp 10B (Fig. 4.3). With available aircraft, personnel after having been in the field for several weeks were able to rotate for a hot bath at the Hotel Juneau and to replenish supplies (Figs. 4.4, 4.5). Despite the emphasis on drilling and 43

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 4.1. “Tent Camp,” Camp 10B, site of Taku Glacier drilling operation. Photograph by W.O. Field.

Figure 4.2. Field party at the Research Station; left to right, Art Gilkey, Mel Marcus, Andy Anderson, Gerry Wasserburg, Bob Nichols, Bob Forbes, Fred Milan, Bucky Wilson, Cal Heusser, Paul Livingston, and Bill Field. Photograph by W.O. Field.

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Figure 4.3. Sledging loads to the Research Station of supplies that were delivered by air to Camp 10B; left to right, Art Gilkey, Bob Nichols, Cal Anderson, and Bucky Wilson.

Figure 4.4. Henri Bader, preparing to leave on a return flight to Juneau, giving last-minute instructions to assistant, Gerry Wasserburg.

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 4.5. Bob Forbes and Doc Nicholl, among others, arriving at the airport for a respite in Juneau.

the attention given to essential logistical matters, the Project continued to schedule varied aspects of its scientific schedule (Fig. 4.6). The U.S. Forest Service warehouse, as in 1949, continued to be used to store equipment, pack parachutes, and prepare bundles of food and other items of supply for distribution among camps in the icefield. During 110 days over a period lasting from June to September, as many as 30 participants were involved in wide-ranging activities. Ten members of the party had been on the icefield in 1949.

Figure 4.6. Geological field party on Juncture Peak; left to right, Bob Forbes, Mal Miller, Peter Misch, and Art Gilkey.

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47

4.2. Research 4.2.1. Drilling Operation on Upper Taku Glacier Drilling (Figs. 4.7–4.9) at Camp 10B was successful to a maximum depth of 89 m using a Rotary Pioneer Straightline Drill Rig of the E.J. Longyear Company of Minneapolis (Miller, 1951b–d, 1954). Ice petrofabrics, the detailed study of structure and texture of samples of ice brought up from depth, was done by H. Bader of the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment in St. Paul. Petrofabrics disclosed patterns of stress and strain in the ice. Samples, of considerable value in understanding glacier flow (Bader, 1951), were examined in a cold room specially excavated in the glacier. Flow is progressively less toward the margins of the glacier and greatest along the central axis. At depth, internal flow rates are generally higher in the upper ice than in the ice below. Rates, however, are dependent on the amount of basal slip, which varies in relation to topography.

Figure 4.7. Drilling operation at Camp 10B, Taku Glacier.

Figure 4.8. Art Gilkey on the drilling platform, working the hoist, raising and lowering pipe.

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Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1949–1958

Figure 4.9. Andy Anderson in charge of the drilling.

On slopes with steep gradients, movement is largely by basal slip (extending flow). On less inclined slopes, internal flow (compressing flow) is proportionally greater, contributing more than half of the amount gained by basal slip (Sharp, 1988). Deformation of the continuous string of pipes contained in the borehole, as measured by means of an inclinometer at future intervals, produced vertical velocity profiles (see Fig. 7.5) for estimating mass movement of the ice (Miller, 1971). A string of thermistors, to measure englacial temperatures to a depth of 52 m, traced the penetration and dissipation of the winter cold wave; similarly, thermistors on a 12-m tower contributed a micrometeorological profile of air temperature (Fig. 4.1).

4.2.2. Regimen of Taku Glacier Standard measurements were made of physical features of the 1949–1950 accumulation (Miller, 1954b). These were density, structure, and water content in pits and crevasses at the site of the drilling operation (Fig. 4.10), supplemented by determination of surface movement, ablation, and altitude of the firn line. Compared with 1949, the seasonal firn line in 1950 had risen about 300 m to an altitude of 1098 m, reducing the water equivalent of accumulation to zero (Miller, 1971). As an adjunct for ascertaining seasonal amounts of accumulation, pollen stratigraphic studies were instituted in 1950 and continued during the 1951 and 1952 field seasons (Heusser, 1954b). The work in 1952 was coordinated with snow studies made by LaChapelle (1954). The subject of pollen in ice, first explored by Vareschi (1942) on Grindelwald Glacier in the Swiss Alps, was later given notice to palynologists and glaciologists by Godwin (1949). The procedure on the Taku, although crude in its application, called for melting of 25–30-l stratigraphic samples of snow, firn, and ice in metal pails and their contents allowed to settle out, while decanting the lot at intervals to concentrate the pollen sediment. Samples were from the walls of pits dug at six sites at altitudes located between approximately 600 and 1800 m (Fig. 4.11). Contamination was reduced as much as possible by cleansing pails with clear meltwater and keeping lots protected from the air by tarps. In theory, pollen reaching the snow surface by wind is indicative of the season of flowering; in contrast, essentially barren of pollen, is the winter snow accumulation. For time of anthesis in this connection, pollen and spores were collected on coated

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Figure 4.10. Mal Miller in pit adjacent to crevasse at Camp 10B. Photograph by W.O. Field.

Figure 4.11. Pit over 7 m deep at site located on the upper Taku close to the Alaska–British Columbia Boundary. Snow dug by figure working at the bottom of the pit is being hauled to the surface in buckets.

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microscope slides and exposed for weekly intervals in Juneau and at the Research Station throughout the summer. Sediments collected from 75 stratigraphic samples of snow were transported and processed in the laboratory. Identification and counting of the pollen and spores under the microscope were done with the aid of a modern reference collection. Taken into account in the analyses were frequencies (%) of alpine fir, Sitka spruce, pine, western and mountain hemlock, birch, alder, and ferns. Results indicated that significant quantities of tree pollen identified spring and summer snow, whereas autumn snow was identifiable by its distinctive fern spore content. Autumn snow was found to be all that remained on the lower Taku at 600 m; upglacier, layers produced in autumn, winter, and spring of the 1951–1952 budget year were progressively present; summer snow was discernible only in the pit dug at the highest altitude of 1800 m.

4.2.3. Late Quaternary Paleoecological Events Late Quaternary vegetation and climate were reconstructed from fossil pollens and spores preserved in peat deposits of muskegs (mires) at low altitude (Heusser, 1952a, b, 1960a). Collections were made using a readily transportable Hiller sampler with connecting extension rods. Processing was by standard methods (see Faegri and Iversen, 1989). Sites located on the west side of the icefield lay beyond the eighteenth century termini of glaciers that had been dated by Lawrence (1950a). In proximity to Gastineau Channel and Lynn Canal, sites were at altitudes below 23 m; others in Montana and Lemon Creek drainage were at higher altitudes to 230 m (Fig. 4.12). A core from the oldest nonmarine peat, dating to 10,300 14C years BP (L-297D; 12,130 cal years BP), spanned stratigraphy of the Holocene. Pollen analyses showed that lodgepole pine, alder, sedges, and ferns, were the principal open-grown, light-demanding invaders on the denuded terrain during the first two millennia. Mollusks and barnacles in a diamicton at 31 m in altitude (Miller, 1973), dated recession of the ice followed by marine transgression to 12,880 14C years BP (15,500 cal years BP), at the earliest, and regression later to 9150 14C years BP (10,240 cal years BP). On stabilized ground with retreat of glaciers and regression of tidewater, pioneer vegetation became supplanted by more shade-tolerant upland forest trees, at first mostly Sitka spruce and subsequently hemlock. A date of 7800 14C years BP (L-297G; 8590 cal years BP) approximates the time of the transition; dates to 6650 and 6100 14C years BP (L-297E and L-297B; 7450 and 6950 cal years BP) apparently marked the beginning of freshwater peat deposition upon withdrawal of tidewater at two of the sites. Marine shells, according to Dachnowski-Stokes (1941), underlie the peat dated to 6100 14C years BP at the mouth of Lemon Creek. Remains of trees dated to 3500 14C years BP (L-106B; 3800 cal years BP) in an exposure at Lower Lemon Creek (Fig. 4.13) are overlain by more than 2 m of regeneration sedge and moss peat (Heusser, 1953). Recurrence woody horizons of this kind stratigraphically interrupt the continuity of peat deposition regionally, indicating intervals of drier versus wetter conditions (Heusser, 1966). An indicator of stagnation in the generative process is Lysichiton (yellow skunk cabbage), which in the deposit at Lower Lemon Creek peaks in association with woody debris from 6100 to 3500 14C years BP. An attempt to correlate recurrence surfaces from the distribution of ligneous, humified, and unhumified horizons is shown in Fig. 4.14. The degree to which recurrence surfaces are of local or regional significance is of considerable paleoclimatic concern. Study of the chronostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of individual surfaces in detail is needed to assess attendant variations in their age and the significance of the preserved macroremains. Western hemlock, preponderant in the upper levels of mire deposits, represents optimum spread of the coastal forest dominant under cool-temperate, hyperhumid climate of the Late Holocene. Mountain hemlock, a secondary associate, proliferated in step at this time. Lodgepole pine simultaneously on the rise but comparatively minor infers the spread of muskeg at the detriment of forest.

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Figure 4.12. Locations of sections taken of muskegs (mires) for paleoecological study beyond the southwestern limit of the Juneau Icefield. Stretch shown stippled bordering Lower Lemon Creek is intertidal area beyond Gastineau Channel.

Rejuvenation of peat deposition was at rates as much as 3–4 times greater than in the Early Holocene. These trends offer further manifestation of the cooler and wetter climate in effect following earlier episodes of muskeg stagnation. Pollen records successively follow the offlap of marine waters. In an altitudinal sequence (Fig. 4.15), Upper Montana Creek dating to 10,300 14C years BP at an altitude of 230 m lies well above the 122 m of transgression (Miller, 1973). Pollen stratigraphy shows basal pine, followed by a spruce maximum, and lastly preponderance of western and mountain hemlock. At Lower Montana Creek, dating to 7800 14C years BP at 45 m, the pine interval is absent, and spruce is initially abundant. Close to sea level at Lower Lemon Creek, the record lacks both pine and spruce maxima, showing throughout a high frequency of western hemlock that begins at 6100 14C years BP. Distinctive at Upper Montana Creek, altitudinally higher than marine transgression, is a basal tephra layer that was estimated to date to the Early Holocene. The layer since has been dated by Riehle et al. (1992) to between 11,230 ± 400 and 10,820 ± 80 14C years BP (USGS 2065 and 2066; 13,170 and 12,900 cal years BP). The layer derives from Mount Edgecumbe, located on Kruzof Island near Sitka, over 60 km to the southwest (Fig. 4.16).

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Figure 4.13. Remains of tree trunks dated to 3500 ± 250 14C years BP overlain by 1.8 m of regeneration sedge and moss peat near the mouth of Lemon Creek.

Figure 4.14. Chronostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlation of regional muskegs since the Lateglacial. From Heusser (1966).

1950 Field Season

Upper Montana Creek (230 m ASL)

Lower Montana Creek (45 m ASL)

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Lower Lemon Creek (0 m ASL)

0 103 BP 14Cyr

Lodgepole Pine

Mountain Hemlock

Western Hemlock Maximum Sitka Spruce

2

(closed forest canopy)

3500 ± 250

4 Western Hemlock – Sitka Spruce Lysichiton (closed forest canopy) 6

6100 ± 300

Sitka Spruce Maximum Alder (open forest canopy) 8

7800 ± 300 Lodgepole Pine Maximum Alder

Marine Transgression 120 m ASL

10 10.300 ± 400

Figure 4.15. Lateglacial–Holocene vegetation change in the course of marine regression reconstructed from sites located in Fig. 4.12. From Heusser (1960).

Figure 4.16. Summit of Mount Edgecumbe (1057 m) on Kruzof Island, west of Sitka. Lateglacial eruption of the volcano (Riehle et al., 1992) deposited a tephra layer recognizable at upper Montana Creek on the west slope of the Coast Mountains northwest of Juneau.

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These data reflecting Lateglacial marine occupancy imply uplift of the Coast Mountains after they had been depressed by the Cordilleran Glacier Complex during the last glaciation. Twenhofel (1952) cited evidence for marine transgression and consequent uplift amounting to 152 m on Douglas Island near Juneau; Kerr (1936, 1948) indicated amounts of as much as 183 m in Tulsequah Valley and 92 m below Wright Glacier in Taku Valley. Apparently diastrophism other than climate has been a factor regionally, albeit of variable dimension, bearing on altitudes of firn lines and the regimen of glaciers of the Juneau Icefield. Subsidence attendant to the Little Ice Age is recognized in the Juneau area, while uplift has accompanied wastage of glaciers (Motyka, 2003).

4.3. Journal Entries Journal entries, revised and edited in each of the chapters that follow, convey day-to-day happenings and special experiences from an informal personal viewpoint. For orientation, reference is to Fig. 2.1. Travel in mid-June from Oregon State in Corvallis to Juneau was first via Seattle by DC-3 on West Coast Airlines (long since defunct) with what seemed to be an endless number of stops: Salem, McMinnville, Portland, Chehalis-Centralia, and Olympia-Tacoma. Early evening in the Cascades, alpine glow beginning to rise from Mt. Jefferson, Hood, St. Helens, and Rainier. The following day out of Seattle, the flight to Juneau with a stop at Annette Island on board a PAA DC-4 from Boeing Field. Early weeks in Juneau dealt mostly with logistical work connected with the Project but also gave opportunity to begin paleoecological studies at low level. Coring of muskegs proceeded at low altitudes at a number of locations. Stratigraphic sections were collected for pollen analysis; samples for radiocarbon dating were shipped to laboratories to be processed. Social activity usually followed the daytime work schedule with dinner invitations frequently received from local residents. One occasion, much remembered with both pleasure and amusement, was an evening three of us were invited to dinner by Governor Ernest Gruening and his wife at the Governor’s Mansion. After dinner, in the custom of celebrities, we were offered an hour of chamber music performed by a talented piano trio. It was around midnight when we departed to return to our temporary quarters at the Subport only to encounter a problem. Because the key to the locked door was not to be found, we had to use a ladder to climb in through an upper window like “second story burglars,” after having left only moments before the height of Juneau society. Twin Glacier Lake–Camp 4–Camp 10. July 8: Last-minute preparations. Finally got off in an Alaska Coastal Grumman Goose with Mal Miller and Fred Small. Dropped supplies at Camps 16, 10, and 4, before landing mid icebergs on Twin Glacier Lake. After Grumman taxied to the north side of the lake, leaving us at the shore, started climbing at 8:30 pm over gravels, boulders, and moraine, much to the dismay of crying gulls, circling and diving. Roar of East Twin Glacier calving into the lake. Alder and fireweed below and thick alder with Devil’s club above made climbing very slow. Steep ascent. Later roped up. Grouse drumming in the valley. Bedded down on ledge by small meltwater stream at about 2 am, sacked out very tired. Forbes bands of the East Twin below. Some wind. July 9: Arose to terrific heat and mosquitoes. Rather sluggish. Had coffee, oatmeal, bacon, bread, and apricots. Off at midday. Good going but flies were annoying. Across alpine meadow with meltwater streams. Snow patches. Lunch of bacon, pea soup, bread, cheese, salami, tea, and candy. West Twin Glacier with its Forbes bands visible. Up through the pass in cold wind and some rain onto the icefield. Exhausting march across to Camp 4. Cache in good condition. Set up pyramidal tent, got food in. Supper of stew and tea. Feeling rather done in. Bed at midnight to the purring of the Coleman lantern. Wind on the tent through the night.

1950 Field Season

Camp 4. July 10: Up at 11 am to a magnificent day, but was it a scorcher. The Juneau Icefield a veritable desert. Made breakfast of oats, eggs, salami, hash, and stewed apricots. Spent the day preparing Camp 4 for the season. Later with Miller, downslope for a parachute load of gas and a load of C-rations. Last year’s snow minus ablated portion appears to amount to 4 m. Mal thinks 1.5 m have already ablated. Supper of veal (backpacked in) with French’s potatoes, bread, Jello (cooling in snow), and tea. Now 9:30 pm, evening color is hanging in long shadows, darkening about Devils Paw and Michaels Sword. Wind from the north cold but refreshing. Up at 4 am supposedly, so off to the sack. Few flies and mosquitoes. July 11: Some rain during the night and windy. With the ceiling zero, delayed departure for Camp 10 until 4 pm, after being up since 10 am. Had a great breakfast of cream of wheat, coffee, hamburger, and French’s potatoes. Straightened up the tent. Left bramanis and socks and changed to tricounis. Departed, coming down corniced ridge and across Northeast Branch, where crevasses were beginning to open. A rough haul of about 16 km to Camp 10, through cold wind and misty rain with soft snow 10–30 cm deep underfoot. Came past superglacial lake. Lunch of cheese and salami and jelly sandwiches. Water, melted from snow in vinylite bags for drinking, refreshing. Major obstacle was a ridge (extension of Vantage Peak) that had to be switch-backed with steps cut in snow. Descending and crossing to Taku B and Camp 10, met Art Gilkey on skis, out mapping the bedrock, and later Fred Milan and Bucky Wilson. Camp 10 like a palace, warm and dry with plenty of supplies and equipment, Doc Nicholl greeting us with hot buttered rum. After supper and settling in, wrote letters to go out tomorrow. Sleeping bag laid out in the command tent beyond the hut. The pastures of heaven. Camps 10 and 10B. July 12: Up at 10 am. Found hand centrifuge in bad shape and vasculum a bit battered, after the drop. Mist, rain, and zero visibility. Upslope, collected, and pressed plants in command tent. Still socked in at midnight. July 13: Double bag last night and really comfortable. Exceptional day here at 10. Climbed with Cal Anderson on nearby Vantage Peak, which connects with Taku B, traversing talus and kicking steps in snow, reconnoitering, and collecting. Among collections was a prostrate arctic willow. Doc gave step tests (stepping up and down on 5.6-cm box for 5 min with periodic pulse readings). Read Vareschi’s work on pollen in ice. Doc reading “Ploughman of the Moon” by Robert Service. Midnight. July 14: To 10B with Mal Miller to begin pollen-stratigraphic glaciological work. Overcast and cold at 1.6∞C tonight. Two Colemans and heater going. Digging pits tomorrow. July 15: During the night could hear a fog horn about 25 km away. Radiation fog with us all day; sun rather strong at times. Pit dug to 2.7 m and free water determinations begun. Ice bands in pit represent semi-impermeable layers formed by freezing of percolating water or during periods of melting, cooling, crusting, and subsequent snowfall. Evening with humidity at 90% and temperature 1.2∞C. July 16: Pit work after decanting water of samples taken night before. Feeling at times a sense of disorientation in the pit. More surface samples melted and left to settle till tomorrow. Raining and cold, near 0∞C. July 17: Still socked in. Pit now to 4 m. Using earphones, picked up BBC from London on the radio, jazz from Mexico, and Armed Forces Radio broadcast. Rain continues. Ken Loken supposed to fly mail in today but afraid he will not be in for a while. Good night at 11:30 pm. July 18: Lowered 15-m rope ladder in crevasse. Went down through small opening but soon opened up below. Everything down there is blue and cold and wet. Looked at banding

55

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but could see nothing in the way of an annual dirt horizon. More crevasses appearing in camp. July 19: Cleared a bit but fog settled back in about 6 pm. No rain today. Helped Miller with snow density studies. July 20: Fog and intermittent rain. Dirt layer at 5.2 m in pit with only fern spores. Milan and Wilson pitched their tent only to find that they were next to a crevasse. July 21: Cold and clearing. Mail drop from Grumman Goose flying at about 15–30 m, Tony Thomas, his head out the door, waving his hat as they flew over. July 22: Morning clear and cold with downglacier wind. Decanted more samples down to 5.2 m. Raw and drizzly out, although visibility good. Now at 11:15 pm little wind. July 23: Raining on and off all day. Wet and cold measuring densities to almost 9.2 m in crevasse. At 10:30 pm off to Camp 10 to meet Peter Misch, geologist from University of Washington. Overnight at the hut to bed in the garret at 12:30 am. July 24: Collected on north side of Taku B. Party, led by Misch, reconnoitering geology. Osgood bushy-tailed wood rat in camp. Pressed plants. Garret again. July 25: Transferred gear to 10B. With Misch, Forbes, Gilkey, and Miller, skied across the Taku to Juncture Peak. Collecting was rich. Biotite schist source of soil. At 5:30 pm, skied down and returned across the Taku taking altimeter readings at intervals. Back at 10B, cooked a fabulous stew for supper. Bed at 12 am to patter of rain on the tent. July 26: Theodolite up to 10, pressed plants, and returned to 10B with an 18-l can of Blazo gasoline. Decanted pollen water in pails and back to 10. July 27: Taku B and Exploration Peak with new snow. Straightened things up at 10B. Checked meltwater for pollen. Temperature down to 0.4∞C but does not seem so cold. Guess we are getting hardened. Long contact with Juneau Radio and with Milan at Geological Survey. Read more of “Cry the Beloved Country.” Bed at 11:30 pm. Talked with Miller for about an hour afterward. Strange sounds one hears. July 28: After breakfast, down the crevasse to about 13.7 m. Water at 18 m. Sampled down to 7 m. Needed help pulling up filled buckets and lowering empty ones. Raining and wind from the east. July 29: Rain on and off all day. Spent about 4 h at the microscope looking at pollen from samples. Results seem to be shaping favorably. Just came in leaving fog to envelop the camp. Snow, soft and wet underfoot, blends without change into the fog and rain. Weird. Midnight. July 30: Day broke sunny and warm. Decanted more sample water from pails into beakers. Helped Miller install meltwater pan. Moved new hexagonal tent, protected as it was from surrounding ablation, off its pedestal and set up at new location. Down in the crevasse, the evening light a cold blue. Will be memorable. Stars are pale in the moonlit sky, the moon unveiled above the lower Taku. Streams on Taku B can be heard. Good night at 12 am. July 31: Radio contact announced the arrival in Juneau of the Air Force 10th Rescue Squadron C-47 from Anchorage. Small and Gilkey went downglacier to release red smoke from canisters to help pilots with depth perception on the snow surface. Plane landed smoothly with props spinning hard and snow blowing. Much commotion as Henri Bader, Anders Anderson (E.J. Goodyear driller), Gerry Wasserburg, and Fred Milan stepped off, followed by Captain Victor Rudd, the pilot, and crew. Unloaded supplies, making an impressive pile. On return to Juneau, takeoff required four JATO bottles. C-47 later came back with a free-fall drop. Took meltwater readings at 1200, 1500, 1700, and 2100 h. Now at midnight, will turn in.

1950 Field Season

August 1: Rearranged cook tent and melted samples till 1 am. Rain still falling, as it has been all day. August 2: 10B expansion in preparation for drilling. Laid out 12.2 ¥ 4.3 m base for cook tents, put up one 3.7 ¥ 4.3-m tent, and moved hex tent. Sunny day and quite colorful toward evening. August 3: Bright out but foggy. Down crevasse for 2 h, collecting samples at 8.2 and 8.5 m. While below, something gave way with a tremendous thump. Sounded as if a huge piece of ice broke off the wall and sheared down. How my hands burn and eyes smart coming into the warmth of the tent after being in the cold crevasse. August 4: After midnight, have just finished washing the supper dishes. Everyone is asleep. A clear night out with Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Sirius, Ursa Major, Polaris, and moon coming up over Exploration Peak. This morning skied to 10 and returned to 10B. En route, crevasses looked “hungry.” Noted red snow (green alga, Chlamydomonas nivalis) near cook tent. August 5: C-47 brought in Lowell Thomas, Johnny Roberts, his assistant, and Doc Nicholl. Only with the tenth try later was the plane able to take off. Snow was soft and plane overloaded with extra fuel to go to the Fairweather Range to look for a downed C-54. Had a good session talking science with Bader, Anderson, and Wasserburg. Earlier, enjoyed talking with Lowell Thomas, recalling his many Sunoco broadcasts and clips on Movietone News. Now 1:30 am. August 6: C-47 in at 7:30 am, unloaded food and lumber, and departed. Spent morning moving gear to camp. Victor Fritz, a visitor, in with me tonight. August 7: C-47 in again. Got gear together to go to dirt bands on northwest side of Taku B and set up camp for pollen study. Object to check on seasonality of bands using pollen as an indicator. With Miller, skied en route through crevasses wide and deep with slush at about 9 m. Set up tent and back to 10. On steep slope broke a cable but was able to fix it temporarily. Met Herb Kothe. Sleep at 11 pm in pyramidal tent. August 8: Tonight in trail tent on snow beside the dirt bands of yesterday. Alone in my sleeping bag, can hear streams running off the glacier. Melted two dirt bands and two intervening layers of clean ice. August 9: After a cold night with broken sleep, more samples processed from alternating bands. Began looking at structural features in the ice. Returned to 10 for supper. Afterward, Lowell Thomas made some tape recordings of the group. August 10: Before leaving for the bands, made a tape on botany, ice fleas, and glaciological work for Thomas. Decanted samples for pollen. Studied the structural relations of the bands, which resemble a plunging syncline. Art Gilkey came by, and after Miller left, we talked. Art then left about 9:30 pm, whereupon took refuge in the trail tent. August 11: Blowing a gale outside the tent tonight. Cloudy in the morning but cleared and became humid. C-47 came in early and landed but could not get off, so it has been on the Taku all day. Decanted beakers and pails. Found a pool in the rocks while botanizing, taking a refreshing bath. Plants commonly follow drainage. Came upon another prostrate willow. August 12: Gale force wind and hard rain at night. Imagined being blown to the foot of the glacier. Cloudy in the morning but sun out. Off to 10 for gas with Coleman tank on a packboard and later returned. Red snow in sun cups showing orientation away from the sun’s insolation. Miller came from 10B. Returned to 10 to sleep in the garret. August 13: Skied to bands. Melted samples and decanted final batch down to number 24. Fog and raining lightly in the morning. At length, back to 10. Read “Stikeen” by John Muir. Mel Marcus up from 10B with Gilkey.

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August 14: Went down to 10B to witness tents blown down. According to Charlie Harrington, wind was 19 km h-1 at 10 and reached 31 km h-1 at 16. Bob Forbes and Marcus on the drill rig. Reset the tents, then skied over to 10 and upslope to where Doc Nicholl located a small spruce. Slept in garret, complaining to Miller about the low ratio of time spent on science versus logistics. August 15: Up at 7:15 am after a night to –1.2∞C. Glad to rise. With Miller, Kothe, and Fritz anticipated climbing Exploration Peak. Skied across to southeast slope, noted contact of brown rubble and bedrock between long-stabilized and early successional plant communities. After lunch, our route necessitated glissade down about 760 m. Roped up and crossed area badly crevassed with snow bridges. Climb involved kicking steps in snow and belaying on 48∞ slope onto exposed bedrock. Made the summit, thrilled by panorama of the icefield and nunataks. Views far and wide on this clear day were truly magnificent. Collected with no evidence of an overriding ice sheet. Descended to skis for return to Camp 10. Restful night. August 16: Pressed plants till noon. Worked with Miller on bands. Cold, my fingers like ice, and now the beginning of a sore throat. Forbes and Gilkey returned after their geological reconnaissance escapade. Off to the garret. It must be midnight. August 17: Forbes and Gilkey to Vantage Peak. With Doc up Taku B. Wonderful bath in sun in meltwater pool. Stew for supper. Marcus made three butterscotch pies. Northern lights kicking up. Sacked out at eleven. August 18: No radio contact from Cal Anderson on his way from 16 to Juneau. Party to make a search but learned of his arrival in early afternoon in Juneau. Discovered relict community on Taku B, collecting about 30 species. After supper, stepped out of the hut, greeted by white arc of aurora across the southern sky. With Forbes and Gilkey, watched the light sending up streamers as it grew and grew. Over Taku A, Taku B, and Vantage Peak, spectrally shimmering, scintillating, the display for a time focused directly above us, was most ethereal and enchanting. Alternating, bright and fading, long wavering red and green curtains, sweeping columns. Having moved to the north, ultimately thinning out and disappearing, the light crossed the zenith in about 10 min, leaving a mercurial vapor curved briefly over northern Taku B. At length, a pale subsiding luminosity spread over the heavens was all that remained. August 19: With Gilkey to Taku A. Reconnoitered, noting profusion of saxifrages along drainage course. Reached summit ridge in the rain. Rubble of diorite and absence of plants possibly because of low potassium. Could see Organ Pipes and route to Camp 4 across Northeast Branch. With this cold of mine, felt rotten. Back at Camp 10, sacked out early at nine. Northern lights only fair tonight. August 20: Good weather. C-47 came in early. Bob Nichols from Tufts and Louis Quam from the Office of Naval Research in on the flight. Skied back through crevasses to Camp 10. Took a shot of penicillin to help beat this cold. Early to sleep in the garret. August 21: Up Taku B collecting. Down to 10B for supper with Anders Anderson, Harrington, Wasserburg, Kothe, and Fritz. Pressed plants and got gear together to go out, as plans are for C-47 to be in early tomorrow. Juneau. August 22: Miserable night. Sleeping bag zipper did not work and even with clothes on was cold. C-47 came in near seven with Bucky Wilson, Livingston, Cal Anderson, Milan, and Bill Field from the AGS. Unloaded and with Fritz, Nichols, Forbes, Gilkey, Kothe, Nicholl, Quam, Small, and Miller on board, started our take-off run. Heard the JATO fire. Moving at good speed but unable to lift off, the plane, skipping crevasses, dangerously closer and closer to glacier ice, while Vic Rudd, the pilot, gave it everything he could.

1950 Field Season

At last, the nose went up with the tail dragging from the weight of five crew and ten of us. Miraculously we were off. Sitting at the desk in the CAA at Juneau Radio, remember how awesome those crevasses looked as we went airborne. Joined Gilkey and Tony Thomas for lunch at the Mug Up. Returned to the airport for rest in shade under the wing of the C-47. Together with Miller, Quam, Nichols, and Ed Keithahn (curator of the Juneau museum), out to the Mendenhall outwash. Later, back into town to clean up at the Hotel Juneau. At 7:30 pm returned to the airport and flew out, making a number of drops at 10B. Back at the airport, slept under the wing of the plane, hoping left aileron did not drip if it rains. Camp 10 B. August 23: Three planes came in and went out, as beacon revolved and revolved through the night. Stars came out and were gone and came out again. CAA lights and roar of incoming and outgoing traffic. Left early with Small, Gilkey, and Forbes, flying up the Mendenhall. Cloud layer around peaks at about 1800 m made bad visibility. Out to Berners Bay area, back down the Mendenhall, and around to the Taku via Gastineau Channel and Taku Inlet. Circled 10B five times but low on gas decided to refuel in Juneau. Back to the Taku in late morning and landed. Soon after, C-47 took off upglacier, taking advantage of katabatic wind, and returned to Juneau. Terribly foggy again on the glacier, weird day, back in the same horizonless void of weeks ago. Alone in the tent with one corner just filled with beakers and cans with sample meltwater settling out. What a ghostly night outside. Felt like an ogre walking back to the tent, swinging my lantern through the fog, following the eerie light and shadows. August 24: Entire day with meltwater samples from drilling operation, 64 in all down to 23 m. Read a little and turned in at 11:30 pm mid fog and rain. August 25: Rain beat down all last night and continuously during the day. Drilling stopped at 27 m on losing core barrel and bit. Tent very comfortable with stove going. Clothes hung up drying. Rubber suit was fine today. Barker boots kept feet dry and fairly warm. August 26: Still raining hard. Wilson and Gilkey down from 10. Drill rig had to be reset. Pushed two heavy sledges to base of slope below the station: Livingston, Cal Anderson, and Gilkey on one, with Nichols and Wilson on the other. At 10, rum and coke all around. Stopped raining about six. Now the moon and Jupiter are in the southeast over a dark wall of flying cloud. Stars are sharp overhead, the moon brightening the fast-crusting snow. August 27: Worked on the drill rig with Gilkey and Anderson. Rain driving all day. More with gale force winds expected. Camp 10. August 28: Hard rain and more rain, mixed with sleet and snow. Weather got me for awhile. Another sledge load to 10. Bull session with Marcus, Forbes, and Wilson before retiring in the garret at 10. August 29: Last night at Camp 10. It is snowing outside at 9:30 pm. Gilkey came in and reported 21–28 cm of snow with knee-deep drifts upslope on Taku B. This morning, reviewed geology and botany at Camp 10 with Miller, Nichols, and Field. Hauled up cans of Blazo to 10 from foot of the slope. All the party here. Gilkey reviewing stereopairs of aerial photos; Milan handling traffic with Juneau Radio. Camp 4–Twin Glacier Lake–Juneau. August 30: With Livingston and Wasserburg in the pyramidal tent at Camp 4. Slept in the garret at 10 last night. Fog early later drifted off, so that the pass between Vantage Peak and Taku A was visible. After group photo, left at 10:15 am. Bill Field with us at first but later before the pass, decided to return to 10. Much of the way in fog. At times disoriented. Across crevassed ice and over considerable expanse of red snow in sun cups. Lunch of sardines followed by jam and peanut butter sandwiches. Sun broke and blue sky emerged, Devils Paw coming out covered in snow. Hard to breathe

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deeply, as pain from an apparent cracked rib, sustained from work on the drill rig, was troublesome. Finally, at 6 pm reached Camp 4 after 8 h, 2 h longer than on trip in nearly 2 months ago. Savored a C-4 dinner of franks and beans. In the sack at 10:30 pm, listening to a mouse gnawing away, only to find next day a hole in my rucksack. Finished writing this entry on cracker box: Sunshine Skookum Pilot Bread. August 31: Although in the sack early, not until near morning did sleep finally come. In the course of mental wanderings, watched the image of the moon travel across the tent canvas. Knowing we were at Camp 4 gave reasonable assurance that the schedule for making connections back to Corvallis and Oregon State would go as planned. After breakfast and securing cache at Camp 4, left for Twin Glacier Lake. A memorable day. Truly thrilling at the pass to look back across to Devils Paw with Michaels Sword in the foreground, then down into the Taku Valley. Wright Glacier beyond the valley to the south mid the seemingly endless peaks of the Coast Mountains. Lunch in mountain hemlock at treeline. Descent on steep pitch, steering clear of a bear browsing on the slope. Through alder and Devil’s club, physically demanding, eventually reaching the lateral moraine of the West Twin. On radio from the cache at Camp 1, called Taku Lodge for pickup. Royal O’Reilly with Bill Latady arrived in a skiff at about seven and took us out the river that drains Twin Glacier Lake to the lodge. Ice in huge blocks, calved from the West Twin, set the water boiling while we waited their arrival. Taku Lodge most comfortable with beautiful lounge, roaring fireplace, bearskins, and heads of bear, mountain goat, and deer on the walls. With no haircut since 10 June and no shave, felt grubby among the guests. Nevertheless, enjoyed ham dinner in candlelight. Later, showered and cleaned up. Now after midnight. Juneau. September 1: Royal took Livingston and Latady back to Twin Glacier Lake for a return trip to Camp 10. Bellanca went over on way to Taku–Polaris Mine at Tulsequah. Shortly after we were aboard the Bellanca to Juneau. Checked reservations for flight to Seattle. Lunch at the Mug Up. Saw Dr. Rude about rib and got taped up. Got haircut and felt very civilized putting on a suit. To the Baranof with Wasserburg for brandy in the Bubble Room and supper. Enjoyed seeing the Sydney Lawrence paintings again in the hotel lobby. To KWYL5 at Geological Survey with Tony Thomas for radio contact and back to the Bubble Room for a few beers in a renewed social atmosphere. Recalled some amusing stories with good laughs of the 1950 JIRP summer. After midnight, Hotel Juneau, a relic of the gold rush days. Raining and bed hard. Seattle-Corvallis. September 2: Percy’s for coffee and a roll. Gear all packed, taken to PAA and Railway Express. To Alaska Empire for JIRP newspaper clippings; turned in latest on JIRP. PAA Seattle flight on DC-4 at 2:50 pm in mixed fog and rain with stop at Annette Island. Now flying at 7:30 pm with lights of many towns beginning to show up and finally myriad of lights of Seattle before landing at Boeing Field. Taxi to Hotel Hungerford. September 3: After breakfast at George’s Café and taxi, am sitting here at Boeing Field awaiting flight on West Coast Airlines to Corvallis. Wasserburg plans to go to McChord AFB in Tacoma for flight back east. It is about 8 am, and in 15 min shall be away.

Chapter 5 1951 Field Season

5.1. Introduction As in 1949 and 1950, observations on the glaciological and meteorological setting of Taku Glacier were continued and evaluated (Miller, 1951c, 1952b, c, 1953a). The flow of the glacier and its heat budget were investigated. Early in the year, during a month in January–February, a party of eight occupied the Research Station and Camp 10B (Miller, 1951e, 1953b). Their main goal was to measure, under winter conditions, englacial temperatures and deformation of the pipe in the borehole that was drilled the previous August. The major logistic event was the parachuting of two Weasels, M29-C oversnow track vehicles weighing over 2250 kg apiece, from a C-82 Flying Boxcar of the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron from Elmendorf Air Force Base (Miller, 1952b). Drops during each operation were made from a height of about 450 m using two 30-m parachutes (Fig. 5.1). Originally, the plan was to drive the vehicles up the Taku in winter when the glacier was snow-covered to its snout, but lack of snow at low altitude during the 1950–1951 winter prevented using this option. Via C-82, additional items of heavy equipment were parachuted (Fig. 5.2), including a large cargo sled for use with the Weasels, coal burning range, and four-cylinder generator. At the Camp 10 Research Station, which was much in use (Fig. 5.3), a 55-W radio transmitter and receiver were installed to enhance communication. Adjacent to the station, a small structure, covered by corrugated aluminum, was built to house the four-cylinder generator for light and power. Air support by ski-wheel C-47 was again flown by the 10th Air Rescue Squadron from Elmendorf. When weather permitted, personnel and equipment were airlifted to and from the Taku. Parties otherwise reached the glacier by all-weather routes from Twin Glacier Lake or Lemon Creek Glacier. Camps, early on, were replenished for the season by freefall and parachute (Fig. 5.4). During the 1951 field season, studies by a 13-man party were made from late May until midSeptember. Food and medical reports were issued for 1949, 1950, and winter of 1951 (Haley et al., 1951a, b).

5.2. Research 5.2.1. Regimen of Taku Glacier Factors having to do with the hydrology of the Taku were a basic concern. The glacier’s budget was given special consideration at altitudes of 1128, 1220, and 1829 m. Coordinated micrometeorological records were kept at Camp 10B of temperature, humidity, and wind at heights of 1 cm and 1, 3.2, 4, and 10 m above the glacier surface. Density and meltwater percolation studies related to these records continued to be made in pits and crevasses. Dissipation of subfreezing conditions that had penetrated the Taku in winter was checked from readings set by thermistors at depth in the 18.3-m borehole at Camp 10B. For the purpose of obtaining a vertical velocity profile of the glacier’s flow for comparison of previous data, alignment of the 75-m pipe at Camp 10B was resurveyed. Deformation of the pipe 61

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Figure 5.1. Using a pair of 30-m parachutes, drop of M29-C oversnow track Weasel to Taku Glacier from C-82 Flying Boxcar.

Figure 5.2. Parachuting equipment and supplies to the Research Station.

1951 Field Season

Figure 5.3. Research Station; left to right, Dick Zoerb, Bucky Wilson, and Bob Smith.

Figure 5.4. Field party recovering parachuted parapack at Camp 9B, Northwest Branch.

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was measured every 6 m by use of an azimuth-inclinometer; surface movement of the Taku on cross profiles was ascertained by theodolite survey from fixed points. Meteorological records kept daily at the Research Station for monitoring glacier regimen were supplemented by short-term records from other camps at widely scattered locations. A Campbell– Stokes sunshine recorder and Eppley 50-junction pyrheliometer served to measure radiation at the station. Altitude of the seasonal firn line reached 1160 m and was exceptionally high, contributing to an unusually negative hydrological budget, which amounted to –508 mm of water equivalent (Miller, 1971).

5.2.2. Nunatak Flora and Vegetation Plant collections made on nunataks included notes taken of various species regarding habitat selection and successional trends at Camp 16 (Lemon Creek Glacier), Camp 10 (Taku B), and Camp 15 (Northwest Branch) between altitudes of 1220–1525 m. Species typically pioneering moist rock flour were found to be rushes (Luzula parviflora subsp. parviflora, Juncus mertensianus), sedges (Carex pyrenaica subsp. micropoda, C. aenea), and saxifrages (Saxifraga ferruginea, S. punctata subsp. pacifica). Rush (Juncus drummondii) was also commonly present in meltwater drainage in association with avens (Geum calthifolium), fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium subsp. angustifolium, E. latifolium, E. anagallidifolium), and sweet coltsfoot (Petasites hyperboreus). Relatively xeric ground and desiccated rock exposures contained moss campion (Silene acaulis subsp. acaulis), roseroot (Sedum rosea subsp. integrifolium), cinquefoil (Potentilla hyparctica subsp. nana), and wormwood (Artemisia arctica subsp. arctica). Heath prevailed in advanced stages of succession in which Cassiope mertensiana was most consistently present. Community makeup was commonly supplemented by additional heath species, Phyllodoce aleutica subsp. glanduliflora, Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum, Cassiope stelleriana, C. lycopodioides, Vaccinium uliginosum subsp. alpinum, and Loiseleuria procumbens. Club moss (Lycopodium selago subsp. appressum, L. alpinum, and L. clavatum subsp. clavatum), holy grass (Hierochlë alpina), and sibbaldia (Sibbaldia procumbens) most often represented a nonheath component. Soils in heath, rich in organic material and indicative of long stable plant cover, usually attained a thickness of 10–12 cm. Of particular significance was a heath community occupying an area of approximately 100 m2 located at 1372 m on a south-facing exposure of Taku B (Fig. 5.5). As many as 45 different vascular plants were identified in the community. The high species diversity in the flora plus the highly weathered soil suggested a relict of vegetation in existence prior to the Little Ice Age. The site illustrated a plant refugium that had persisted when snow lines lowered during times of glacier advance. Later, with retreat of the snowline, the site acted as a center for seed dispersal and colonization.

5.2.3. Paleoecology of Southeastern Alaska For a broad coverage of Late Quaternary vegetation and climate of North Pacific America with special reference to the Juneau Icefield, additional cores of muskegs were taken in 1951 in the vicinity of Juneau and at sites elsewhere in southeastern Alaska (see Heusser, 1952a). The work, originally lacking a radiocarbon chronology and including study of stratigraphic sections from Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Sitka, resulted in a thesis submitted to Oregon State College (Heusser, 1952b). Pollen and spore stratigraphy, later supplemented by chronological control (Heusser, 1960a), revealed an overall pattern similar to the model drawn for the Juneau area. Climatic trends and differential rebound of the crust lead sequentially to muskeg formation. On deglaciation, communities of lodgepole pine, alder, and ferns occupied ground above or close to the limit of marine transgression.

1951 Field Season

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Figure 5.5. Relict Arctic-Alpine Tundra community on southwest slope above the Research Station on Taku B.

During the Early Holocene, communities were replaced by Sitka spruce and, in turn, dominated by western hemlock. The sequence of spruce to hemlock, initially lacking basal pine, manifested itself in accordance with the retreat of tidewater. Sites at lower altitudes were dominated at first by spruce and afterward mostly by western hemlock. Late Holocene spread of muskeg at the expense of forest proved partial to pine. In the absence of competition, pine adapted to growth on muskeg was found to increase at upper levels in the cores. Heaths and sphagnum moss in the records proliferated under an increased rate of peat deposition. The presence of marine fossils at altitudes well above tide level today substantiates uplift of land surfaces coupled with marine regression (Buddington, 1927; Buddington and Chapin, 1929).

5.3. Journal Entries West Coast Airlines was the carrier from Corvallis; from Seattle to Alaska, travel was by PAA via Annette Island, after which Ellis Airlines made stops for sampling muskegs at nearby Ketchikan and days later at Wrangell and Petersburg. This itinerary expanded the pollen-stratigraphic data base beyond Juneau to other parts of southeastern Alaska. Alaska Coastal Airlines ultimately completed the Petersburg–Juneau leg and also scheduled a flight from Juneau to Sitka a week later. Weeks spent on the icefield lasted from mid-July until the latter part of August. Familiarity was gained of both the Southwest and Northwest Branches, while the Northeast Branch was again traveled. Traverses on skis amounted to some 120 km. Corvallis–Seattle. July 14: Eleven o’clock in Seattle writing this in anticipation of being up at 6 am for PAA departure at 8 am. Flight from Corvallis on West Coast Airlines stopping at Portland and Chehalis-Centralia. Seattle–Ketchikan. July 15: George’s Café for boiled egg and coffee. Limousine from Olympic Hotel to Boeing Field at seven, checking in with 18 kg excess at PAA. Picked up Ellis Airlines from Annette to Ketchikan. Gilmore Hotel and about town on a quiet Sunday afternoon. At the steamship dock, watching the late sun near midnight descend into twilight. Ketchikan. July 16: After a month of no rain in Ketchikan, field day began on misty morning in heavy downpour. First to the Forest Service at the Federal Building. After group meeting with Archbold, Hodgman, and Hadyman, taken to motor pool to meet “Red” Ball,

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who assisted in coring muskegs at Ward Creek and Point Higgins. Wet and cold working. Ball to town for hot coffee. On return to the hotel, cleared pretty much by four. Planes landing and taking off at the waterfront. Boat whistles. Ketchikan–Wrangell. July 17: Clear blue and sunny day on Ellis Airlines. Water choppy in Tongass Narrows on takeoff. Wrangell Hotel in a town that once saw better days. Cored muskegs out of town for 4 h, just beating the rain. Cleaned up back at the hotel. Lobby a refuge for a share of characters. Petersburg. July 18: Breakfast at Cassiar Café, as steamship arrived. Raining and really socked in. Low flying on Ellis Airlines over Stikine Flats to Petersburg. Checked in Arctic Hotel. Pastime Café for lunch. Gordon Armstrong and “Andy” Anderson at U.S. Forest Service. With Armstrong, coring muskegs between 6.3 and 9.5 km on Mitkof Highway. Dinner with Anderson and family. Midnight back at the hotel. Juneau. July 19: Flight at 3:30 pm on Alaska Coastal, flying low over the water, crossing Kupreanof Island. Juneau really socked in. Met Mal Miller and later to the Bubble Room at the Baranof Hotel, meeting our old C-47 pilot, Captain Victor Rudd, as well as Captain Randy Downes, dropmaster, and Major George Basel, pilot, of C-82. Aerial delivery of two oversnow Weasels by C-82 was planned. Later, dinner together. Good conversation and fellowship. Midnight again. July 20: Breakfast with Miller at Mug Up. Federal Building and Forest Service to talk with Alva Blackerby. Chores about town. Supper back at the Mug Up with Miller, discussing scientific results of JIRP so far and topics of mutual interest (Lewis’s icefall rotational slippage). July 21: Cored muskeg on Gastineau Channel (Sunny Point formerly studied by George Rigg), transportation out and back kindly offered by Blackerby and Armstrong. Back to Hotel Juneau for lunch. Schmieder and Webb, both meteorologists, arrived on loan from the Air Force. July 22: Percy’s for breakfast and lunch. Organizing samples and gear at the USFS warehouse. Later at the Elks Club, bowling with Downes and Basel. Invited to dinner for a delightful evening at Joe Alexander’s house with his wife, Ed Keithahn and his wife, and Lynn Forrester, who designed Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood (as well as Camp 10 hut). July 23: Geared up with rain pants and parka. Transportation courtesy of the Forest Service, reconnoitered and collected at sites along road to Eagle Glacier area bordering Lynn Canal. Pressed plants. July 24: Today another day but a special kind of “another day.” A day for sheer excitement long to be remembered: the paradrop from the C-82, now seemingly a distant echo out of the past. Two Weasels, each weighing over 2250 kg and requiring two 30-m parachutes apiece, were flown to the icefield on two separate flights. The first up the Mendenhall about 3 pm, taking off in clear air and bright sunlight under a jeweled blue sky. Over Camp 10B, the upper Taku was another world. When bell rang to signal drop, Weasel attached to a wooden pallet, simply slid out on the conveyor belt and was gone. Downglacier wind made arresting the drop difficult for the ground party, as the pallet acted as a sled. Not until the billowing parachutes were collapsed was the Weasel safely on the glacier. Back at the airport by 4:30 pm, reloaded, and by 6 pm again flying up the Mendenhall. Made a drop at Camp 10B, followed by another at Camp 8. Return down the Taku and via Gastineau Channel. Back in Juneau, supper at the Baranof with drinks beforehand in the Bubble Room. At the Hotel Juneau, tired, but captured by the sheer excitement of the drop. Still feeling the wind and vibration of the C-82, as we hung on in our parachutes looking out the rear opening of the aircraft. Bed at 1:30 am.

1951 Field Season

July 25: At the Baranof for lunch and to the Kiwanis Club afterward. Miller showed a JIRP film. Later, a little local reconnaissance, taking a 6.3-km jaunt up Gold Creek to the Perseverance Mine. July 26: With USFS transportation, out along Lynn Canal sampling muskegs. Pressed plants. Sitka. July 27: Alaska Coastal at 9 am, arriving at 10 am in Sitka. At floatdock, Johnny Kling, game warden, offered transportation in the field. In return for his help in sampling two sites, invited him for lunch. Russian Church, Pioneer’s home, and view of Mt. Edgecumbe. Flight back to Juneau at 4 pm. Good flights both ways. Sacked out at eight, early for a change, tired. Slept 12 h. Lemon Creek Glacier–Camp 10. July 28: After breakfast at Percy’s, talked with Miller and decided would go to the Taku via Camp 16 above Lemon Creek Glacier with Webb and Schmieder. Plan was to leave Schmieder at 16 for met obs, after which with Webb would go on to Camps 14 and 10. With trail tent from the warehouse, packed up, and went out Glacier Highway to beginning of trail up Salmon Creek to the dam. Trail at first a wooden catwalk to where higher up a narrow-gauge railway begins and continues upvalley. Crossed the dam and some distance beyond began climbing upslope through salmonberry and dense elder, Devils Club, and alder. At about seven, after four and a half hours, decided to pitch the tent and stay the night. Campfire of wood from outwash gravel. Supper of C-rations. Sack at ten. July 29: Up at eight. Hands sore from scratches, thorns, and prickles, feet from blisters. Broke camp, climbed up rock slide, traversed, and went on through rich meadow of grass and sedge. Marmots whistling. Finally into a draw with old dirty snow, the main route upward into low open heath. Alpine tundra in flower, colors beyond description. Noted monkshood, saxifrage, and prostrate willow. Reached a point where able to look down and across to Lemon Creek valley. Cairn Ridge and over Cairn Peak at 1394 m fronting Lemon Creek Glacier. Checked location of Camp 16 on aerial photos, took an azimuth, glissaded and crossed the upper Lemon. A long traverse up snow slope, reconnoitered, but no Camp 16. Checking photos again, Camp 16 still about 4.8 km distant. After a poisonous cup of coffee at 7 o’clock, back down to the Lemon ice, roped up, and reached rock location of 16 at 10:30 pm. Day fast fading. From atop, airport beacon and lights on Glacier Highway. Set up tent, crawled in, and feasted on food from the cache. Sacked out exhausted. Midnight. July 30: Zero visibility. Adjusted skis and readied gear to leave for the Taku in the morning. Schmieder and Webb asleep, the Coleman purring and sputtering. Reading Mitchener’s “Tales of the South Pacific.” July 31: My God, slept 10 h! Rain during the night. By morning foggy in patches. Botanized the slope below 16. By 4 pm, cold and windy. Needed to improvise a fly to cover tent entrance from the wind. August 1: Again another long sleep of 12 h. Still pretty much socked in. Split Thumb nearby came out for the first time in days. Ken Loken flew over, dropping mail. Again too dangerous to travel in fog, barely seeing nunataks, especially through fields of crevasses. August 2: No go again today. Weather unsettled, windy, and 4.5∞C out. At 10:30 pm, in the sack after writing up notes. Webb says it is socking in again. August 3: With red glow of early dawn on the tent roof at 5 am, realized this was the day for moving on to Camp 14. At 9 am, left Schmieder, skiing with Webb over the height of snow divide behind camp and down through crevasse field onto the arm that for some distance to the north and west feeds Norris Glacier. An impressive look at Split Thumb. Surmounted the col leading to the Northwest Branch. At this point, good views in alpine glow down the Taku and across to Devils Paw. Descending, passed spurs of two nunataks, gendarmes

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grotesquely in color and shadow. Pulled up at Camp 14 in hovering darkness. Supper of beef, corn, and potatoes, preceded by grapefruit and orange sections. Clear and cold. In the night, a tremendous avalanche sounded to the north. August 4: Consolidated cache. At 10:30 am en route to Camp 10, poor visibility in morning fog. Skiing down from Camp 14, slope was badly crevassed. Terribly hard to see in the blaze of scattered light. Reached vicinity of Juncture Peak, stopping for sardines, crackers, and hot cocoa. At meeting of the main Taku, surface swarmed with moulins, icy water below, some 5 m deep. Still hard to see in the whiteout. Going among moulins was tedious but ultimately felt great relief when this sector was finally behind us. Fired with energy on reaching the Taku, took a bearing in the fog and began the trek across to Camp 10. Fog momentarily lifted giving us a shot at the dirt bands at Taku B. Reached Camp 10B and got Fred Milan on the radio, whereupon Weasel arrived and took us in style to the base of the slope at the hut. Party of Bucky Wilson, Fred Small, Fred Milan, Fred Golomb, Dick Zoerb, and Bob Smith. Much enjoyed good supper of ham, peas, and potatoes, followed by coffee topped with bourbon. Back in the garret tonight. Taku Glacier. August 5: With gear organized, departed for relict plant community above the hut on south side of Taku B. Crossed snow and ice patches with a tense moment, close to getting hung up, surmounting rock below the community. Estimated 40 species. Collected. C-47 came in, circled twice and went out without landing. Pressed plants. August 6: Most of the day reading and taking notes. Read Abbe’s paper on Labrador refugium. With Wilson, backpacked 5-in-1s and gas to tent from drop on back slope. Fred Golomb, our medic, gave a physical. August 7: Milan and Golomb to Juneau, taken part of the way across the Taku by Weasel. After lunch with Webb over to location of shrubby spruce on Taku B and reviewed succession. Back to the hut for supper and pressing plants. Fog very thick at the door of the hut. Storm expected tomorrow. August 8: Further review of succession from Luzula to Cassiope on southeast slope of Taku B. Later with Webb, following Weasel tracks, skied out to 10B in fog and talked with Zoerb. Exploration Peak beginning to come out under blue sky. Back at the hut with Wilson, Small, and Smith. Now Taku B clear. Looks like C-47 will be in tomorrow. Plan is for party to be airlifted to study Forbes bands below the icefall at Camp 15. August 9: One of the most beautiful days in memory on the icefield. After breakfast, sat in the rocks away from the wind outside the hut. Thrilled by all to be seen, surveyed the expanse of snow and ice broken by nunataks. Clearly on the Taku were broad waves, marked a third of the way out by tracks from the Weasel. Firn line close to Taku A. Split Thumb far off. Pass to the Northeast Branch with long stringy clouds. Taku A and Hodgkins Mtn. clear, snow and meltwater streams shining in the sunlight. With Wilson, climbed north side of Taku B. Skied back to hut and cooked spaghetti dinner. August 10: Just before noon C-47 flew up the Taku, bringing in Miller, Dunc McCollester, and drums of gas. With Miller, Milan, Schuster, and Zoerb to Juneau before going to Camp 15 to check on annual formation of bands below the icefall using pollen. Short-lived civilization contrast at Hotel Baranof, Red Dog Saloon, and Pomeray Club. August 11: Mug Up and out to the airport. Hung around while one of the engines on C-47 was being worked on. Met General Olds of WWII fame with his converted B-17 parked nearby on the tarmac. At 3:30 pm, piloted by Col. Walton and Lt. Marsh, C-47 with Wilson, Schuster, and Zoerb to Camp 15 in northwestern sector of the icefield. Long trip on skis from landing site to 15, in all about 3 km during rest of the day, transporting gear to rock camp. Moon now south in oncoming darkness. Shooting stars in Cassiopeia. Beneath the aurora, streaming up the sky in bright dancing light, we slept.

1951 Field Season

August 12: Morning backpacking supplies from the cache of yesterday up to 15. Magnificent day, all with good-sized loads. One load, a back-breaker, of 18 l of gas and a box of 5-in-1s. At 1:30 pm, began climb down with heavy loads to the bands below the icefall. Glissaded at the start, then traversed on crampons, roping up on steep pitches. On some rotten ice, a huge slab broke loose, the ice ablating during the warmest part of the day. Later took a fall, but fortunately was able to make an arrest; earlier, Bucky Wilson broke through a snow bridge and sprained his thumb. Because of marginal conditions, climbed back to camp leaving equipment in a recess in the rocks, pending a second opportunity, conditions permitting, tomorrow. Collected about camp and pressed plants. Wisps of cloud now at the end of the day scudding among the peaks. August 13: Fog in with limited visibility. A terrific crash resounding from the icefall. Reconnoitering for plants, noted Silene acaulis, Saxifraga bronchialis, Artemisia arctica, and Campanula lasiocarpa, all in flower. Classic U-shaped valley to the north no longer with much ice feeding the main stream. Rain came in, wind whipping fiercely from the south. Tried reading Mailer’s “Naked and the Dead” but fell asleep to the fury outside the tent. August 14: By morning in fog; wind and rain had abated. Most of the day in the tent. Bull session till midnight. August 15: Had planned for Milan to come at 4 pm in the Weasel but fog and wind were prohibitive. Wind picked up early in the morning, blowing a gale all day. Cold last night but warm sleeping in double bag. Eventually cleared enough to see Camp 10. Peaks come and go in the fog. With Wilson taking readings on movement stakes above icefall. Later, downslope to retrieve gas, stove, pails, and beakers left two days ago. Cloudy but no rain. August 16: Out of the tent flap at 7:30 am, seeing Exploration Peak and Camp 10 in the distance, looked good for departure. By 10 am, however, with low scud and fog blanketing the route, began to snow. Decided to wait but snowed all day and quit only at five. So back inside the tent, started reading “Of Human Bondage” by Maugham. Sitting on a paratarp, listening to the familiar purr of the Coleman lantern, skis for tent poles, inner apron of tent with hooks and cords, 5-in-1s about, slings, ice axes, full pack ready to travel. Will remember the time spent here. August 17: A picturesque morning. Fog burning off, peaks phantom-like, while some blue sky worked its way over the glacier. Night before, peaks to the north looked ominous, ghostly, portending conditions of the morning. Time will not erase the memory of this day, when at 8:30 am with Zoerb decided to leave for Camp 10. Wilson and Schuster would stay behind in anticipation of Milan coming with the Weasel. Wished Wilson the best on his going to the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Left at 10 in snow flurries and by the time we reached the C-47 cache, all was whiteout, fog and snow. Took a compass bearing of S 58∞ E, traveling blind in the fog, Zoerb behind, sighting with his Brunton, calling out “a little left,” then “OK,” then “15∞ right.” After a while, worked well together and could travel about 90 m without a correction. Weird pushing on as we did, over the horizonless snow with no point of focus. Only brown-flecked sun cups and an occasional ridge on the surface offered orientation. At 1 pm, stopped for lunch of 5-in-1 spaghetti and meatballs and hot cocoa. Pushed on with few crevasses but glacier leaden with fog. At times, lost and mesmerized by the endless fog, seemed to travel in a circle. Then, about 5 pm, ceiling began to lift, bringing out Taku C and Taku D in an evening clear-off. Reached Camp 10 to be greeted by Milan and McCollester after over 9 h down some 10 km of glacier. August 18: Reminiscing with McCollester and Milan at breakfast. With nostalgia, remembered field parties and personalities now gone that had been here at the hut to work on the Taku. Would be fun to have a rejoining of all who had come to the Taku, attracted by the ice, contributing in one way or other, building the hut, backpacking loads, and enjoying

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the fellowship, to set JIRP in order. But suddenly the thought was gone with the sound of Ken Loken’s red and yellow plane making drops on the back slope in about ten passes. Soon after, Milan and McCollester departed upglacier in the Weasel. With Zoerb in readiness for trek tomorrow to Camp 4, watched the sun setting in a golden ribbon in the northwest. Schedule called for Loken to pick us up at Twin Glacier Lake in two days. Spotted Weasel nearing Camp 15 where all will spend the night. Now for a last sleep at Camp 10. Taku–Camp 4–Twin Glacier Lake. August 19: With stratus hanging distantly over the Taku Towers, left for Camp 4 at 10:30 am carrying an Abercrombe trail tent, Aladdin stove, and C-rations for 2 days. In an emergency, counted on food in the cache at 4. A long pull over the Taku B–Vantage Peak ridge, among schrunds broad and deep, down adjoining quarried slope to below Taku A. Ice below on way to 4 was unlike anything seen on two previous trips. Crevasses were crossable only in places, which required traversing constantly, dragging our skis, to find locations to safely get across. At 5:30 pm, soaked in cold rain and risking hypothermia, thought it best to set up the tent as soon as we were safely free of crevasses. We had come only 2.5 km in 7 h. Took off wet clothes and crawled into our bags. After body warmth returned, heated franks and beans and some tea. Rested but found it difficult to sleep. With a leaking air mattress, sleeping on the snow was not only cold but wet from pools of water on the tent floor. August 20: At 4:30 am, as dawn came, ripped a hole in tent to look out. Saw that we were still in fog. It made no difference putting a hole in the tent fabric, as the tent leaked badly anyhow. Zoerb remarked that the cloth only strained and reoriented the drops that hit the tent. Dreaded the misery of getting back into our wet clothes but after a light breakfast, got the wet and heavy gear together and pushed on to Camp 4. Strange morning with clouds in subdued colors pouring up from the Twins; Organ Pipes mantled with shreds of fog. Fortunately, it was no longer raining. Back on skis, warmth from our bodies actually helped dry our clothes. After a bit, Zoerb experienced a bout of dizziness. But after resting and having something to eat, felt better. Bypassing Camp 4, decided to head directly for the pass but fog became thick and wind strong making reckoning poor. Lost in fog among schrunds, set up the tent and simply waited for fog to open up. It was now midday, and we had been out since 6:30 am. As Forbes bands of the West Twin became visible, regained our bearings, struck the tent, located the pass, and fast descended beneath the cloud deck to the heath below. A marmot appeared but did not whistle. Dropped through the alder, which thinned out lower down, confident we would meet Loken on the scheduled pickup at 6 pm. Rained hard. Became cold traveling on the ice of the West Twin and going through the last stretch of alder to the lake shore. At 5:30 pm, Loken, as planned, flew over, landed, taking us one at a time to Taku Lodge at first, then on to Juneau. At Spruce’s Store, telephone call for taxi to Hotel Juneau. Mrs. Gray, greeting us, arranged to dry our wet clothes in the utility room and for overnight downstairs, as the hotel was full. Later with Tony Thomas, off to the Baranof Coffee Shoppe but no longer serving dinners, so descended on the City Café. Now after ten, simply ate while we talked. Wound up for drinks at the Bubble Room, talked some more, enjoying the entertainment. At 12:30 am, bid Tony good night and good bye for the season with thanks for making our last night at the hotel and in Juneau most pleasant. Not wet and cold as it would have been on the shore of Twin Glacier Lake. Tony and Ken Loken are salt of the earth.

Chapter 6 1952 Field Season

6.1. Introduction The Research Station at Camp 10 was the locus for a variety of field activities (Gilkey, 1953). Center stage was the glaciology of the Taku, involving the ablation: accumulation ratio, surface movement, and snow studies with reference to the 1951–1952 hydrological budget. Closely coordinated was the collection of daily meteorological data. Geobotanical studies established surface level variations along trimlines of Taku Glacier in an effort to reconstruct and account for the ice front’s twentieth century advance. Further collections were made toward completion of the nunatak flora. The network of paleoecological sites in southeastern Alaska was extended along the Gulf of Alaska coast to Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula (see Fig. 2.10). Aerial support continued to be effectively handled by ski-wheel C-47 of the 10th Air Rescue Squadron. Widely scattered, Camps 5A, 8A, 8B, 9B, 14, 15, and 16 (Fig. 2.1) were supplied by parachute. An SA-16 Grumman Albatross triphibian, capable of performing takeoff and landing from the Taku snow on its hull, flew a number of missions (Fig. 6.1). On occasion, personnel arrived or departed aboard the aircraft. Early in June, parties attempting to reach the upper Taku by following the route via Lemon Creek Glacier and the Southwest Branch had been turned back twice because of snowstorms and unfavorable surface conditions. First weeks in Juneau were spent purchasing food, gasoline, and various items of equipment. There was need to make certain to have on hand back-up parts to cover breakdown and emergencies. Parapacks containing rations for 42 man-days were assembled for aerial delivery to the camp network (Fig. 6.2). Sleds for hauling, improvised by using corrugated aluminum siding, proved to be not only light but also durable and relatively inexpensive to fabricate (Fig. 6.3). Travel by Weasel (Fig. 6.4) was resorted to with great advantage, thereby shortening time to reach destinations and offering longer periods for observation and research at remote camps. Of the two Weasels paradropped the previous year, only one could be located by probing and was dug out from beneath 4.6 m of snow. It was used to reach destinations on Taku Glacier between the terminal area at an altitude of 610 m and the height of drainage at 1830 m, a distance of about 21 km. A party of 13 continued previous lines of investigation between late May and early September: Field leader was A.K. Gilkey.

6.2. Research 6.2.1. Regimen of Taku Glacier An intensive study of the physical characteristics of the 1951–1952 snow layer in its metamorphosis to firn was made during the period lasting from 27 May until 23 August (LaChapelle, 1954). It encompassed the beginning and most of the remaining part of the ablation season. Data were gathered by means of time profiles from pits at altitudes between about 1090 and 1803 m (Fig. 6.5). The profiles, constructed from repeated stratigraphic measurements at pit sites, registered alteration in

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Figure 6.1. Unloading supplies from SA-16 Albatross triphibian on Taku Glacier.

Figure 6.2. John Howe preparing 42-man-day rations in parapacks at the Subport in Juneau.

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Figure 6.3. Ed LaChapelle hauling fabricated sledge of corrugated aluminum on a traverse of the upper Taku.

the snow layer in the course of ablation. Parameters recorded in the pit stratigraphy were density, hardness, grain size and type, ice bands, and ablation. Procedures and instruments used for the study followed the practice of the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. Samples of known volume were taken from pit walls through use of a density corer. For hardness, two instruments were employed, a cone hardness gauge in the pit work and a ram penetrometer in evaluations made directly downward from the snow surface. The gauge consisted of a spring-driven shaft with cone tip, allowing use over a range of snow types through adjustment of tension on its spring. The ram penetrometer measured the penetration of a tube with conical point on repeated impact of a falling weight. Values of hardness were expressed in kilograms. Grain size was scaled at <0.5 mm, very fine; 0.5–1.0 mm, fine; 1.0–2.0 mm, medium; 2.0–4.0 mm, coarse; and >4.0 mm, very coarse. The physical condition of the grains was studied through use of an improvised snow camera. For ablation, selection of the type of stake was given careful consideration. To overcome the formation of ablation craters about the stakes, which made measurements difficult and uncertain, it was

Figure 6.4. Weasel camp set up on the Lower Taku in the course of snow studies.

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Figure 6.5. Snow pit study site, Camp 9B, Northwest Branch.

concluded that unpainted 4.8-mm wooden dowels were most ideal. Spliced together for a total length of about 3 m, the stakes were implanted in holes cored in the snow. Studies revealed that among the pit data, density, ram resistance, snow grain size and condition, and ice structures showed considerable overall uniformity. Density from 15 pits dug in the 1952 snow cover averaged 0.51 g cm-3. There was little departure from this value, except for a customary low-density horizon directly above the 1951 firn layer. The horizon, displaying a degree of regenerative metamorphosis, was accorded particular attention, as was the consistent increase of density and ram resistance where snow changed to firn at depth. These features of the snow cover and firn were found to be useful markers of the annual increment interface in budget studies. For 1951–1952, net accumulation of snow and water equivalent followed an altitudinal trend (Table 6.1). Movement on cross profiles of the Taku and its branches was gathered from stakes surveyed early and late in the summer (Fig. 6.6). The seasonal firn line stood at 976 m, 183 m lower than in 1951, indicating a net accumulation in the hydrological budget for 1951–1952 of 635 mm of water equivalent (Miller, 1971).

6.2.2. Geobotanical Studies on the Taku Glacier Anomaly Trimlines above margins of the ice surface marked the lateral extent of Taku Glacier. Geomorphic and botanical evidence collected in the course of reconnaissance mapping revealed recent changes with reference to trimlines and the present-day ice level (Heusser et al., 1954). Levels and amounts of change were recorded through use of an aneroid altimeter with sites marked on

Table 6.1. Trend of net accumulation (snow and water equivalent) with altitude on Taku Glacier (after LaChapelle, 1954). Pits

Altitude (m)

Snow (cm)

Water (cm)

A B C G H

1090 1088 1460 1412 1803

116 132 205 218 418

57.5 68.5 109.0 112.5 218.0

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Figure 6.6. Survey party, John Howe and George Argus, lower Northeast Branch.

aerial photographs. Observations were made at twelve locations on the east and west sides of the glacier between altitudes of 617 and 1348 m. Geomorphic features used to position the level of the trimlines included differential weathering of bedrock, topographic breaks, and freshness of glacial friction cracks, striations, grooves, and polish (Fig. 6.7). Trimlines at lower altitudes were coincident with lateral moraines. Mafic (ferromagnesian) minerals in granodiorite showed deterioration above the trimline and absence of weathering below. Soils above the trimline, on the whole highly organic, were in places as much as 0.5 m in depth, whereas below on newly exposed unconsolidated rocky debris, shallow mineral-rich soils prevailed. Plant communities made up principally by a dense ground cover of heath were in evidence above the level reached by the ice (Fig. 6.8). Characteristic species included Cassiope mertensiana,

Figure 6.7. Bob Schuster and Art Gilkey examining unweathered bedrock, grooved and denuded, below trimline on Taku B. Exploration Peak in the distance.

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Figure 6.8. Stabilized Arctic-Alpine Tundra community above trimline on Taku B.

C. stelleriana, Phyllodoce aleutica subsp. glanduliflora, Loiseleuria procumbens, Vaccinium uliginosum, and Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum in association with club mosses, Lycopodium selago subsp. appresum and L. alpinum. Below the trimline on deglaciated surfaces, plant cover of relatively few invading seed plants was minimal. Of note were Luzula parviflora subsp. parviflora, Carex pyrenaica, and Juncus drummondii (Fig. 6.9). At certain localities, as many as twenty vascular plants were identified above the trimline and only a few below. Altitudinal differences between trimlines and the existing glacier surface along margins of the ice were found to be much greater at stations upglacier than in the terminal area (Fig. 6.10). Differences measured as much as 206 m upglacier at 1348 m in altitude, the glacier downwasting at its edge (Fig. 3.8) and becoming concave in cross section; downglacier, with the ice marginally convex in a state of advance, amounts were as little as 30 m. As noted by Field (1954), 2.1 km of advance and lobate thickening of the Taku terminus were in progress since early in the twentieth century.

Figure 6.9. Rush (Luzula parviflora) colonizing denuded ground, Taku B.

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m I

II

III IV V

VI VII VIII IX

X

XI XII

XIII

XIV

1525

EAST PROFILES Late-postglacial surface 1952 surface

Sea level I

IV1

III1

II

V1

1525

WEST PROFILES Late-postglacial surface 1952 surface

0 Sea level

10 km GEOGR. REVIEW, APRIL 1954

Figure 6.10. Altitudinal profiles of Late Holocene and 1952 surfaces at margins of Taku Glacier. From Heusser et al. (1954).

This latest advance, identified as a kinematic wave, was attributed to successive years with strongly positive hydrological budgets. The connection between trimlines upglacier and trimlines dated in the terminal area by Lawrence (1950a), where ancient and first-generation forests were in contact, implied contemporaneous formation dating to the late eighteenth century. The date was consistent with times of advance of other glaciers emanating from the icefield during the Little Ice Age. From ages of trees in ancient forest, the conclusion was reached that the Taku had not advanced beyond its eighteenth century limit for at least six centuries. Net downwasting observed on nunataks upglacier apparently occurred in the order of two centuries or less. To what extent the twentieth century thickening of the Taku encroached on the eighteenth century trimline was not ascertained but took place within its limits.

6.2.3. Nunatak Flora Arctic-alpine plants found growing on nunataks were first collected by L. Chamberlain in the area at the head of the Twin Glaciers during reconnaissance in 1948 (Miller, 1949a). Both the plants and their disposition, unfortunately, are not at hand. A collection made in 1949 by R.T. Ward, consisting of 44 vascular plants from nine nunataks along the main flow of Taku Glacier, was the subject of a thesis at the University of Minnesota (Ward, 1951). Collections from 1950, supplemented by numbers encountered in 1951 and 1952, were from 30 localities on sixteen nunataks at altitudes between 1070 and 2100 m (Heusser, 1954c). Represented were 173 distinctive taxonomic entities constituted by 42 lichens, 29 bryophytes, and 102 vascular plants. Identifications in the field were initially made with the use of Anderson (1943–1947, 1949, 1950) and later in the herbarium using

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Hultén (1941–1950). Collections are held in herbaria at the University of Minnesota (Ward, 1951) and at Oregon State University (Heusser, 1954c). Plant communities, consisting primarily of heath, were found on south-facing slopes with favorably developed soils at altitudes between 1065 and 1525 m. In advanced stages of stability, vascular plant cover, thickly mat-like and locally distributed, consisted of Cassiope mertensiana, C. stelleriana, Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum, Phyllodoce aleutica subsp. glanduliflora, Vaccinium uliginosum subsp. alpinum, and Lycopodium alpinum. Communities that followed drainage from melting snow contained Juncus drummondii, Epilobium anagallidifolium, Leptarrhena pyrolifolia, Veronica wormskioldii, and Petasites hyperborea. Of some frequency, invading moist ground in proximity to drainage from melting snow, were Carex pyrenaica, C. aenea, Juncus mertensianus, Luzula parviflora, Saxifraga ferruginea, S. punctata subsp. pacifica, Geum calthifolium, and Epilobium latifolium. At 1525 m, soils were limited with mats formed by heath much restricted. Vascular species, sparse at higher altitudes, included Hierochloë alpina, Potentilla emarginata subsp. nana, and Artemisia arctica. Saxifraga rivularis occasionally was encountered growing from 1500 to 2100 m. Of plants in the flora, the lichen Bacidia flavovirescens, distantly distributed and occurring in the Juneau Icefield as an outlier, was of special interest. Lichens (J.W. Thomson, University of Wisconsin) Alectoria ochroleuca (Ehrh.) Nyl. 1525–2100 m. A. pubescens (L.) Howe. 1495–2100 m. Bacidia flavovirescens (Dicks.) Anzi. According to Thomson, the only other reports regarding this species are from the White Mountains, New Hampshire and Greenland, 1525 m. Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach. 1370–1770 m. C. nigricans (Retz.) Nyl. 1800 m. C. nivalis (L.) Ach. Widely distributed, 1525–1800 m. Cladonia amaurocraea (Flk.) Schaer. 1370 m. C. bellidiflora (Ach.) Schaer. 1200–1525 m. C. carneola (Fr.) Vainio. 1160 m. C. chlorophaea (Flk.) Spreng. 1370 m. C. coccifera (L.) Willd. Widely distributed, 1200–1585 m. C. cornuta (L.) Schaer. 1585 m. C. deformis Hoffm. 1200–1525 m. C. ecmocyna (Ach.) Nyl. 1370–1525 m. C. gracilis (L.) Willd. 1525 m. C. gracilis (L.) Willd. f. aspera Flk. 1160 m. C. gracilis (L.) Willd. var. chordalis (Flk.) Schaer. 1500–1800 m. C. gracilis (L.) Willd. var. dilatata (Hoffm.) Vainio. f. anthocephala Flk. 1160 m. C. lepidota Nyl. 1525–1770 m. C. macrophyllodes Nyl. 1160–1370 m. C. mitis Sandst. 1200–1525 m. C. rangiferina (L.) Web. 1525 m. C. verticillata (Hoffm.) Schaer. f. evoluta (T. Fr.) Stein. 1200 m. Crocynia neglecta (Nyl.) Hue. 1525 m. Lecanora dispersa (Ach.) Rohl. 2100 m. L. gelida (L.) Ach. 1190 m. Ochrolechia frigida (Sw.) Lynge. 1525 m. Parmelia alpicola T. Fr. 1585 m.

1952 Field Season

P. centrifuga (L.) Ach. 1525 m. Rhizocarpon disporum (Naeg.) Mull. Arg. 1500–2100 m. Solorina crocea (L.) Ach. Widely distributed, 1150–1800 m. Sphaerophorus fragilis (L.) Pers. 1525 m. Stereocaulon albicans T. Fr. 1770 m. S. botryosum Ach. em. Lamb. f. dissolutum (Magn.) Frey. 2100 m. S. coralloides Fr. 1525 m. S. paschale (L.) Hoffm. Widely distributed, 1160–1585 m. S. paschale (L.) Hoffm. var. alpinum (Laur.) Mudd. 1500 m. Thamnolia vermicularis (Swartz) Schaer. Widely distributed, 1200–2100 m. Umbilicaria arctica (Ach.) Nyl. 1200–2100 m. U. hyperborea (L.) Schrad. 1375 m. U. proboscidea (L.) Schrad. 1770 m. Mosses (E.T. Moul, Rutgers University) Andraea rupestris Hedw. 1770 m. Arctoa falcata (Hedw.) Grout. 1525 m. A. fulvella (Dicks.) Bry. Eur. Widely distributed, 1130–1585 m. A. starkei (Web. & Mohr.) Found over greatest altitudinal range, 1200–1800 m. Bartramia ithyphylla Brid. 1375 m. Brachythecium salebrosum (Web. & Mohr.) Bry. Eur. Widely distributed, 1160–1585 m. Bryum cuspidatum (Bry. Eur.) Schimp. 1160 m. Callierganella schreberi (Bry. Eur.) Grout. 1500 m. Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. 1160 m. Conostomum boreale Sw. 1160–1525 m. Dicranoweisia crispula (Hedw.) Lindb. 1200–1525 m. Ditrichum flexicaule (Schw.) Hampe. Widely distributed, early stage in succession, 1160–1800 m. Oligotrichum hercynicum (Hedw.) Lam. & DeCand. 1675 m. Paraleucobryum enerve (Thed.) Loeske. 1585 m. Pogonatum alpinum (Hedw.) Rohl. 1200–1525 m. Pohlia atropurpurea (Wahlenb.) H. Lindb. 1585 m. P. proligera Lindb. 1130–1525 m. Polytrichum juniperinum Hedw. 1130–1525 m. P. juniperinum Hedw. var. alpestre Bry. Eur. 1525 m. P. norwegicum Hedw. 1200–1585 m. P. piliferum Hedw. Most widely distributed bryophyte, early stage in succession, 1160–1675 m. Pseudoleskea oligoclada Lindb. 1160 m. Rhacomitrium aciculare Brid. 1130–1200 m. R. brevipes Lindb. 1130 m. R. canescens Brid. Widely distributed, 1200–1800 m. R. heterostichum (Hedw.) Brid. var. sudeticum (Funck) Jones. 1200–1800 m. R. lanuginosum (Hedw.) Brid. Desiccated sites, 1525–2100 m. R. varium (Mitt.) L. & J. 1130–1160 m. Marchantia polymorpha L. 1160 m.

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Vascular Plants (C.J. Heusser, The American Geographical Society) Pteridophytes Equisetaceae Equisetum variegatum Schleich. Moist heath, 1220 m. Lycopodiaceae Lycopodium selago L. subsp. appressum (Desv.) Hult. Heath mats, 1220–1650 m. L. clavatum L. subsp. clavatum Hult. Moist heath, 1300 m. L. alpinum L. Common in heath mats, 1070–1650 m. Polypodiaceae Cryptogramma crispa (L.) R. Br. var. acrostichoides (R. Br.) Clarke. Rock flour, recesses in outcrops of bedrock, 1070–1650 m. Athyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth. subsp. cyclosorum (Rupr.) C. Chr. Recessed in outcrops, 1130–1650 m. Cystopteris fragilis (L.) Bernh. subsp. fragilis Hult. Recesses in rock outcrops, 1130 m. Polystichum lonchitis (L.) Roth. Rock recesses, talus, 1070–1370 m. Dryopteris dilitata (Hoffm.) Gray subsp. americana (Fisch.) Hult. Rock recesses, talus, 1160–1465 m. D. fragrans (L.) Schott. Listed by Ward (1951), 1370–1465 m. Spermatophytes Pinaceae Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr. Decumbent individuals on four widely separated nunataks, 1070–1190 m. Gramineae Hierochloë alpina (Sw.) Roem. & Schult. Widely distributed in heath mats on desiccated ridges, 1220–1650 m. Podagrostis thurberiana (Hitch.) Hult. 1070 m. Agrostis borealis Hartm. 1130–1650 m. Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. subsp. langsdorffii (Link) Hult. 1070–1300 m. Vahlodea atropurpurea (Wahlenb.) Fr. subsp. paramushirensis (Kudo) Hult. 1070 m. Trisetum spicatum (L.) Richt. subsp. alaskanum (Nash) Hult. Widely distributed, 1070–1800 m. Poa arctica R. Br. subsp. longiculmis Hult. 1370–1800 m. P. glauca M. Vahl. 1370–1650 m. P. leptocoma Trin. 1130–1650 m. Festuca brachyphylla Schult. Widely distributed, relatively dry exposures, 1130–1650 m. Cyperaceae Trichophorum caespitosum (L.) Hart. Moist mats, 1190 m. Carex nardina E. Fries. 1130–1525 m. C. scirpoidea Michx. 1220 m. C. anthoxanthea Presl. 1280–1650 m. C. pyrenaica Wahlenb. Early stage in succession, widely distributed on rock flour, 1130–1650 m. C. pyrenaica Wahlenb. subsp. micropoda (C.A. Mey.) Hult. 1525–1650 m. C. nigricans C.A. Mey. 1160–1250 m.

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C. praticola Rydb. Listed by Ward (1951), 1100 m. C. aenea Fern. Early stage in succession, widely distributed, 1130–1525 m. C. lachenalii Schkuhr. 1220–1525 m. C. pribylovensis Mac. Listed by Ward (1951), 1100 m. C. spectabilis Dew. 1220–1500 m. Juncaceae Juncus drummondii E. Mey. Common along meltwater drainage, 1070–1370 m. J. mertensianus Bong. Early stage in succession on moist rock flour, 1065–1370 m. Luzula wahlenbergii Rupr. subsp. piperi (Cov.) Hult. Desiccated exposures, 1160–1525 m. L. parviflora (Ehrh.) Desv. subsp. parviflora Hult. Early stage in succession on moist rock flour, 1065–1525 m. L. arcuata (Wahlenb.) Sw. subsp. unalaschcensis (Buchenau) Hult. 1500–1800 m. L. spicata (L.) DC. 1160–1525 m. Salicaceae Salix reticulata L. 1220–1525 m. S. polaris Wahlenb. subsp. pseudopolaris (Flod.) Hult. 1650 m. S. arctica Pall. subsp. crassijulis (Traut.) Skvortz. 1525 m. S. arctica Pall. subsp. torulosa (Traut.) Hult. 1220 m. S. stolonifera Cov. Widely distributed, 1220–1700 m. S. glauca L. subsp. desertorum (Richards.) Anderss. 1525 m. Polygonaceae Oxyria digyna (L.) Hill. 1500 m. Caryophyllaceae Stellaria calycantha (Ledeb.) Bong. subsp. calycantha Hult. Moist grass-sedge mats, 1160–1375 m. Sagina intermedia Fenzl. 1130–1375 m. Minuartia elegans (Cham. & Schecht.) Schischkin. Moist rock flour, 1220 m. Silene acaulis L. subsp. acaulis Hult. Widely distributed on desiccated ridgetops, 1130–1800 m. Ranunculaceae Ranunculus pygmaeus Wahlenb. subsp. pygmaeus Hult. Moist sedge mats, 1220–1375 m. Cruciferae Cardamine bellidifolia L. Recessed in talus, in crevices, under rock ledges, 1065–1525 m. Draba exalata E. Ekman Listed (?) by Ward (1951). Crassulaceae Sedum rosea (L.) Scop. subsp. integrifolium (Raf.) Hult. Desiccated exposures, 1130–1700 m. Saxifragaceae Leptarrhena pyrolifolia (D. Don) Ser. Meltwater drainage, 1065–1220 m.

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Saxifraga oppositifolia L. subsp. oppositifolia Hult. Crevices on desiccated cliffs and under ledges, 1130–1525 m. S. bronchialis L. subsp. funstonii (Small) Hult. Desiccated exposures, talus, widely distributed, 1065–1800 m. S. punctata L. subsp. pacifica Hult. Early stage in succession on moist rock flour, widely distributed, 1065–1700 m. S. rivularis L. var. flexuosa (Sternb.) Engler & Irmsch. Only seed plant collected at highest altitude, 1500–2100 m. S. ferruginea Grah. Early stage in succession on moist rock flour, along meltwater drainage, widely distributed, 1065–1800 m. S. ferruginea Grah. var. macounii Engler & Irmsch. 1370 m. Heuchera glabra Willd. 1370 m. Parnassia fimbriata Konig 1220 m. Rosaceae Luetkea pectinata (Pursh) Ktze. Common, 1065–1500 m. Potentilla hyparctica Malte Desiccated exposures, widely distributed, 1065–1700 m. Sibbaldia procumbens L. Widely distributed, 1065–1700 m. Geum calthifolium Menzies Moist slopes, meltwater drainage, 1220 m. Sanguisorba menziesii Rydb. 1220 m. Leguminosae Lupinus nootkatensis Donn Moist mats, 1220–1370 m. Oxytropis campestris (L.) DC. subsp. gracilis (Nels.) Hult. 1220 m. Onagraceae E. angustifolium L. subsp. angustifolium Hult. Moist rock flour, 1065–1220 m. E. latifolium L. Early stage in succession, moist rock flour, meltwater drainage, talus, widely distributed, 1065–1650 m. E. anagallidifolium Lam. Moist rock flour, meltwater drainage, 1130–1465 m. Empetraceae Empetrum nigrum L. subsp. hermaphroditum (Lange) Böcher. One of the dominants of heath mats, widely distributed, 1065–1700 m. Ericaceae Loiseleuria procumbens (L.) Desv. Heath mats, rock outcrops, 1130–1525 m. Phyllodoce aleutica (Spreng) Heller subsp. glanduliflora (Hook.) Hult. Heath mats, 1065–1650 m. Cassiope tetragona (L.) D. Don subsp. tetragona Hult. Rare, 1130–1650 m. C. mertensiana (Bong.) D. Don Predominant in heath mats, widely distributed, 1070–1525 m. C. stelleriana (Pall.) DC. Heath mats, widely distributed, 1070–1650 m. C. lycopodioides (Pall.) D. Don Rock flour, 1130–1650 m. Vaccinium caespitosum Michx. 1160 m. V. uliginosum L. subsp. alpinum (Bigel.) Hult. Common in heath mats, widely distributed, 1650–1700 m.

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Primulaceae Primula cuneifolia Ledeb. subsp. saxifragifolia (Lehm.) Sm. & Forrest. 1500–1525 m. Trientalis europaea L. subsp. arctica (Fisch.) Hult. 1220 m. Gentianaceae Gentiana glauca Pall. Moist pockets, 1300–1650 m. Scrophulariaceae Veronica wormskjoldii Roem. & Schult. subsp. wormskjoldii Hult. Meltwater drainage, 1130–1220 m. Campanulaceae Campanula lasiocarpa Cham. subsp. lasiocarpa Hult. Heath and coarse rock rubble (diorite), 1220–1700 m. Compositae Solidago multiradiata Ait. var. multiradiata Hult. 1220–1650 m. Erigeron humilis Grah. 1220–1650 m. E. peregrinus (Pursh) Greene subsp. peregrinus Hult. 1220 m. Antennaria megacephala Fern. 1500–1525 m. A. pallida E. Nels. Exposed ridges, widely distributed, 1130–1500 m. A. isolepis Greene 1375–1650 m. A. media Greene 1375–1525 m. Artemisia arctica Less. subsp. arctica Hult. Heath mats and desiccated exposures, widely distributed, 1070–1700 m. Petasites hyperboreus Rydb. Moist pockets, meltwater drainage, 1070–1500 m. Arnica amplexicaulis Nutt. subsp. amplexicaulis Hult. 1100 m. A. latifolia Bong. 1220 m. Taraxacum kamtchaticum Dahlstedt 1220 m. Agoseris glauca (Pursh) Raf. 1220 m.

6.2.4. Paleoecology of Pacific Coastal Alaska It had become clear that a comprehensive, latitudinally broad database was needed to trace Late Quaternary environmental changes in North Pacific America (see Heusser, 1954d, 1955a). There followed, as a result during the remainder of the field season, a number of digressions to gather sedimentary sections from other parts of southeastern Alaska at Icy Point, Excursion Inlet, and Haines, as well as on the Kenai Peninsula and in Prince William Sound (Figs. 6.11, 6.12).

6.3. Journal Entries Departed Society with John Howe in late May, hitchhiking cross-country on military orders by way of Air Force Bases in Washington, DC, Alabama, Texas, and Washington State. After checking Military Air Transport Service (MATS) in Washington, on a C-47 from Bolling AFB to Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama. Brookley AFB in Mobile by train (“Whippoorwill”), where boarded a flight to Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas. On C-124 Globemaster, a rough ride through Rocky

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138°

136°

60°

HAINES

59° 59° FA IR W EA TH ER

RA ICY NG E POINT

EXCURSION INLET ICY STRAIT

JUNEAU

CROSS SOUND 58°

SAMPLING STATION

58°

138°

136°

134°

Figure 6.11. Sites of muskegs sampled in the northern sector of southeastern Alaska.

149°

150°

148°

147°

146°

61°

61°

ON BAY

EYAK LAKE

60°

RE

SU

RR

E C TI

60°

149°

148°

147°

146°

Figure 6.12. Sites sampled in the vicinity of Seward on the Kenai Peninsula and at Cordova in Prince William Sound.

1952 Field Season

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Mountain thunderstorms to Fairchild AFB in Spokane, Washington. Finally by train to Seattle and on PAA to Juneau. Two months were spent on the icefield with the Project. An additional week was devoted to collecting sections of muskegs in coastal Alaska. Juneau. June 4: USFS warehouse with John Howe and George Argus getting food items from the twentieth century together with equipment and packing all in bundles for drops. With Tony Thomas, brought all to airport. Visited Mendenhall ice front and returned to town. June 5: Fog low on the peaks. Up Gold Creek with Howe. After supper, at Tony’s place for coffee. Sack by 12:30 pm. June 6: Talked with CAA regarding weather. Out to visit Thane, as it started to clear, before going to the airport to meet Ken Loken. Flights to Camps 14 and 10. Argus to Cairn Ridge to drop duffels, after which with Ken dropped skis below Cairn Peak. All ready for trip on the morrow. June 7: Up at 7:30 am and down to Percy’s for breakfast. A poor day but worth a try for the trek to Camp 10. Left at 10 am. Route up through timber above Salmon Creek dam. Yellow spathes on skunk cabbage; no foliage yet in alder or Devils club. Saw Franklin’s grouse and ptarmigan still in winter plumage. Heard marmot. After lunch reached beginning of the trail but by three, it was snowing quite hard. Quit attempting to go on. Soaked, returned in the rain. Met Art Gilkey at supper. Later, joined Jack Wheeler and party from the Canadian Geological Survey. After a beer at the Baranof, saw them off on the Princess Louise. June 8: Percy’s, to the warehouse, and back to the Hotel Juneau. Talking with Gilkey. After lunch with Gordon Gray to Douglas Island to visit site of the Glory Hole at the Treadwell Mine. Lemon Creek Glacier. June 9: Looked like the day to make a second attempt to go to the Taku, as weather forecast was favorable for the next few days. Again up Salmon Creek trail, reaching treeline in about 2 h. Considerable amount of snow on all the peaks from the storm of a couple of days ago. Noticed ptarmigan plumage changing from white to brown with the coming of summer. Shoots of false hellebore beginning to show. Aments of alder and willow now expanding and lengthening. To our misfortune, could find only five of six skis dropped. On Cairn Ridge, a number of pitches making the going difficult. Needed to rope up on the slippery rocks, pulling packs upslope separately at one point. After several delays, reached the cold and windy summit cairn at 9 pm. Found all the duffels, a couple buried in snow. Protected from the wind by a slab of ice-crusted snow, put up the tent, crawled in, and laid out our bags. Glad to get inside, commenced cooking supper. All night long, in persistent gusts, wind whipped the tent. Found it extraordinary to be here, while at graduation, this same day, was to receive a doctorate at Oregon State. June 10: Morning broke clear and bright. Crossed the upper Lemon, simply wallowing in soft, deep, and wet snow, the surface supporting our weight at one point and denying support at another. Turned out to be a tiring march by the time we had dropped lower onto the glacier. As no crevasses appeared, it had been remarkably safe traveling in the twilight. Put up the tent to stay the night, thinking that a crust might form as temperature dropped, so that travel would be easier on the hardened surface. Plan developed to travel at night, resting during the day. Tested for hardness at 10 pm, midnight, and 2 am but found conditions unchanged. June 11: After breakfast at 3 am, as dawn was breaking, realized with great disappointment had to retrace our steps and return to Juneau to await the C-47. At 4 am, roped up, headed back upglacier with heavy packs in the soft snow, again a trying time. Were on Cairn Ridge at 8:30 am, taking over 4 h to travel but a short distance. From atop in the clear air

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could see out beyond Lynn Canal, Chatham Strait, and the Chilkats some 75 km to the Fairweather Range. About halfway down the ridge, felt the need for a second breakfast, menu consisting of sardines, roast beef, and asparagus tips. Trouble with a wrenched right knee during the climb down, as there was much need for shuffling and sliding. Ironically en route came upon the sixth ski, which had ablated out from under the snow. In Juneau by 7 pm, exhausted after 15 h coming down from the glacier. A couple of beers with Gilkey and Thomas, after which little was remembered, as fast became oblivious to all but sleep. Juneau. June 12: Easy day recovering physically. Shopped about town. To Thomas Hardware for purchases with Howe and Gilkey. June 13: Tony Thomas at the door with Pete Schoening and Fred Melberg, who were off to climb King Peak. Together for breakfast at the Mug Up. Worked in warehouse preparing an inventory of JIRP equipment. June 14: Back to the warehouse to assemble drops of 42-man-day rations. Argus and Howe made flight with Loken. Publication copy of thesis arrived in the mail for proofreading. Bob Schuster in today. June 15: Twelve hours spent going over proofs. Finished at 10:30 pm, to be returned tomorrow. June 16: Errands about town. Sorted gear at the warehouse. With Thomas, Gilkey, Argus, and Howe, loads to the airport, followed by Thomas and Howe on another trip. Birthday cake, ice cream, and coffee with Tony and Rita. Message from Major Roy Holdiman at Elmendorf AFB that C-47 is expected to be in Juneau tomorrow. June 17: At 9:30 am, loaded truck and left for airport. Packed parachutes. With Gilkey, Loken flew us to the Taku to locate possible camp sites for drops. Located two on rock and a third on snow. No C-47 but learned that there was a Grumman down on Bering Glacier. Plane would not be in for at least 48 h. Lunch at airport. In town, assembled more parapacks, had supper, and out once more to the airport with another load. June 18: Odd jobs. Reviewed aerial photos with Gilkey and Thomas. Tonight socking in again. June 19: Out to the airport. No C-47. Later to Mendenhall outwash for photos. Ray Taylor of the Forest Service picked us up, giving us a ride into town. June 20: Met Taylor again at the Forest Service, chatting about local forest ecology. At night, feast of smoked salmon with Thomas at his house. June 21: No more on the C-47. Seems as though we are just marking time. Decision is to have a party occupy Cairn Peak with the theodolite for survey. June 22: Altered plans for Cairn Peak on receiving telegram that C-47 would be down tomorrow. With Howe, looked at hanging delta on Gold Creek, taking photos. At 5 pm, another flight with Loken. Up the Mendenhall through patches of overcast into the icefield, clean white with snow on peaks increasingly spread out under an expanding blue sky. Thrilling day to fly and capture the majesty of the icefield. Dropped at Camp 10, occupied by Fred Milan, Ed LaChapelle, and Jim Hickey since late May. Firn line on the Taku well down near Hole-inthe-Wall. On our return over the Norris and by way of the valleys to the west past Observation Peak, circled a few times over Cairn Peak but sighted no one there or on Cairn Ridge. June 23: To the airport with Argus and Howe. Constructed 11 light sleds from corrugated aluminum sheets for hauling on the ice. Argus to Camp 10 with Loken to pick up mail. Richard Light, president of the Society, was in town and invited party for cocktails and steaks at the Baranof. All breaking up early with much excitement on learning of arrival of the C-47. Reunion with Maj. Holdiman and Capt. Marsh with crew members, Capt. Coombs and Lt. Schwartz. Plan is for early morning flight to the Taku.

1952 Field Season

Taku Glacier. June 24: Up at 4:30 am for breakfast at the Imperial. Finally, quit the long siege of city life. After loading C-47, took off at 7:30 am with Argus, Howe, and Light. Flight straight up the Taku, making a smooth landing at the site of Camp 10B. Climbed to hut, finding all much the same as when with Zoerb made our departure last year. Sack at 11:30 pm. Tomorrow, Gilkey and Schuster should make drops to outlying camps. June 25: Day was glorious. C-47 came in and went out, dropping at Camps 5A, 8A, 8B, 9B, and 15. About 5 pm, plane returned and unloaded. With LaChapelle, went downglacier for photos of a spectacular and deafening JATO takeoff. Back at 10B cache with Gilkey and Schuster, both of whom had just come down from 10, only later to return. For supper, shared a can of hash with LaChapelle. June 26: Socked in, raining and snowing. Late getting up. Only after Gilkey, Argus, Milan, and Schuster, arriving from 10, found us still in the sack were we shamed into emerging to greet the day. Milan probing with whip antenna located Weasel buried on 1951 snow surface. Further probing revealed the extent of the 1951 Camp 10B “archeological site.” Worked with LaChapelle recording snow penetrometer readings in pit after studying snow stratigraphy, collecting samples for pollen, and organizing pails for settling out of meltwater. Argus and Schuster put out stakes on Seismic Profile IV. To get the Weasel serviceable, it now becomes a problem of digging an incline on which the Weasel can be driven to the surface. Spaghetti dinner with fruit cake topped by “amazo” sauce. Off the snow, LaChapelle sleeping on a sled and my accommodation, a pile of skis. June 27: A sunny day and hot in the tent. With Milan, Gilkey, and Howe, dug for the Weasel. Depth to the top of the cab, slightly caved in from weight of snow, measured 2.1 m. Need to dig another 2.4 m to reach the base of the tracks. In great spirits. LaChapelle returned after “plundering” Camp 10 stores with a bottle of Hudson Bay Rum. Tonight, hot buttered rums were front and center. June 28: Off at 9 am for Camp 10 to rummage for plants on Taku B. Beastly hot. Plants found flowering/sporulating: Cardamine bellidifolia, Silene acaulis, Cassiope stelleriana, Loiseleuria procumbens, Luzula parviflora, Vaccinium uliginosum, Sabbaldia procumbens, and Cryptogramma acrostichoides. Back to the hut for some of Jim Hickey’s cinnamon rolls. After a bit, out to 10B with Schuster to help with digging out the Weasel. Schuster, feeling a little depressed, was in need of some cheering up before going back to 10. Later, also needed to console LaChapelle, who was beside himself after dropping the Coleman lantern in a pail of water. Rough day. June 29: Difficult to conjure up enough energy to remove myself from the sleeping bag. Fresh orange and Roman Meal helped cancel out a strong feeling of lethargy. Day with all hands centered on digging out the Weasel. Milan got Weasel started at 4:15 pm, in triumph driving it up the snow ramp to the 1952 surface. Radiator with a leak needs repair. After decanting sediments from beakers into vials, prepared a good slumgullion for supper. Right now at 10 o’clock, socked in solid. A void of fog and snow. Only the immediacy of the camp to be seen. Engulfed this night in Michener’s “Return to Paradise,” and it is very good. June 30: Upglacier to Camp 9B in fog with LaChapelle, Argus, and Schuster, pulling loads on the fabricated aluminum sleds. Visibility less than 100 m. Like skiing in white space, recalling trip from Camp 15 to 10 with Zoerb last year. No nunataks showing up for some time until momentarily Taku Range came out. Checking our position on aerial photos could see just how far we had gone. About 6 o’clock, reached the last nunatak of the Taku Range. Began to blow, fog lifted, and drops were spotted. Note that drop with yellow parachute was most readily seen. Consolidated drops, unpacked contents, set up hexagonal tent, and after getting the Coleman handy gas plant heater going, created quite a comfortable

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atmosphere despite the cold. After making contact with Camp 10 with our SCR300 radio, settled down to supper and a pleasant night. More of “Return to Paradise” with Mickey Spillane’s “My Gun is Quick” in reserve. July 1: Awoke to the sound of snow sliding off the tent roof. Snowing and continued to snow much of the day. Found us camped on a col. Attempted to collect in the rocks but little was to be found. On a nearby nunatak, which was badly quarried from an earlier time, collected mosses and lichens. Downslope with LaChapelle, dug a pit, taking ten stratigraphic samples of snow for pollen to a depth of over 4 m. Melting the snow went on till after midnight. Fog earlier had lifted a little, so that could see down the Taku Range. July 2: Snowing and still blowing at 10 am here at 9B. At 11 am, went beyond the col among rock slabs, blocks, and rubble until it became too risky to proceed further. Flora much richer than west of the col. Plants in plastic bags to be pressed back at 10. LaChapelle and Schuster out snow profiling in pit. At 6 pm, still snowing, air is bright. Now and again peaks come out across the Taku. After supper, cold standing in the dark falling snow for about an hour decanting water from pails for pollen work. Coleman turned off at 10:30 pm. July 3: Sunlight and peaks emerging from the fog. Breakfast under the sky, while sitting in the rocks. Decanted last of pollen samples and with lunch finished, departed for Camp 10, LaChapelle in the lead. Some difficulty adjusting front of aluminum sled, so that snow would not tend to pile up. Trek back in 4 h. Greeted by Howe with cold cans of beer. July 4: Relaxing day. More reconnoitering about Taku B for plants. Entire party at the hut for supper. At night, together with LaChapelle back to 10B. In fog advancing up the Taku, set up the tent and enjoyed a restful night. July 5: Fog, bright outside the tent, might burn off. More pit digging with LaChapelle down to 1951 surface. Loken and Thomas came in for drops and mail pickup. Between openings in the fog, flying must have been hairy. No doubt they were glad to get back to Juneau. Pleased to receive letter from Oosting to the effect that thesis would appear in October issue of Ecological Monographs. Still reading “Return to Paradise.” July 6: Snow–rain–fog all day. Decanted pollen water from beakers. Did little else. Tomorrow plan is to go downglacier with the Weasel. Hope for a good day but a good day seems for the most part out of the question. July 7: In fog and rain, just before noon, in the Weasel trailing three sleds with Milan, Argus, Howe, Schuster, Gilkey, and LaChapelle, took leave of 10B for lower glacier Camp 12A. Rocking up and down for about 3 h on “Taku Steamer,” finally came to a halt above Hole-in-the-Wall. Crevasses had begun to have that wicked look. Set up camp. With LaChapelle and Milan, dug shallow pit to nearly 1 m, at first in snow down to dirty ice beginning at 0.6 m. Five samples. Ice fleas. Remainder of party out reconnoitering. July 8: Crossed to the rocks among large slumps still filled with snow backed by vertical shear planes in the ice. Botanized in mountain hemlock on east slope bordering the Taku. Cut alder, making tripods for movement record. Later, working till 11:30 pm, dug a hole about 2 m deep in the ice to set pipe for measuring ablation. July 9: Day turned bright. Packed up and from the Weasel took sightings on movement tripods. En route to Camp 11B, passed huge cirques cut out in ridge to the west, stopping twice for ramsonde measurements in the snow. Set up Camp 11B along Seismic Profile II. Dug pit to 2.1 m, preparing eight samples for study. At 8:30 pm, able to take Weasel to botanize on northern Goat Ridge. Excited to find Abies lasiocarpa at two sites at about 1000 m altitude. Few trunks upright, the height of a man and lacking cones, were no more than 10.2 cm in diameter. Tsuga mertensiana pollinating, making clouds of yellow dust in

1952 Field Season

the evening air. Crossed over to take good look at Hodgkins Mtn. and Organ Pipes. With LaChapelle driving, back to camp feeling greatly fulfilled by the find of Abies lasiocarpa, which was unrecorded in southeastern Alaska south of White Pass near Skagway. July 10: With Argus and Howe via Weasel to survey station above Seismic Profile III. Botanized. Gilkey and Milan worked the profile, while LaChapelle made further snow measurements. Entire party back to Camp 10 by 7 pm for supper of dumplings and beef served by Chef Hickey. July 11: Slept in the garret but it was hot, my lips sore and burning from sun and wind exposure during trip downglacier. “Belly shingles a la Hickey” for breakfast. Wrote up notes and pressed plants, following another visit to the relict community on Taku B to see what was in flower. All seemingly late except for much Cassiope tetragona in anthesis. Loken in for a drop and mail pickup. Drop went badly with two broken cans of gas. July 12: Writing this on the bow of the Weasel, having come up to establish Camp 8B. Clouds are darkening after a colorful sunset. With LaChapelle, Argus, Schuster, Gilkey, and Hickey, departed the hut about 10 am, going around Taku C on up the Taku. Consolidated drop and camp. Began work on digging pit, ultimately collecting 10 samples down to a depth of 3.7 m. Used a system of pails tied to the ends of climbing rope, whereby team at the surface emptied each pail brought up from below, while the companion pail to be filled was being lowered. Working in the pit became increasingly claustrophobic as digging progressed. One particular moment was especially scary when my shovel suddenly penetrated the dark void of an underlying crevasse. Luckily was not located directly over the crevasse, in which case the floor of the pit would have completely collapsed. July 13: Able to obtain 4 more samples from pit and crevasse down to almost 4.6 m. Ablation surface of 1951 at just over 3.4 m. Loken with Thomas dropped mail and three jeep cans of gas. Planned to botanize on nearby nunatak but fog moved in changing plans. Argus, Schuster, and Hickey returned from movement survey taken on Exploration Peak. July 14: By Weasel, 4.8 km in fog to Camp 8 at 1829 m on the height of land dividing Taku and Llewellyn drainage. Pitched tent and began digging pit close to 6 m, obtaining ten samples that required melting till 1 am. Fog still in. Temperature down to 1.5∞C. July 15: Harassed with a bad headache, slept poorly. Fog and below freezing temperatures still with us. Reached 7.3 m in the pit, taking a total of 20 samples. Still melting samples at 10:30 pm. July 16: With Argus and Schuster, climbed nearby nunatak, making a small collection and taking photos across the icefield and down the upper Tulsequah Glacier drainage. Returned, broke camp, and by 2:30 pm were off to Camp 9B. Set out three movement stakes between Taku D and small nunatak below Camp 9B. Continued on in fog for 4.2 km but became hopelessly lost. As it turned out, our decision to stop was a lucky one, as we were at a point just directly short of the icefall at northern end of the Taku Range. July 17: Found sleeping on the sledge most comfortable. Snowing hard when we arose but able to see as far as Taku B. With LaChapelle, Argus, and Hickey, dug more in the 9B pit and picked up three more samples to below the 1951 dirt layer. Later, with Gilkey and Schuster, went up on nearby ridge and discussed geomorphological features in relation to vegetation. Particular reference was to levels of the ice during Little Ice Age and Wisconsin glaciation. Ridge became more and more drifted over as we went, making the going more demanding. Gilkey was able to gather several plants at a place, which he called a “small meadow.” Back at Camp 10, after passing en route a sizable “slump hole” out from the north end of Taku B. Fog has lifted and wind in dark smoke-like clouds is coming in from the north. Back in the sack after a long day, find myself engrossed in Mickey Spillane’s “I the Jury.”

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July 18: Wind and rain driving hard, what a night! Good to have the warmth and security of the hut. Began with “belly shingles” at breakfast, followed after lunch by tour of Taku B, where with Gilkey and Schuster continued making geobotanical observations, reconstructing former glacial levels on the nunatak. July 19: Skied to 10B, en route decanting pails containing 9B pollen samples left at foot of the slope. Dug 3.3-m pit with LaChapelle. Gilkey, Argus, and Schuster to Juncture Peak for survey work. Set in two meltwater pans. About 4 pm, back to 10 in need of a hot cup of coffee. After supper discussed plants and glaciation. July 20: Probed for gas but to no avail. Thought now is to have Alaska Coastal parachute some drums if possible. After lunch, back at 10, read Abbe’s account of botany of northern Labrador during Grenfell–Forbes Expedition. With Gilkey and Schuster located topographic break in southeast slope of Taku B; midway on southwest slope, encountered aplitic granodiorite with chatter marks and striae. Up and over northwest shoulder found what appeared to be maximum of ice during the Little Ice Age. Heath principally above the level was a paradise of sheer natural beauty, probably in existence since the relatively warm postglacial estimated at over 5000 years ago. Checked bedrock for striae, chattermarks, and erratics down to level of the Taku. Chistolite noteworthy with its curious cruciform arrangement of organic constituents. Evening pressing plants. July 21: After getting the 9B samples left at the foot of the slope for settling out squared away, skied with Gilkey and Schuster up to the pass on Taku C, carrying skis up over the quarried slope and stopping for lunch at the top. Rocks at the pass, among fossil ice, held both striae and chattermarks. Height of glacier cutting through climax heath marked its apparent extent during the Little Ice Age, as on Taku B. Between Taku C and Exploration Peak, a “hash” of rocks and plants consistent with the extent of overriding glacier. Skied over to the rocks at Camp 8B for supper. Chose to take a chance with the weather and bed down under the night sky. July 22: Awoke to a warm sun. After some “mush” at breakfast, skied to the east side of Taku D, climbing to the summit up over newly ice-denuded bedrock and locating postWisconsin glacier maximum. Gilkey led the climb. No convincing evidence that the top of Taku D had been overridden by ice. Roped up coming down the steep pitch above and descended the rest of the way to our skis. Back to 8B to sleep again under the high and endless sky. Juneau. July 23: At 6:15 am arose in anticipation of our return skiing to Camp 10, when lo and behold the Weasel with LaChapelle and Milan arrived with the news that the SA16 Grumman Albatross would be back in for flight to Juneau. Returned to 10, gathered gear, and went out to 10B to wait until plane arrived, piloted by Roy Holdiman with other crew members, Coombs, Nagle, and Lynn. With Milan, after four practice landings, flew out over upper Mendenhall and Herbert Glaciers to airport. Back in town, after cleaning up at the Hotel Juneau, pressed plants, and had supper at Percy’s. Talked at length with Milan and Thomas, breaking up about 11:30 pm. An exciting day. July 24: Talked with Bob Crocker, who was working on soils in front of Mendenhall and Herbert Glaciers. Lunch with Don Lawrence and his wife, Lib. Supper invitation from Hal Weidner and his family at Auke Lake. Wonderful evening of food and music in an unusually comfortable house. Roaring hearth after supper. July 25: Milan is a real character with his beard and ripped, shabby pants. At the Bubble Room, his preference is for “New Yorkers,” otherwise called “Manhattans.” With Thomas, moved equipment, mostly 5-in-1s, C-rations, and Signal Corps items, from Alaska Steamship Company to warehouse. Later helped move Tony to new house in Douglas. Supper at the Baranof. Milan and Thomas in high spirits closed up the Bubble Room.

1952 Field Season

July 26: Not much doing today. Milan to Camp 10 with Loken for drop and a mail pickup. Steaks at the Baranof. July 27: With Milan, climbed Mt. Roberts behind Juneau, collected, and pressed plants. To bed at 11:30 pm, tired before trip out to Icy Point on the coast to work on muskegs. July 28: Found it hard to pull myself together when the buzzer sounded at 4 am. Milan mumbled a few unintelligible sounds on my leaving for breakfast at the Imperial. Loken was punctual arriving at 5 am. At the airport, encountered problem with the radio in his plane: able to receive but unable to transmit. Also, much speculation on learning that a strong occluded front from the Gulf of Alaska was building up. With ceiling down over Gustavus and little information on weather at Cape Spencer, changed plans to go over to Lake Atlin, which necessitated a trip to town to file papers with Canadian customs for entry into British Columbia. At about 10:30 am to Tulsequah, landing about an hour later on small gravel strip, but customs man claimed entry was illegal. Returned to Juneau, flying the backwaters of the Taku River past the Twins, Hole-in-the-Wall, Taku, and Norris, landing at the airport about 2 o’clock. At 5 pm, decided to try for Icy Point and tomorrow go on to Yakutat. Crossed Mansfield Peninsula on Admiralty Island and on over islands in Cross Sound and Icy Strait. Up to Dundas Bay, crossing outwash of Brady Glacier, as ceiling kept coming down, so that at Cape Spencer we were in the mists at about 60 m over rocky cliffs, sea caves, and swirling currents. At this point, Loken turned sharply, seeing there was no chance of reaching Icy Point. Cloud cover seemed to worsen over Hoonah but Loken sneaked through, landing back at the Juneau airport in twilight. Kenai Peninsula–Prince William Sound. July 29: Off to Anchorage at 2:30 pm on Pacific Northern. Great views of Mt. Fairweather and Mt. Crillon, before reaching Yakutat. Remainder of the flight in cloud straight through to Anchorage. At Hotel Parsons, shared room with two others (Tom and Mack), all of us at supper together at Thompson’s Café. July 30: Arranged to go by car to Seward. Down Turnagain Arm and past Trail Lake. A rainy night, held up by highway blasting, passing Kenai Lake and checking in at the Runwell Hotel at 10:30 pm. July 31: Assisted by Tom Sieger, a graduate student from Syracuse working for the Forest Service, obtained a section of muskeg near the south end of Kenai Lake. Lunch with Sieger and back to Anchorage in a small Cessna. Found a room at Anchorage Hotel with three others. At night, a Humphrey Bogart movie (“Deadline USA”). August 1: At Merrill Field, Grumman Goose of Cordova Air Service to Eyak Lake in Cordova, flying over Portage, Whittier, and Prince William Sound with a stop at Valdez. Got a room at the Cordova Hotel. Was able to contact Clyde Maycock of Forest Service. Supper with Maycock and his wife, Irene, making arrangements for collecting tomorrow. August 2: Breakfast at the Alley Cat Café on an invigorating day, gulls in circles crying and fishing boats chugging across the inlet. Out Seven Mile Road, sampled two sites, and on Three Mile Road sampled one more. After thanking Maycock for his help, off to Anchorage, sitting forward with the pilot for excellent views of Shoup and Columbia Glaciers. Again at the Parsons. Anchorage–Juneau. August 3: Sleeping proved to be “bumpy,” as two characters came in, each separately, but after some commotion things settled down. Awoke early and dressed before call from the desk. To International Airport and out under dark skies in drizzle for first stop under clear skies at Cordova. A magnificent day. Sheriden Glacier and Copper River delta, peaks in the Wrangell Range, Mt. Steller, Bering Glacier, and Mt. St. Elias all out bright and spectacular before our second stop under a low ceiling at Yakutat. At Hotel Juneau, back in Room 310 (old habitation with Howe), ran into Mal Miller, after a long

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absence, and his brother, Wally. Talked more on soils with Bob Crocker. Off to Percy’s with the Lawrence’s for supper. Loken called, making a date for tomorrow. August 4: Checked aerial photographs at the Forest Service. Saw George Haen and Blackerby, met Ed Sweeney. Long talk with Miller. Shortly after 3 pm, flew in fairly good weather with Loken to USGS campsite at Icy Point, located about 1.8 km south of LaPerouse Glacier, sampling muskeg. Close to 7:30 pm, took off and flew close to the glacier, clocking its height at about 90 m. Back over Brady Glacier, landing at Dundas Bay and freeing a wheel stuck in the mud before takeoff. Next to Excursion Inlet, landing on the road mid a greeting of native children and taxiing up to the house of Jack and Ruth Allman. Most friendly, they offered us use of their truck, which, however, was without brakes, to go about 1.5 km to muskeg. A wild ride with Loken but we achieved our objective. Ruth wanted us to stay for coffee, but it was already close to 9:30 pm and fast getting dark, so we took off, leaving the coffee for another time. Beautiful evening for flying, the moon risen and moonlight shining on the water. Marker lights flashed below. To the northwest up Lynn Canal, the Chilkats stood vividly silhouetted in dying light against the sky. With airport lights making glowing points on the runway, the beacon revolving, landed just before 10 pm. Toby Dunlap on hand to greet us. Loken checked in at the CAA. Drove to town for supper readied by Loken’s wife, Pat. Back at the Hotel Juneau at 11:30 pm, found it hard to turn off my mind, charged with the sights and thrills of the day. August 5: Mist falling in the dark alleys this last night in Juneau. Had a good day. Flew up Lynn Canal with Loken, past Berners Bay, to Haines in just over 1 h. From the air, had spotted a muskeg behind the CAA station. After bushwacking, located the site actually at the end of the firing range at Chilkoot Barracks (Fort Seward). Return over Davidson Glacier and Endicott River, outwash tongues feeding into Lynn Canal. With a strong headwind over Lincoln and Shelter Islands, visibility became poor before landing at Juneau airport at 8 pm. Juneau–New York. August 6: Attended last minute items about town, bidding all goodbye, thanking Loken for all his help. PAA departed at 2:15 pm for Annette Island and was in Seattle by 7:30 pm. To Tacoma Greyhound, making connections to McChord AFB. No flights immediately on MATS. August 7: Breakfast in officer’s mess. Picked up C-54 to Great Falls, Montana, as far as MATS was going. Ultimately, bought ticket on Northwest Airlines for flight to New York tomorrow, taking a room for the night at the Rainbow Hotel. So, now until New York.

Part 3 Later Years of the Project (1953–1958)

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Chapter 7 1953 Field Season

7.1. Introduction After four years of observations and a variety of studies on Taku Glacier, evident was the fact that data gathered thus far had produced a reasonable base for evaluation of the glacier’s regimen. The glacier’s size, however, lay beyond resources available for continued study on the scale registered during the early years. For an approximation of ensuing trends, work following 1953 essentially needed only to involve seasonal aerial photography of Taku Glacier terminus, positioning of its firn line, and spot-checking amounts of accumulation and wastage. Because of its small size and accessibility, Lemon Creek Glacier at the southern edge of the icefield (Fig. 7.1) was chosen for study during the remaining six years of the Project. It could be investigated by small parties and accurately mapped. Only 6.5 km northeast of Juneau, it was reachable from Gastineau Channel in a climb of several hours via Salmon Creek Reservoir, or by ski-wheel Piper Super Cruiser in about half-an-hour or less of flying time from Juneau Airport. Access to the terminus was via Ptarmigan Glacier and its outwash, which was held in by a narrow defile below its snout. Lemon Creek Glacier, oriented essentially in a northerly direction, measured 6.4 km long and about 2 km across at its widest point (Fig. 7.2). According to Heusser and Marcus (1964a), ice from the vicinity of Observation Peak at 1512 m flowing across three broad steps was intercepted by an icefall between 650 and 850 m before reaching the terminus at 470 m. Flow was steepest at the icefall (18.5∞), less steep below (14.5∞), and least steep (4∞) near the glacier’s head. The terminus, irregular in outline, was split by a rock cleaver. Supplies needed to set up base camp on Lemon Creek Glacier were delivered by free fall and parachute from an SA-16 Grumman Albatross of the 10th Air Rescue Squadron. The remainder, constituting mostly scientific equipment, had to be backpacked for use in camp or on the glacier. Mail and essential durable items were delivered by free fall drops made from a Piper light aircraft. Both nondurable equipment and personnel were transported to the Taku by Grumman Albatross. As in previous field seasons, supplies were assembled and placed in parapacks in the U.S. Forest Service warehouse, later to be transported to the airport for aerial delivery. Much field time was given to establishing base camp and ensuring a negotiable route up Cairn Ridge and on to the glacier (Nielsen, 1953). The route, laid out by a team headed by Austin Post, was not only most direct but also could be successfully traversed, when backpacking heavy loads where pitch of the slope is exceedingly steep. It accommodated a succession of parties without mishap during the ensuing years of the Project. The Research Station at Camp 10 was reoccupied as a center from which to further collect glaciological data on the present and past behavior of Taku Glacier. Ancillary work involved the further collection of meteorological records, geobotanical study of trimlines, and mapping. Weasels were in use on the Taku but because of mechanical problems were not serviceable to the extent anticipated. They had to be dug out from beneath some 6 m of snow. Each was located on a sketch of the cache and marked by a pipe placed vertically at the close of the 1952 season. The sketch, however, failed to indicate which of the vehicles was the one with a bad transmission. As it 95

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Figure 7.1. Lemon Creek Glacier and its regional setting in the vicinity of Juneau. Modified from Heusser and Marcus (1964a).

Figure 7.2. Lemon Creek Glacier above the icefall. Location of Camp 16 on ridge in the foreground.

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turned out, both had to be dug out, as the first to be reached was the one disabled. Shovels were in short supply, making for a slow laborious task. Ironic is that four shovels were found lashed to the second Weasel when it emerged. An overhaul with replacement of parts was required to get the Weasels in running order, which later in the season, necessitated a change in transmissions (Hickey, 1953). During the winter, one Weasel had become badly crushed by snow, loosening its track. On operation, it tended to turn sidewise and needed to be braked in order to keep it going in a desired direction. For radio traffic with Juneau, a high level of performance was achieved through use of a BC-669 transmitter and receiver with power unit PE-108 (110 V). There was much need for backpacking of supplies to base camps. Austin Post, in this connection, tells of an amusing incident, when one member of the party wanted to show how much he could carry on a packboard. Rather than the accepted load of a single can of Blazo (gasoline), the individual took two cans, which amounted to quite a load. Austin, not to be outdone, strapped on three cans. Unknown to the other backpacker, however, was the fact that two of Austin’s three cans were empty. The season totaled 88 days. Personnel were in Juneau in early June, on Lemon Creek Glacier from 18 June until 8 September, and on Taku Glacier and in Taku Valley between 17 June and 30 August. The field party, much reduced by comparison with the early years, was limited to an eight-man team. L.E. Nielsen served as field leader.

7.2. Research 7.2.1. Micrometeorology of Lemon Creek Glacier Surface heat exchange over snow was studied at a micrometeorological station on the glacier at 1220 m above sea level (Fig. 7.3). Among findings of the study (Hubley, 1954a, b), it was discovered that with strong insolation and negligible heat transfer from the atmosphere, amounts of ablation were uniformly higher than from measurements of changes in the snow layer. Of concern was the error involved in the amount of lowering of the snow surface through use of stakes to measure ablation. Neglected in the stake measurements were density changes over time, which could be 15–20%

Figure 7.3. Micrometeorological station on Upper Lemon Creek Glacier.

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for long record periods and as much as 65% for short periods. Ablation measurements made by coring snow at intervals through use of a Mt. Rose Sampler offered a means to measure density changes. In a related study (LaChapelle, 1954), amounts of ablation from stakes were shown to be approximately 20% lower than from snow and density measurements made in pits.

7.2.2. Regimen of Taku Glacier The mathematical theory of equilibrium glaciers (Nielsen, 1955) was applied to Taku Glacier. The theory correlates the surface expression of ice passing through cross sections of the glacier at known depths with the average hydrological budget. Past data were assessed together with 1953 data on ablation, accumulation, and movement (Miller, 1953a; Nielsen, 1957). Net accumulation of snow, indicated by a snow survey on the glacier at the termination of the ablation season (Fig. 7.4), was shown to be primarily a function of altitude above the firn line. Accumulation measured about 3 m

Figure 7.4. Outline of Taku Glacier showing locations where glaciological data relative to the glacier’s regimen and movement were collected. Modified from Nielsen (1957).

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near 1525 m in altitude and over 5 m at 1830 m; in the terminal area, the average wastage of ice amounted to approximately 12.2 m year-1. Movement, ablation, and accumulation were used to determine volumes of ice passing along three cross profiles. Volumes derived from accumulation data were found to be larger than those indicated by ablation or movement; volumes supplied by ablation data were larger than those shown by movement with the exception of volumes in the glacier’s terminal area. A discrepancy appeared to exist between calculated values of ice thickness for the lower glacier and values obtained by seismic reflection (Poulter et al., 1949). Thicknesses obtained by seismic survey at the Taku’s snout were questioned as being too great. Disagreement was apparent from differences in altitudes indicated on the U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map Juneau B-1 Quadrangle and by independent altimetry. Indications from survey data were that the Taku appeared to be close to equilibrium. From the much greater amount of snow accumulating upglacier than the quantity of wastage below the firn line, a rapid advance was to be expected. For Lemon Creek Glacier, Marcus (1964) gave a water deficit of 6.0 ¥ 106 m3. The borehole implanted in 1950 and resurveyed the following three years produced vertical velocity profiles (Fig. 7.5). Shown is the estimated amount of sliding of the glacier’s sole versus greater surface displacement in the mass transfer of ice. Surface movement at midstream of Taku Glacier amounted to about 1 m day-1 (Miller, 1958, 1971).

7.2.3. Camp 10 Meteorological Observations Data recorded between 20 June and 14 August gave average temperatures of 9.5∞C in June, 9∞C for July, and 8∞C in August; the maximum and minimum, respectively, were 20∞C on 26 July and 11∞C on 30 June. Precipitation for the period was close to 1100 mm.

7.2.4. Geobotanical Studies Trimlines were visited at various points in the icefield and altitudes recorded (Muntz, 1953; Pierce, 1953). Levels were distinguished from botanical and geomorphic evidence at the margins of Lemon

500 0m

0m Glacier surface

1° Firn ice

100

Sept., 3d year

June, 2d year

Depth of borehole

200

300

August, 1st year

Bedrock

Figure 7.5. Vertical velocity profiles of Taku Glacier borehole. Redrawn from Miller (1971).

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Creek, Ptarmigan, Taku, and Norris Glaciers. Although inconclusive, the formation of a lake in Taku Valley, the consequence of glacier advance and blockage across Taku Inlet according to Lawrence (1950a), was considered debatable (Muntz, 1955).

7.2.5. Triangulation Twenty stations were occupied in 1953, four of which were new, including Mt. Ogilvie (2348 m) on the Canadian Boundary at the far north of the icefield (Post, 1953). A new survey line connected Taku Inlet and Lemon Creek Glacier. Part of the triangulation work was devoted to panoramic photographic records from survey stations.

7.2.6. Glacier Variations in the Canadian Rockies Mapping and dating of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies represented a counterpart to the study of glacier behavior of the Juneau Icefield. Support for the work was received from the Society’s Glacier Study Project. Twelve glaciers, located in Banff, Jasper, Robson, and Yoho Provincial Parks (Fig. 7.6), were studied. Bases were established at Berg Lake, Athabaska Falls, Athabaska Glacier, Bow Lake, and Yoho Valley (Fig. 7.7). On three occasions, glaciers were reached by pack trains (Fig. 7.8). The study, lasting from mid-July to mid-September, precluded C.J. Heusser’s participation in fieldwork on the Juneau Icefield in 1953. Dating of trees overridden by the glaciers, tilted by ice push, and seeded in on moraines (Figs. 7.9, 7.10) indicated maxima during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries (Fig. 7.11). Most dynamic appears to have been the nineteenth century maximum, which in certain cases exceeded positions reached by ice fronts during previous advances. Overall recession of termini had taken place, beginning around the middle of the nineteenth century and increasing since 1930. Robson, Southeast Lyell, and Freshfield Glaciers illustrate the trend (Figs. 7.12–7.14). Wastage appeared directly related to warming and a drop in precipitation, as recorded by the meteorological records from Banff, Alberta between the late 1800s and the late 1950s (Fig. 7.15). A lag in the response of glaciers to the cooling trend since the early 1940s is evident, as glaciers continued to retreat in 1953 (see Field and Heusser, 1954; Heusser, 1956).

7.3. Journal Entries Departed New York by station wagon on 14 July, driving west with a stopover at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to discuss the work with Don and Lib Lawrence. Field party consisted of W.O. Field, C.J. Heusser, S. Den Hartog, and H. Archard. Banff. July 19: On arrival in Banff, time out for a swim in a sulfur pool fed by hot springs. Supper with the packer, Jim Simpson, Sr., at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge at Bow Lake. Jim later in the season to take us to Freshfield and Southeast Lyell Glaciers. Camping at Waterfowl Lake. Chilly night. Athabaska Glacier. July 20: Took a room at the Columbia Icefield Chalet overlooking the glacier. With Howell, reconnoitered moraines and trimlines, including going up to 2134 m at nearby Dome Glacier. Breakfast, lunch, and supper at the Chalet. Pressed plants. Rather tired tonight. July 21: Sack lunches. Day was clear and bright, snow glistening on the peaks in the morning sunlight. At a WOF survey station, discussed ages contemplated for moraines. Cored twelve trees in ancient forest near the road down from the Chalet, finding oldest beginning growth in 1616. Became cool late in the day and by 6 pm returned; Bill and Steve, off to Dome Glacier, were already back. Great supper. Later pressed plants and sacked out.

1953 Field Season

Figure 7.6. Sketch map of locations of glaciers studied in the Canadian Rockies. Modified from Heusser (1956).

July 22: Weather turned stormy. Awoke during the night with pain in my arms from excessive coring and took a couple of aspirin. Wrote report for the Society and studied stereo pairs of aerials. Little fieldwork done. Located an ice-tilted spruce and spent some time coring trees on moraine worked yesterday, but a sudden thunderstorm forced us to retreat. After supper began setting cores in slots on collection boards for later polishing and study. July 23: Clear day to begin with but after breakfast clouded over. Weather seems enigmatic. Cut a section of the tilted spruce found yesterday. Cored a few more trees inside the moraine, all cores running mid-eighteenth century in age. Lunch in the rain under a poncho. With Bill and Steve, inspected forested outlier beyond Athabaska and Dome moraines. Crossed the Athabaska snout, returning to record plants invading moraines and outwash. Must return to get ages of spruce seedlings where dates of recession are known in order to approximate time interval before first seedlings began growth. Readied gear for Robson trip.

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Figure 7.7. Field party at Berg Lake in the Canadian Rockies; left to right, Cal Heusser, Howell Archard, Bill Field, and Steve Den Hartog. Photograph by W.O. Field.

Figure 7.8. Pack train going up the Athabaska River to Columbia Glacier.

1953 Field Season

Figure 7.9. Interstadial spruce, dated to 450 ± 150 14C years BP, exposed at Robson Glacier.

July 24: Before departure had a short visit with Mark Meier from Cal Tech, who is studying Saskatchewan Glacier. Stopped en route to Robson to visit and have lunch with Frank and Dora Wells. Frank, a packer, will later take us to Columbia Glacier. To Jasper, crossing the Whirlpool River, which undoubtedly was traveled by David Douglas when he crossed over Athabaska Pass. In Jasper, bought supplies and by 5:30 pm went out Yellowhead Road to Robson Station. Past Moose Lake, bear and deer. Supper with our packer, Roy Hargreaves, here since 1922. Robson Glacier. July 25: Good day. From cabin, Robson was a giant of a mountain at 3008 m. Trains of Canadian National Railway passing. At 8 am, gong rang for breakfast. On horseback, fifteen horses and a colt in the pack train, trail going through western red cedar forest, canyons, up switchbacks, along cliffs. Passed Kinney Lake, Emperor Falls, Valley of a Thousand Falls, Tumbling Glacier, and Berg Lake, reaching cabin camp 15.9 km from Robson Station and 823 m higher. Noted brown needles on pine, the result of an apparent “chinook.” July 26: Rain on the roof, sack feeling terribly good. With breakfast away, Mrs. Hargreaves took us up to the provincial boundary. From there on our own, going up to the terminus of Robson Glacier, reconnoitering the series of terminal and recessional moraines,

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Figure 7.10. Cross section of trunk of glacier-tilted tree at Southeast Lyell Glacier. Date of ice push, taken from change where eccentric growth took over concentric growth, is 1840.

and collecting plants. Lunch with Bill and Steve in the rain. Uncovered some interstadial debris. Have sample for dating. Rained again and returned to camp near 6 pm. July 27: Worked mostly in the rain. Returned to innermost recessional moraine, obtaining counts on spruce and willow. Saw many humming birds. Checked nodules and mycorrhizae on Hedysarum. Obtained a good set of dates for the next two older moraines. Returned camp while Mount Robson came out a bit. Moon and thin clouds tonight. July 28: A crystal-clear day. Bill was up early photographing Mt. Robson, its snowcovered slopes bright and clear. Took about 35 cores. Deer flies were bad; at lunch went atop one of the moraines to get into the wind and escape the creatures. Back at 5:30 pm to write up notes. Mt. Robson now pale red with alpine glow. July 29: Cored about 15 trees, working the terminal moraine and outwash. Took stock of the floristics and collected. Flies were bad again today. Final counts on three cores made in camp without being harassed. Athabaska Falls. July 30: Departed Berg Lake with two pack horses. Bid our cooks, Joyce and Clarice, farewell, thanking them for great food and pleasant stay. Ran into a thunder and lightning storm, getting well soaked. Enjoyed watching the plummeting water and spray of Emperor Falls. Wet again in another storm at Kinney Lake. Cedar and

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Approximate variations in thousands of meters

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Robson Angel Columbia Dome Arhobaska Soskaichawan Southeast Lyell Freshfield Poyta Bow Yoho Advances determined from tilted or scarred trees Presumed variation Moraines 1500

1600

1700

1800

Figure 7.11. Variations of glaciers studied in the Canadian Rockies.

Figure 7.12. Robson Glacier viewed from Mt. Mumm.

1900

2

1

0

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Figure 7.13. Southeast Lyell Glacier flowing from the Lyell Icefield.

Figure 7.14. Freshfield Glacier descending from the Freshfield Icefield.

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Snowfall cm

250 225 200 175

Precipitation cm

50

45

40

Mean temperature °C

2.8

2.2

1.7

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

Figure 7.15. Ten-year running means of meteorological data at Banff, Alberta.

hemlock of Pacific Coastal Forest, tall and straight, were magnificent. Thimble berry, Devils club, goats beard, birch, maple, alder, and moss in carpets. Supper at Hargreaves. To Jasper and on to Athabaska Falls. Slept the night, enjoying hospitality of Frank Wells. Bow Lake. July 31: Slept till 9:30, dead to the world. Errands to run in Jasper, stopping for supper at the Columbia Icefield Chalet, and spending the night at the lodge at Bow Lake with Jim Simpson, Sr. Worked till 1 am getting cores fixed on core boards. Freshfield Glacier. August 1: Refreshed by an early morning hot bath, followed by breakfast. Talked with Jim. Left Mistaya Canyon by 10 am after loading truck. Pack train en route to Freshfield Glacier, stopping to camp overnight on the Howse River flats. Jim, a fine cook at 75, prepared supper of soup, steak and peas, celery and tomatoes, and tea. Collected and pressed plants. Read reports on Freshfield Glacier and looked at photos. Mosquitoes “squadron after squadron.” Sisskins darted over the flats through the Dryas. August 2: Patches of blue foretold a good day. Jim had oatmeal and bacon and eggs ready, as we left our sacks. Horses loaded. Traveled in timber along Howse River, across flats of Freshfield Creek, and up the moraine to where snout of the glacier formerly rested. Pack train soon arrived with Jim Simpson, Jr. and Sandy to set up camp. Left for the glacier, visiting 1922 and 1947 positions. Supper at 7:30 pm. Edited papers on the Project

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intended for the Juneau Independent. In the sack, listening to the roar of water tumbling in the stream nearby. August 3: Alpine glow is spreading on the peaks along the Freshfield; horses are grazing down by the water. A cloudy day at first, then sunny, cloudy again, and now a clear evening. Cored quite a number of trees. Dug a soil profile. Lunch of sandwiches by large Engelmann spruce; later, tea with Jim about 3 pm. Studied trimline and old forest beyond until near seven. August 4: This is one of those days when the sky is blue, the sun is bright, and work on the glacier is exhilarating. Went high on the trimline, just about directly above the terminus, looking down the valley to the outermost recent extent of the ice and far beyond to Howse Peak. Turning to look upglacier, followed the sun and haze over the Freshfield Icefield. Cored about ten trees along the trimline. Cut cross sections of two trees tilted at the trimline by ice. By late afternoon, tired, trooped back to camp. At supper, Jim gave us each a distinctive ball-like collection of pyrite crystals that he had picked up on the glacier. August 5: Entire party climbed up the Freshfield to the elfin-wooded Neverville Meadows. Up fluted hillocky ice, among deep roaring moulins, rock-strewn medial moraines, and debris cones with hard ice beneath, to above treeline. Day was clear, deep azure, the icefield stretching for miles under hazy air. Left at 7:30 am and arrived about 10 am. Passed a herd of 24 goats with kids bleating. Collected until it was time to descend. Noted a mire containing buried tree trunks that were larger than the spruce or fir presently growing in the elfin wood. Estimated some 60 m of deleveling in the ice below the Meadows. Mt. Freshfield, Mt. Dent, and Nanga Parbat were truly reminiscent of “The Glittering Mountains of Canada,” of which Thorington has written. At 4:30 pm, we were on the ice again, returning to camp. August 6: Things went leisurely today; nevertheless, we accomplished a great deal. Got a set of dates for spruce seedlings and their heights on the deglaciated ground. Now at 8:30 pm, just finished supper. Need to get ready for trip to Southeast Lyell Glacier on the morrow. Southeast Lyell Glacier. August 7: Left Freshfield camp a little after nine. Trip to Southeast Lyell took 7 h. Now at 4:30 pm, camp is being set up on the flats at Glacier River. Horses, their bells jingling, are hobbled. Day was good but hot and dusty. Howse River was high at crossing. Right now, am tired, hungry, and never want to get on a horse again. Jim called for supper, all of us downing sausages, peas, beans, and loads of tea. With Bill, a short walk to the terminal area of the glacier. Dryas drummondii was everywhere among Picea glauca and the dominant undershrub, Shepherdia. A fascinating place to study; can hardly wait till tomorrow to reconnoiter further. Thirsty as the devil tonight. August 8: Through the night, rumble of thunder could be heard. Toward morning with the rising sun, the sound seemed to occur more frequently. Up earlier than usual, anxious to get going. Located some interstadial wood and cored a few trees but before we knew it, a thunderstorm was socking in. Under ponchos, sat out the storm, at least we thought we could, but storm persisted. After coring a few more trees, by 5:30 pm we were back in camp, building a fire in the tent stove to dry clothes. August 9: Off early after breakfast. Horses were to carry us across Glacier River but managed to get across on foot despite the swift current. Worked north side of the terminus to approximate 1919 position of the ice. An exceptionally well-defined record obtained from a tilted tree tilted about 1840. Rained hard around 2 pm. By 4:30 pm, Sandy came with horses to take us to the south side of the river. Rained again. At 5:30 pm, decided to return and build another fire in the tent stove to dry off. Still raining at 10:30 pm. Bow Lake. August 10: Back to Bow Lake and the lodge, again crossing the Howse River. Glacier Lake was a mirror reflecting Mt. Murchison. Saw two mule deer. Stopped at Peyto Lake viewpoint in anticipation of future work on Peyto Glacier. At the lodge, shaved and

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washed to get off 10 days worth of grime. Dinner with Jim, who said: “Now we’ll do the Jesus Christ act – the last supper.” Right now looking out the window toward the peaks in the distance across Bow Lake. Athabaska Falls. August 11: Jim at the door to our room yelled “Come and get it.” Soon after breakfast, on bidding Jim our best wishes and thanks, drove to Athabaska Falls to arrange for the night. Gassed up at Saskatchewan Crossing. Passed movie set with movie stars, Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum, on the way. Stopped at the Chalet to have lunch and pick up stored gear. Saw Joe DiMaggio. Stopped at Mt. Edith Cavell to view Angel Glacier and anticipate later study of moraines. Enjoyed sampling some orange bread and tea during our stop. At 11:30 pm, after having a night cap with Frank and Dora Wells, sacked out on the floor of the cabin. Before dropping off, need to put down the story Jim Simpson told about “procrastination.” Bull ate the bee on a buttercup. Bee decided not to bite the bull in the throat, thought stomach would be better for his bite. But when he arrived in the warm and comfortable stomach, he fell asleep, and when he awoke, the bull had left him. So the moral: never procrastinate. August 12: Moose Lake to take a core but deepest was at 2 m. Out of Jasper toward Edmonton but no other sites found. Later, just north of Jasper, cored to a depth of 4 m in a mire between Patricia Lake and Lake Pyramid. August 13: Today was devoted to cleaning up, that is, clothes, notes, samples, equipment. In general, getting organized for big day tomorrow making pack train trip to Columbia Glacier. As in the case of Athabaska Glacier, its source is the Columbia Icefield. Columbia Glacier. August 14: By truck to Sunwapta Falls, where Frank Wells and Les Prosser were waiting with 15 horses. Rode on “Dorothy,” an old sure-footed horse. Up the Athabaska River till about 4:30 pm, unloading the horses and setting up camp on the flats. A fine cup of coffee and steak supper. Sat around the camp fire, watching the night sky come on and listening to rushing water resounding in the valley. August 15: Slumbered till 8 am in the cool of morning, rising to the smell of Canadian bacon and eggs cooking and tinkle of bells on the horses. Pack train loaded, by 11:30 am continued upvalley for 3 h, again setting up camp some 19 km below Columbia Glacier. Crossed the river several times. “Bobby,” the dog, had a hard time against the strong current. Through extensive area of burned lodgepole. Grizzly and moose droppings. Note that bears like ants and dig for them in rotting logs; also, noted ground squirrels make neat piles of cones around their burrows. Enjoyed fine steak supper and dessert of strawberries and cream. At the camp fire, Frank entertained with wolf stories. August 16: Cloudy and rained a bit at breakfast, causing a delay in loading the horses. Day cleared, making for an enjoyable trip up the broad valley train and in getting camp set up. Visited Bill’s survey stations from 1948. Thunder and lightning storm clobbered us while walking out an old remnant moraine. Now in the tent with the candle flickering, as darkness is coming on, looks as though the storm may continue. On horseback, 3 h today. August 17: Cored trees on northeast side of the creek below the glacier. Crossed, alternately using a pair of boots which were tossed one to the other, to set up flag at Bill’s Station 6 and to core trees on southwest side. Worked on up to the trimline. Back across the creek, getting soaked, as the water level had risen. August 18: Upglacier to the icefall in 2 h across hummocky ice with moulins and meltwater streams. Went up to about 2450 m below Mt. Columbia to visit treeline and collect. About 4:30 pm descended in about 2 h, witnessing at the head of the glacier periodic avalanching of ice from the icefield above. Dora had rainbow trout at dinner. Camp fire with hot rum. Stars bright, a cool wind coming down from the glacier. Distant thunder.

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August 19: Cored trees on the end moraine, counting several greater than 200 years in age. Lunch with Dora. Cored more trees. Cut a cross section of an ice-tilted spruce. Fierce storm after supper, making all tent bound for the night. Storm still wandering around, as the candle flickers out at ten. August 20: Thunder and lightning continued with rain beating down through the night. Most of the day out of the rain sequestered in the tent. Not much accomplished during this our last day here. August 21: Some final reconnoitering and photography. To upper eighteenth century trimline, noting invasion of whitebark pine. Camp packed up, the pack train returning downvalley to our earlier stopover. August 22: Off to climb mountain behind camp and collect. To the ridgetop in 2 h. Visited glacier terminus below Dias Mountain at 2440 m. Alpine fir and Engelmann spruce at treeline. Marmot and ptarmigan. Back down at just before 6 pm in a little over 1 h. Pressed plants by flashlight. August 23: With horses saddled, off to “Seven Mile Camp” in 6 h. “Dorothy” was wonderful today on one crossing, where my camera was nearly lost. And it would have been had she not held steady, as Frank came to the rescue. August 24: On horseback in cold rain. After a while, decided to walk “Dorothy” rather than ride in order to keep warm. Back at Athabaska Falls, a “medicinal” bath to thaw out various parts. Athabaska Falls. August 25: Day in the cabin, writing letters, getting notes and reports squared away. Still raining. Les with us for lunch. To Jasper for supper and a movie: coronation of Queen E II R, narrated by Lawrence Olivier. August 26: Today we learned that Art Gilkey was killed in an avalanche on K-2. The news, needless to say, touched Bill and me deeply, as we had known Art for several years, worked with him in the field, and greatly admired him as a person. Climbing in the Karakorum, before his life ended, he must have touched the philosopher’s stone. Angel Glacier. August 27: Burdened by the news, tried to keep active, coring trees on moraines at Angel Glacier. Supper in Jasper. August 28: More work at Angel Glacier. During a break, tea and orange bread. Supper again at the railway station in Jasper. Athabaska Glacier. August 29: Restful night, “Bobby” next to me on the floor. Bye to Frank and Dora with many thanks for the trip to Columbia Glacier. Now in Room 11 on the top floor of the Columbia Icefield Chalet. Movie people here in second floor rooms. Set of a mining camp for filming on the Athabaska outwash. Visited Hilda Glacier. August 30: Met Bob Sharp from Cal Tech and Gunnar Anderson after breakfast. Cut section of tilted tree and cored trees in “old” forest beyond the Chalet. Weather was cold, wet, and just plain miserable. All of us thoroughly soaked through. Crossing glacier stream (Sunwapta), conditions worsened with a “swim,” while retrieving a boot. Windy night in the garret. August 31: After movie crowd milled around and left for the set, went off to visit Dome Glacier, again getting wet crossing the stream (Sunwapta). Old trees high near treeline. Bill and Steve to Wilcox Pass for photographs. Felt wind burned. Goodbye to August. Saskatchewan Glacier. September 1: Breakfasted before movie people arrived from Jasper. Waited on second floor landing for stars in the film, Jimmy Stewart, Ruth Roman, and Corinne Calvet, to arrive. Rooms on the second floor were used before going out for filming scenes on the set. Deliberately took time getting on our boots, but it worked, for we enjoyed a rather personal chat. Jimmy Stewart, in particular, was easy to talk with. He was

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genuinely interested in what we had to tell him about our work. The occasion of their being in the Rockies was the filming of “The Far Country” and “River of No Return.” Worked Saskatchewan Glacier moraines and outwash, cored 13 trees and cut a cross section of tilted whitebark pine. Rained hard by noon. Headed back to Chalet at 6 pm, after getting wet to the waist crossing the stream. Satisfying results, despite personal discomfort. Snow down low on the slopes. Colder than it has been. September 2: On Parker Ridge for photos of Saskatchewan Glacier. Rime on the northern side of the summit cairn. Wind icy with flakes at times. Counted 11 goats on rock ledges below. Mt. Castleguard and the glacier clearly visible. Over to Hilda Glacier for coring. Picked up a rock containing fossils thought to be bryozoans. Last night at the Chalet. Bow Glacier. September 3: Packed and left the Chalet, while the movie crowd was at it thick and fast this nice day. To lodge at Bow Lake, seeing Jim Simpson, Sr. once more. Near treeline on Dolomite Ridge, across the valley from Crowfoot Glacier, noted large dead trees not of a size now found there. September 4: Bow Glacier and 32 trees cored. A long day, returning late in the shadow of the mountain. September 5: To Bow Glacier for felling Engelmann spruce with 509 growth rings. Bill and Steve to Peyto Glacier. All back by 4:30 pm for trip to Yoho Provincial Park and overnight in cabin in anticipation of study tomorrow of Yoho Glacier. Stopped en route for groceries and at Spiral Tunnels Tea Room. Over Kicking Horse Pass, visiting Field and Takakkaw Falls. Exciting to watch the Canadian Pacific trains on the grade crossing from the west. Yoho Glacier. September 6: Frost in the morning. Looks like it leveled the Veratrum. Heard Takakkaw Falls all the night through. Up at 5 am, took the car to end of road, where trail begins, and hiked on for 2 h to terminal moraine of the Yoho. By 5 pm, after coring 30 trees, returned to supper in Yoho Valley Camp. Takakkaw Falls cascading down a 360-m drop. September 7: Up at 7:30 am in the cold air, jumping out of bed to start the fire in the stove and quickly jumping back again. Car loaded, drove past the spiral tunnels, which were built to enable trains to negotiate the grade. Photos of trains pulled by Diesel engines at the B.C.–Alberta divide. Bill talked about the old days when the sound of steam locomotives, chugging upgrade, resounded in the valleys and from the tunnels. Stopped to visit Canadian Pacific’s Chateau Lake Louise and have lunch at Moraine Lake; also, had a look at Wenkchemna Glacier. Back to the lodge at Bow Lake. Peyto Glacier. September 8: At 5:30 pm, reaching what seemed like an historic moment, the last tree was cored. Peyto Glacier tackled today in autumn weather with yellow foliage on the willows. Moraines dating to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Now at supper very tired but at the same time feeling good to know that we had achieved our goal for the summer. Bow Lake. September 9: A restless night. With a headache, sluggish in the morning. To lessen our load on the cross-country trip back, duffels packed off to be shipped home. Returned to the lodge. Finished getting cores on collection boards and pressing plants. After supper, prepared a lengthy report for the Society. September 10. Must remember the cowboy paintings by Russell and the animal works of Runguis and Belmore Brown here at the lodge. Today am 29. Time goes. Clean white shirt and suit to celebrate. A bit strange to get out of the stinking mountain pants. Back in New York, arriving on the 15th.

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Chapter 8 1954 Field Season

8.1. Introduction Studies involving the micrometeorology of the atmosphere–snow layer interface on Lemon Creek Glacier begun in 1953 were continued and intensified (Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1955). A number of conclusions were reached about conditions across the critical boundary. Pits dug to depth were used to gather additional data on the physical characteristics of snow and firn. Studies continued to concentrate on the physically challenging measurement of the glacier’s hydrological budget. Ablation, accumulation, surface movement, and changes in the firn line were measured. Historical variations of Lemon Creek Glacier at the southern edge of the icefield compared with the centrally located Taku were also taken into account. Reconnaissance of upper Lemon Creek was made to ascertain location of the terminal moraine and subsequent recessional positions of the ice front during the Little Ice Age. A day’s foray was made to Icy Point on the Gulf of Alaska coast to investigate muskeg deposits on the marine terraces. There followed in coastal British Columbia a pollen-stratigraphic study with particular consideration given to the paleoecology of the Queen Charlotte Islands. A six-man core party (Fig. 8.1) contributed to studies of the glacier during a period which began in late May and lasted through August. Field leader: E.R. LaChapelle.

Figure 8.1. Field party at Research Station on Lemon Creek Glacier; left to right, Merritt Mitchell (visitor), Cal Heusser, Tony Thomas, Ed LaChapelle, Bob Goodwin, Thor Karlstrom (visitor), John McCall (visitor), and Steve Den Hartog.

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Figure 8.2. C-124 Globemaster used for aerial delivery of parcels of Jamesway hut.

The establishment and maintenance of a long-term Research Station (Camp 16A) were essential for the effective collection of data on Lemon Creek Glacier. To satisfy this need, parcels constituting a Jamesway hut were paradropped to the site, along with food, gasoline, and other supplies, from a C-124 Globemaster of the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron at Elmendorf AFB (Figs. 8.2–8.7). The parcels, weighing well over 800 kg, were man-hauled to the ridge on the west side of the glacier. The semi-cylindrical, canvas-covered Jamesway, measuring 4.8 ¥ 4.8 ¥ 2.4 m, was assembled and set up at 1275 m, supported by wooden arches, end walls (with doors and a vestibule), and floor (Figs. 8.8–8.10). For protection from high wind, the Jamesway was cabled to the ground and later sheathed with shiplap for long-term durability. To facilitate ready access to the site for flights from Juneau Airport, retractable skis were installed on a Piper Super Cruiser, piloted by Toby Dunlap (Fig. 8.11). Around 50 flights with landings on Lemon Creek Glacier under a variety of conditions were made to transport personnel and equipment during the season.

Figure 8.3. Rigging parcels for aerial delivery to Lemon Creek Glacier.

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Figure 8.4. Motorized elevator raising equipment through the cargo bay into the aircraft.

Figure 8.5. Target (“T”) laid out in the drop zone on Lemon Creek Glacier.

8.2. Research 8.2.1. Micrometeorology of Lemon Creek Glacier Diurnal variations in snow albedo of the saturated melting snow layer were studied at an altitude of 1220 m (Hubley, 1955). The site approximated the location where studies were made in 1953 (Hubley, 1954b). The source of data was a pair of Eppley 10-junction pyrheliometers, set upright and inverted, at a height of 75 cm. Energy output of each instrument was measured every 24 s by a Leeds and Northrup Speedomax with power for the recorder coming from a 350-W gasoline motor generator. Determination of solar radiation at the snow surface was derived from the difference in readings from the two pyrheliometers. The collected data offered a measure of insight as to albedo characteristics of snow on the glacier. Results obtained between late June and August indicated: (1) an inverse relationship between snow albedo and the sun’s height above the horizon, height of cloud layers, and thickness

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Figure 8.6. Parcels about to be parachuted through the cargo bay.

of overhead cloud layers when the solar altitude was less than a critical angle, and (2) a direct relationship with overlying cloud layers when solar altitude exceeded some critical level. Snow albedo, being 30% higher on clear days at sunrise and sunset than at midday, varied with the amount of radiation at low angles of incidence. Albedo at midday on days completely overcast with no fog was 15% higher than on clear days; values under conditions of overcast and fog were 30% higher. With an overcast and strong diffusivity of incoming short-wave radiation, there was less variation in the mean angle of incidence compared with a clear day. Minimum albedo on sunny days, as a consequence of snow roughness, was associated with the least wind speed. Further study concerned the relationship between net radiative energy exchange at the snow surface and atmospheric parameters and physical properties of the snow (Hubley, 1957a). Instrumentation was as in the albedo study with pyrheliometers set just over 1 m above the surface. In addition, a Beckman and Whitley radiometer measured net long-wave and short-wave radiation

Figure 8.7. One of seven passes made during the operation.

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Figure 8.8. Hauling parts of Jamesway hut from the drop zone for assembly on bedrock ridge on west side of Lemon Creek Glacier.

near the surface of the snow. A Leeds and Northrup Speedomax recorded readings every 24 s. In the course of the study, instrumental limitations were recognized and errors corrected. Radiometer readings in daytime had apparent validity during cloudy hours, when there was no significant precipitation or fog, and at night during cloudy periods without precipitation. Results showed energy transfer to the glacier by rain to be insignificant. With total rainfall of 46 cm during the month of July 1953, using an average cloud temperature of 5∞C, heat transfer caused the ice to melt only 3 cm. The conclusion was reached that rainfall, as a means of heat transfer, became significant when the snow temperature was below freezing and meltwater solidifying gave up its heat of fusion. Warm storms over the glacier during the budget year were singled out as constituting an important factor related to the amount of ablation and, consequently, mass balance. At the micrometeorological

Figure 8.9. Jamesway hut erected on leveled ground, arches and purlins set in place, covered by panels of heavy canvas.

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Figure 8.10. Jamesway ready for occupancy.

station in 1953, for example, a single storm caused 30 cm of snow, water equivalent of 15 cm, to melt in a single day. Storms, however, were also the source for accumulation, as the freezing level at altitude dictated. While 30 cm of snow melted at 1220 m, higher altitudes experienced much heavier accumulation.

8.2.2. Hydrological Budget 1953–1954 Observations begun on June 8 (Fig. 8.12) and continued until September 14. A surplus of 3.32 ¥ 106 m3 water equivalent was calculated. This figure was later corrected to a deficit of 3.80 ¥ 106 m3 (Marcus, 1964), when the amount of accumulation was measured in pits dug in the glacier the following field season. Below the firn line at 1100 m on September 14, exposed ice amounted to a third of the glacier’s area.

8.2.3. Variations of Lemon Creek Glacier Dating was carried out inside the trimline in the valley of Lemon Creek below the glacier’s snout, where vegetation was in a state of primary succession (Figs. 8.13–8.15). Alder and willow, followed

Figure 8.11. Ski-wheel Piper Super Cruiser, piloted by Toby Dunlap, operating on Lemon Creek Glacier.

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Figure 8.12. Ed LaChapelle and Bob Goodwin preparing to lay out stakes for regimen study on Lemon Creek Glacier.

Figure 8.13. During the Little Ice Age, Lemon Creek Glacier advanced downvalley to a point approximately where Lemon Creek is no longer distantly visible.

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Figure 8.14. Trimline produced by the glacier, below which alder has colonized the north side of Lemon Creek Valley.

Figure 8.15. Upvalley from the glacier’s maximum advance in recent centuries, alder invaded slopes denuded in the course of the ice front’s subsequent recession.

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by black cottonwood, were first generation on deglaciated surfaces; later, communities were supplanted mostly by Sitka spruce and some mountain hemlock. The spruce by its broad base and conical form had grown up in the open, contrasting trees with columnar-like form, several centuries old, that grew in the closed ancient forest outside the trimline. Cores were taken from the bases of Sitka spruce trees (Fig. 8.16). For dating purposes, 10 years were added to age counts to estimate times of recession. This figure was derived from the age difference between the oldest spruce in 1954 (15 years) found growing at a location known, from an aerial photograph, to have been deglaciated in 1929 (25 years ago). Locally available seed source in the adjacent ancient forest appeared to offer justification for the estimate. Ages of spruce ascertained positions of the ice front approximately in 1750, 1759, 1759–1769, 1769–1819, 1819–1891, 1891–1902, 1902–1919, 1919–1929, 1929–1948, and 1948–1954.

8.2.4. Paleoecology of Pacific Coastal British Columbia Stratigraphic sections of British Columbia mire deposits were taken to obtain pollen records from the Queen Charlotte Islands and on Vancouver Island (see Fig. 2.10). Langara Island in the Queen Charlottes, because of its position at the far end of Dixon Entrance (Fig. 8.17), suggested that glaciers reaching the Pacific at that point may have retreated sooner than at locations in proximity to the Coast Mountains. Thus, it was important to obtain samples for dating and environmental reconstruction from Langara. Steve Den Hartog ably assisted in the course of the reconnaissance study (Fig. 8.18). A date of 10,850 14C years BP (L-297C; 12,900 cal years BP) from near the base of a muskeg on Langara, however, indicated no more than a Lateglacial age (Heusser, 1955b, 1960a), while the base was estimated to date to 13,000 14C years BP (15,600 cal years BP). According to Warner et al. (1982), deglaciation along the Hecate Strait side of Graham Island dated to before 16,000 14C years BP (18,500 cal years BP).

8.3. Journal Entries New York–Seattle. May 23: Northwest Airlines Flight 1, Stratocruiser at 10 am from New York for Seattle via Minneapolis. A bumpy thunderstorm near St. Cloud. Met by Dick Hubley on landing at Bow Lake and out to his place just north of UW campus on Lake Washington.

Figure 8.16. Coring and dating of Sitka spruce in ancient forest, which predates the Little Ice Age.

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Figure 8.17. Sampling locations on Langara Island and at Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands, and at Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

Figure 8.18. Steve Den Hartog on board Wee III in Dixon Entrance en route from Masset to Langara Island.

1954 Field Season

Seattle. May 24: Visited UW, meeting Phil Church, Ed Bagley, and Art Harrison. To Co-op, meeting Carlton Ray. At night, bull session with Harrison, Post, Bengtson, and Hubley till midnight. Juneau. May 25: Nine o’clock PAA flight on DC-6B, landing in whiteout under a 600-m ceiling at Juneau. Met Governor Heintzelman, Ken Loken, and Toby Dunlap. At Hotel Juneau, the Grays and Room 310 again. With Tony Thomas to Alaska Steamship Company dock to check arrival of bulk shipment. May 26: Using Dunlap’s red pickup with Hubley and Ray, made seven trips to the airport, taking some 3450 kg of equipment from Alaska Steamship dock, including crates containing Jamesway, food, and miscellaneous items, for temporary storage in small Quonset hut beside the tarmac. At night with Thomas at the Red Dog Saloon, commiserating over the plight of George Argus, who had taken a fall after climbing Mt. McKinley. Alone with a dislocated hip, he was waiting rescue by party including John McCall and Fred Milan. May 27: At the airport, riding out with Dunlap while Hubley stayed in town, spent the day with Ray packing 15 parachutes. May 28: Following Loken and Dunlap on initial reconnaissance flight to Lemon Creek Glacier, using retractable skis that had been specifically acquired by the project, flown to the glacier with Hubley and Ray. Trips, requiring about 90 m for landing, took about halan-hour each. Salmon Creek Reservoir frozen in winter setting. Poked among cache in improvized rock shelter set up in 1953. Crossing east to the divide above Norris Glacier, used Mt. Rose snow sampler at four places on the glacier. Snow 3.7 m deep on average. Dunlap returned to take us out at 5:30 pm. Last to go, reminisced alone in the cold wind recalling the many treks and parties in the past that traveled the glacier on way to Camp 16 and Camp 10. Nightlife at the Baranof with Ray and Dunlap. May 29: Met Bob Goodwin, who arrived yesterday. Food and gear to airport. Party now about 300 m from Argus, so it looks like he is about to be rescued. May 30: Saw Ed LaChapelle in on 2 pm PAA flight. To the Mendenhall with Goodwin to photograph interstadial forest layer. LaChapelle and Hubley out later. In Dunlap’s car, visited Mendenhall Lake and lower Montana Creek muskeg, finally leaving the car with flat tire at the airport. May 31: Social day. Breakfast with Alva Blackerby and wife, Hazel, prior to Blackie’s trip to New York. Supper with Dr. and Mrs. Rude followed by slides and botany with Amy Rude and Maxcine Williams. June 1: Checked out of Hotel Juneau and off to the airport. LaChapelle and Hubley to the Lemon. C-124 “Pac Rat” came in about 7:30 pm with Col. Streeton, pilot, Capt. Corkhill, dropmaster, and crew. Plan to meet at 9 am to load and make drop. With Dunlap, Goodwin, and Ray to the Red Dog. Back at airport at 1:30 am to sleep on top floor of control tower, which was no longer in use. Beacon piercing the darkness. Runways, paths of colored lights. June 2: Awakened by early PNA flight, suffering with a headache. C-124 crew arrived and commenced roping up drops and loading aircraft through the cargo bay via motorized elevator. Once inside the fuselage, parcels arranged by means of large conveyor belts. Capt. Corkhill flew in with Dunlap to set out large “T” target and returned to make the drop. At 5 pm, both equipment and personnel secure with parachutes, took off, and in less than 2 h flying time made seven passes over the target, five on drops. In the huge darkened interior of the fuselage, thrilling to watch parts of the Jamesway hut slide off the conveyors and fall through the cargo bay. All back to the Lemon after C-124 departed for Anchorage. Lemon Creek Glacier. June 3: Tent flapping throughout the night but warm in the sack. Out early to drop area to tie up parachutes and haul parts of the Jamesway onto the rocks.

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Dunlap in to take Hubley out for meteorological equipment. Supper now finished, Ray playing his guitar and singing. Clear evening, cool wind starting to blow from the north. Glacier like an oven today. Dunlap in on another trip, bringing some ice cream and taking out chutes to be returned to the 54th. June 4: Decided on a location for the Jamesway, which required considerable effort leveling the ground. Structure relatively easy to put up, although LaChapelle and Goodwin having set one up before, made it simpler. Dunlap in twice. Hot day, much Cool Aide drunk, my hands burning from the sun. The 54th should be back tomorrow to parachute supply of Blazo gasoline. June 5: After first night in Jamesway, another good day. Backpacked gear from the old rockshelter, consolidating all next to the Jamesway. “Pac Rat” arrived about 3:30 pm. Made 5 passes for delivery, using A-22 containers and 20-m parachutes. Since early June, Dunlap in on 16 flights. June 6: Crossed to other side of neighboring Ptarmigan Glacier for collecting. In flower: Saxifraga oppositifolia, Cassiope stelleriana, Primula cuneifolia, Ranunculus cooleyi, Lloydia serotina, Loiseleuria procumbens, Hierochloe alpina, Sedum rosea. LaChapelle and Goodwin to Lemon terminus to core ice. Need to get to valley below to work out record of glacial variations. Juneau. June 7: With Ray down Cairn Ridge and Salmon Creek trail to Glacier Highway in 7 h. En route, Salix reticulata, Anemone narcissiflora, Pedicularis labradorica, and Carex macrochaeta in flower. Noted Oplopanax with its candy-like odor. Ate at Belle’s. Out to the airport taking refuge for the night in the Quonset mid piles of equipment. June 8: Awakened again by arrival of early morning PNA flight. Cleaned up over at the Administration Building. Arranged with Loken to go to Icy Point tomorrow to sample muskegs on the terraces. LaChapelle with Dunlap to the Taku. Icy Point. June 9: Breakfast in town, afterward picking up Hubley’s repaired generator. With Ray off to Icy Point, Loken flying one plane and Dunlap another. Stop at Gustavus, finding a field of shooting stars in flower. Over Brady Glacier, Dunlap in sight and both planes making a stop on the beach at Boussel Bay. At Icy Point, climbed up about five terraces to 1300-m level, sampling peat in about a dozen places, but all shallow. Disappointed at energy spent and cost of $70 flying time, returned Juneau for supper at Laura Lee’s. Juneau. June 10: With Ray to Sunny Point muskeg at the mouth of Lemon Creek. Worked till 5 pm coring at three locations on a transect. Back to the airport, then into town, where at Belle’s met Hubley, who had come down from the Lemon to see a dentist about an abscessed tooth. Left him at the hotel. Visited the Thomas abode in Cedar Park. Back to the airport. June 11: Early morning PNA flight out like clockwork. Breakfast at the airport. Checked with Kenny Wood at CAA for transmission on 4610 and 4055. Lunch with Hubley and Thomas. To Salmon Creek with Hubley, by 1 pm starting up the catwalk and reaching the dam in an hour and quarter. New trail mapped out in 1953, courtesy of Austin Post, is best yet for gaining Cairn Ridge. Through rain and wind on to the Jamesway in 4.5 h. With supper over, reading Rachel Carson’s “Sea Around Us.” Lemon Creek Glacier. June 12: At 10 pm, LaChapelle and Hubley down to the glacier for scheduled observations. Wind and snow blowing a gale. Rocks along the ridge all white. Hard to believe it is 12 June and in a veritable snowstorm. Two lanterns and gas plant are going, making the interior bright and comfortable. Outside in the darkened air, visibility is less than 30 m, the snow leaping the ridge in fantastic flight. Our setting austere but bred of good fellowship.

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June 13: Cold in the sack all night, listening to the sound of sleet in strong wind striking the Jamesway. Wind speed at 90–96 km h–1. Might have managed an hour’s sleep. Day spent eating and reading, of which all JIRP parties are fond. LaChapelle made a culinary contribution to survival by baking cinnamon rolls. Snow blowing cold as night comes on. Cairn and Vesper at times are out. Lower glacier as a white void cannot be seen. June 14: Jamesway is quite secure and drafts no longer blow through floor openings now chinked. Dark green, thick protective exterior is made rigid by arches and purlins. Interior is pale green. Floor is clean, having only been swept. All occupants relaxed but eager for storm to pass, so as to be able to resume respective study programs. Enjoying a moment of introspection, while reading Zeuner’s “Dating the Past.” Thousands and thousands of flakes whirling and eddying in the air, as snow outside continues to fall. Late in the afternoon during a break, tramped on the ridge to the north with LaChapelle to see what could be seen. June 15: Day broke clear and all parties out across the glacier. Pollen work resumed after digging pit at met station. Dunlap in but in soft, wet snow had a hard time getting off. LaChapelle and Goodwin helped start him on a downhill run. About 5 pm, Dunlap returned, bringing in Steve Den Hartog, who had just arrived in Juneau. By then, with fog back in, it is a wonder that he was able to land and take off under marginal visibility. Supper featuring onions a la Ray. More camaraderie on retiring with a group reading of Robert Service’s “Cremation of Sam McGee.” June 16: Fog and snow driving again. Cold and wet setting up auxiliary tent and backpacking 36 kg cartons of Blazo from off the ice. Route out and back marked by willow wands. Turned cold and clear, temperature down to 0∞C. Things seem better organized tonight. Read more of “Dating the Past” and short stories by Lin Yutang. June 17: Fog moving in and out all day. Pit now down to 3.4 m with a dozen samples taken. Hubley, LaChapelle, and Goodwin to the Lemon terminus. Ray collecting ice fleas. June 18: LaChapelle and Goodwin via Cairn Ridge to Juneau. Fog in, thick all day. More digging in the pit, settling pollen, and going out into the void at 4:30 and 7:30 pm for decanting. Hubley cooking supper. Snow beginning to stick. June 19: Day spent welcoming visitors. Dunlap in at 2:30 pm with Thor Karlstrom from USGS. Down to moraines at head of the Lemon. Later Thomas, LaChapelle, and Goodwin with visitors, Merritt Mitchell and John McCall, arrived at camp. Dunlap on four flights, taking Hubley on one for photos. Colorful evening with much alpine glow. Juneau. June 20: Down Cairn Ridge to Juneau in rain and cloud with Karlstrom, Den Hartog, and Ray in 3.5 h. After cleaning up in Karlstrom’s facilities at the Baranof, to Laura Lee’s for supper, followed by the Red Dog-Bubble Room circuit. Toby’s diggings for the night, sacked out 1 am on hard floor. June 21: With Karlstrom to Mendenhall interfluctuational forest layer, peat exposure of muskeg at Sunny Point, and raised delta in Juneau. Samples of wood and shells for dating. Supper at the Baranof with best wishes and thanks to Thor for stopping to visit. Night at Toby’s. Lemon Creek Glacier. June 22: After breakfast at Belle’s, joined by Thomas for coffee, back out to Salmon Creek trail for return to the Lemon. Rain socked in hard at about 760 m just below first cairn. Extremely tired with little energy to keep up a pace. Good to reach the Jamesway and get into dry clothes. LaChapelle cooked spaghetti for a most welcome supper. June 23: More fog. Crevasses near camp beginning to open. More work in the pit now with 19 samples taken. June 24: Fog, sun, and blue sky coming and going seemed to play tag all day. Housekeeping chores. Secured additional dirt layer along base of Jamesway to minimize

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cold air penetration through seams in floor sections. Cleaned up what was left at rock shelter. Survey sites occupied for tying in movement profiles. Juneau. June 25: Under blue sky with Ray and Den Hartog bid farewell to the Lemon, going down Cairn Ridge back to Juneau and crashing through the alder. At Toby’s, snows are behind us. June 26: Writing this in upper Lemon Creek valley bivouacked with Ray and Den Hartog. Above deep canyon mid roar of cascading water, harassed by ranks and files of mosquitoes. Left start of trail at Glacier Highway at 10:30 am en route to valley head. Took note of raised delta on opposite side of creek. Canyon by early pm, dating trees on surfaces along the way with Swedish increment corer. After supper in squall; now darkening, sacked out under poncho at 9:30 pm. June 27: Pin cushions and the three of us have a lot in common. Dowsed with 6-12, battled mosquitoes all night. In the morning, my face, where it poked from the sleeping bag, felt puffed and contorted from the onslaught. About noon, back out at the valley after going through muskeg, which is cut by the trail just outside what is figured to be Little Ice Age maximum. Estimated over 3.3 m of peat. Ray now with black eye from accidental blow from ice axe. Back at airport, best sleep after several nights. June 28: K.J.K. Buettner from UW taken in to Lemon Creek Glacier to visit Hubley. Dunlap total of 33 flights. With Ray and Den Hartog in town at Hotel Juneau (again Room 310). Alaska Coastal for tickets to Ketchikan and work in the Queen Charlottes. After carousing about town, at 1:40 am slipped between the sheets. June 29: Memorable event last night at Red Dog Saloon. Ray entertained on his guitar, the establishment providing drinks all around. Ray played from his repertoire, Big Rock Candy Mountain, Blue, Lavender Cowboy, Streets of Laredo, Barbara Allen, and Eddystone Light. Party of about a dozen, among visiting group in town, Ted Bank, Fred West, and Jay Ransom, off to the Aleutians. Up to the Bubble Room, Ray again entertaining, closing the bar. June 30: At the Forest Service in the morning to visit with Thomas and check over 1929 aerial photo of Lemon Creek Glacier. Best to Blackerby for a good trip to New York. Stopped at Territorial Museum for talk with Ed Keithahn. Another celebratory evening at the Baranof. Hot buttered rum with Ray, Goodwin, Dunlap, and Den Hartog till 3 am. Usual walk back to hotel in the rain. Prince Rupert. July 1: Alaska–Juneau Mine fell away as our Alaska Coastal flight left the waters of Gastineau Channel. Stopped at Petersburg and Wrangell with a few hours in Ketchikan to have lunch. Queen Charlotte Airlines “Norseman” at 3 pm over Dixon Entrance and lower Portland Canal to Prince Rupert. At Prince Rupert Hotel, terminal of the Canadian National on the waterfront below. Tomorrow another day, so much for today. July 2: Delighted to locate and sample peat site in town. Visited B.C. Forest Service, spending the afternoon with Lawrence Boulton. Picked up tickets for flight on Canadian Pacific from Sandspit on Moresby Island in the Charlottes to Vancouver and Seattle. Cloudy today with “dry” rain. Queen Charlotte City. July 3: PBY to Sandspit. Met Serges De Bucy, who drove us to Alliford Bay, a Royal Canadian Air Force Base with 1400 men during WWII. Via water taxi across Skidegate Inlet to Queen Charlotte City and Haida (Premier) Hotel. Lunch at a grubby place advertising Fish and Chips. After purchasing groceries, arranged for trip to Tlell in the morning. In the evening back at the hotel, loggers in a drunken brawl getting a going over from “ladies of the night.” Port Clements. July 4: Lobby of the hotel dark and seamy, loggers lingering from the evening before far from sober. De Bucy picked us up at 9 am, taking us out past Haida

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Indian village of Skidegate, a single totem still standing, and on to Tlell to sample muskeg. Walked out about 1.8 km to an abandoned cabin with Saturday Evening Post magazines dating from 1927. De Bucy brought us to meet Harold Ombrak, who would take us out to Naden Harbor and Langara Island. At Port Clements Hotel for overnight with Adam Pyper and his wife, a very friendly and interesting Scotch couple. Cup of tea at 3:30 pm and at 5:30 supper. Sleeping on the top floor with heavy odor of tar paper. Naden Harbor. July 5: From Port Clements at about 9 am aboard “Wee III” to Masset Sound, the Sound cut through by a series of ridges that rise from about 30 m to about 75 m in height on approaching Masset. Out into Dixon Entrance in 2.5 h. Stopped at Wiah Point store (“Seven Mile”) to pick up food items. Lots of kelp just offshore. Came around Cape Edinshaw into Verago Sound and Naden Harbor. Seeking expanse of muskeg to the west, climbed through salal and windfall for 2.5 h, returning unsuccessfully in rain to abandoned cannery. Examined available quarters (Waldorf, New Yorker, Plaza, Ritz), settling on a dilapidated number eight with nettle all around. Made smoky fire and dried clothes. Light supper with tea from cedar-flavored rainwater off shingles on the roof. Silver moon in the southwest. Langara Island. July 6: At Henslung Bay on southern Langara Island, sitting out a storm a bit cramped in small cabin of the 12-horse, 2-cylinder “Wee III.” Inland on trail leading to lighthouse on northern end of Langara, sampled muskeg at about 60 m altitude. Trail across a number of low ridges with many ups and downs. Coming back, passed two native women and several children on the beach. Visited houseboat in Henslung Bay with store coop, where fishermen bring their catches to be kept in ice for packer to pick up. Invited to tea with Philip and Jean Stace-Smith, who run the co-op. Supper with Ombrak, later making ice cream in good company on the houseboat. Captain of the packer “Challenger,” tied up alongside, invited us on board for the night. July 7: High wind and choppy water. Crows calling, apparently unperturbed by the storm. In the evening with the incoming tide, wind picked up, clouds moving fast overhead. Around to Cloak Bay past Cox Island with Smitty, fisherman on the “Falcon,” seeking better anchorage. About a dozen boats sought shelter in the bay. Many sea stacks and pillars. Reconnoitered the beach, Den Hartog finding two Japanese glass floats. Noted polished dioritic erratic. Returned to houseboat, helping to load salmon (cohoe, sockeye, bull, spring, king). Stomachs slit and insides removed, fish kept filled with ice. Another night aboard “Challenger.” Masset. July 8: Gale warnings still posted at 10 pm last night. Tried to leave Langara for return to Masset, but had to come back. After wind backed off about 4 pm, got under way. But writing this now in the hotel, wonder how we survived after 4.5 h. Trip was a reminder of the wild San Antonio–Spokane ride on C-124 in 1952. Ombrak’s boat went up and down, over and up, over and down, dishes clattering in the galley, smashing on the floor, he gunning it hard, the hull slapping on the water. On landing at Masset, with a poor sense of equilibrium and still nauseous, took to the Karlscourt Hotel for the night. All still going up and down. July 9: Rip tide seemed to be swelling through the room during the night. Breakfast done with, Ombrak took us to raised muskeg at edge of town for sampling but could not reach bottom. To Port Clements, spending the night after leaving Ombrak, paying him $80 for service and giving him remainder, about $7 worth, of food. Queen Charlotte City. July 10: Serges De Busy pickup for return to Haida Hotel. Sampled another raised muskeg, after a 4-h effort climbing to about 1100 m outside town. To bed at 11:30 pm, listening to the murmur of running water in a brook outside the window. Sandspit. July 11: Enjoyed cup of tea ensconced in a room at the staff house in Sandspit run by an English couple. Listening on the radio to Jim Fassett playing Grieg’s “Suite from

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Holberg’s Time,” part of a program of Scandinavian music. Out toward Copper River in the afternoon, sampled marshy ground behind dunes. After supper, walked the spit and around from one end of the runway to the other. Scattered remains from a crash in 1951, including parts of an aileron, wing, door, seat, and tail assembly. Port Hardy. July 12: CPA DC-4 to northern Vancouver Island. Took a section at Quatse Lake; another site near the airport at about 6 m above tide that probably owes its formation to sea level change. Vancouver. July 13: Sick at breakfast, leaving Den Hartog alone to visit the whaling station at Quatsino Sound. CPA at 2:30 pm to Vancouver, where checked gear at United for flight to New York. Luxuriated at the posh Hotel Vancouver in big palatial room with private bath. Looking like derelicts on checking in, felt we had little chance the establishment would have us but they did. After supper, after cleaning up, went out to Totem Theatre in Stanley Park for “The Moon is Blue.” Seattle. July 14: First, visited Ian McTaggert Cowan in Biological Sciences at U of British Columbia to talk about caribou on the Queen Charlottes. Apparently, animals were there until recently. Left hotel at 7:20 pm for United flight to Seattle and on to New York via Denver and Chicago. Now it is night, flying at 6400 m over the Cascades. With Rainier in view, cannot help but recall the story that Bob Forbes told about how for a spoof, soda pop was lugged to the summit and sold in a concession to Seattle Mountaineers on their arrival after their annual climb. Lights of towns come and go in the darkness. July 15: Anvils of thunderheads brightening to the south. Now among tawny clouds over Nebraska. Chicago in an hour. Then, New York.

Chapter 9 1955 Field Season

9.1. Introduction Accumulation, ablation, and surface movement continued to be factors requiring assessment and scrutiny for an evaluation of the hydrological budget of Lemon Creek Glacier (LaChapelle, 1955; Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1956a). In conjunction, standard meteorological data were recorded, while survey work proceeded with the ultimate objective of preparing an accurate map of the glacier. Most important at this juncture during the 1955 season of the Project was the need for seismic work on the glacier system to supply ice thicknesses for calculations of mass movement. To this end, a seismograph was brought in and first tested on Taku Glacier, where seismic measurements had been made previously (Poulter et al., 1949). Of significance regarding variations of the glacier in the valley of Lemon Creek, the geomorphic and botanical setting of moraines just beyond the head of the glacier was reconnoitered. The moraines represented two episodes of advance with spillover of ice into Salmon Creek drainage. At low level, the muskeg in the upper Lemon Creek Valley visited in 1954 was sampled. The deposit, overlying boulders of an apparent end moraine, was found to be 5.8 m deep. Stratigraphic samples taken included one from the base of particular importance for radiocarbon dating of the moraine. A muskeg cut through by a moraine below Eagle Glacier was also sampled with depths of 1.2 and 1.5 m at points inside and 2.4 m outside the moraine. Flights by Piper Super Cruiser, equipped with retractable skis in 1954 and piloted by Ken Loken, serviced the Project. The aircraft transported food and equipment to the glacier directly and by freefall. Personnel also backpacked up Salmon Creek trail and along Cairn Ridge to reach the glacier. Aerial reconnaissance for purposes of travel to other parts of the icefield and for photographic missions was by means of the Super Cruiser. The Jamesway hut erected a year ago remained in good condition and was used as the Research Station during the entire field period. A schedule of radio contact was maintained with the CAA at Juneau Airport. Following work on Lemon Creek Glacier, an excursion to British Columbia was made to obtain additional pollen records primarily from Langara Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Later, on Mount Olympus in western Washington, work proceeded to measure and date glacial advances and recession in the Pacific Northwest with respect to centuries of climatic change during and since the Little Ice Age. The 1955 party consisting of nine participants was in the field over a period lasting from June until August. Field leader: E.R. LaChapelle.

9.2. Research 9.2.1. Hydrological Budget 1954–1955 According to Marcus (1964), a large surplus of 12.6 ¥ 106 m3 of water equivalent was calculated for the budget year. Exposed ice occupied only 11% of the glacier’s area on September 7. At the end of 129

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July, snow cover in the accumulation zone was in excess of 5 m. Ablation below the icefall amounted to 5 cm day-1. The firn line was lowermost at 875 m.

9.2.2. Seismic Work Preliminary to seismic sounding on Lemon Creek Glacier, a portable seismograph was set up at 1100 m on Taku Glacier in the vicinity of the Camp 10 Research Station. Recording equipment produced a printout of seismic reflection accompanying each sounding. A diamond spread of 12 geophones was first used and 7 traces produced. Alternatively, an array of 7 charges set 2.1 m above ground was employed following the method of Poulter et al. (1949). Seismic work continued on Lemon Creek Glacier, hampered in the beginning by poor weather conditions. It was discontinued after two soundings, when the seismologist, R.L. Decker, was forced to leave the glacier owing to an emergency family crisis. Thickness of the glacier was later measured in 1956 by gravimetric survey (Thiel et al., 1957).

9.2.3. Upper Lemon Creek Glacier Moraines Two end moraines were studied, one considerably weathered and the other relatively unweathered, emplaced at the head of the glacier between Cairn and Observation Peaks (Fig. 9.1). According to altimeter survey, corrected for barometric changes, the moraines with southerly aspect face Salmon Creek Valley downslope, one just below the other beyond the crest of the glacier. On the U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map, Juneau B-1 Quadrangle, the moraines are shown to be at an altitude of 1220–1250 m. Just inside the inner moraine, a large bowl-like depression was centrally located on the glacier’s surface. On the west side below the slope leading to Cairn Peak, a small lake had formed. The inner moraine at this point rose about 30 m above lake level. The inner moraine, more prominent of the two, consisted mostly of large angular boulders up to 1.5 m in size with a minimum plant cover (Fig. 9.2). The outer consisted of fine-grained material containing only a limited component of small angular boulders, all of which in places formed a thin mantle overlying the bedrock. Plant cover, by comparison with the inner moraine, was well advanced.

Figure 9.1. End moraines of Upper Lemon Creek Glacier and opposing Salmon Creek Valley with Observation Peak in the distance.

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Figure 9.2. End moraines, the inner of which consists predominantly of large angular boulders and the outer of finer grained material, Upper Lemon Creek Glacier.

The moraines, as shown on a sketch map of the location (Fig. 9.3), are continuous, except for short broken segments formed laterally. The inner of the two clearly exhibits greater lobate expression. Roches moutonnées and topographic breaks downslope below Cairn Peak and Observation Peak are indicative of past advances of Lemon Creek Glacier in Salmon Creek Valley. Each moraine is distinctive, as revealed by soil depths, differential weathering, and plant cover. Soils on the outer moraine varied between depths of 50–60 cm. Upper organic horizons amounted to 15–20 cm; those inside were 10–15 cm deep, localized, and virtually nonorganic. Soils were mostly fine-grained, produced by breakdown of the bedrock, a quartz biotite schist, with weathering out of biotite. A dense cover of 34 vascular plant species on the outer moraine versus a much thinner cover with fewer species on the inner of the two inferred a lengthier period of exposure. Implications were that the outer moraine, much older than the inner, was too old to represent an advance of recent centuries. It was judged to date earlier during the time of the Neoglaciation or the Lateglacial. The inner because of its fresh character was most likely contemporaneous with the maximum advance of icefield glaciers during the Little Ice Age in the eighteenth century. The ice front facing Salmon Creek Valley has continued to rest in proximity to the moraines, while in Lemon Creek Valley, the front has undergone considerable retreat from its maximum. Moderation of temperature since the Little Ice Age appears to have been minimal at higher altitudes of the Lemon, thus causing little change in the source region of the glacier. Comparison was drawn with two major advances in Lemon Creek Valley below the glacier snout. The youngest dates to about 1750 and the older to around 10,300 14C years BP (L-297A; 12,130 cal years BP). The latter date, the basal age of the muskeg sampled during the 1955 season (Heusser, 1960a, 1966), is on peat that overlies an apparent end moraine at a location 375 m downvalley beyond the Little Ice Age maximum.

9.2.4. Paleoecology of Coastal British Columbia The main objective of the excursion to British Columbia was to collect additional sections of muskeg on Langara Island (see Fig. 8.17), which were expected to extend the Lateglacial record and ascertain earliest deglaciation. To this end, three additional sites, the deepest at 5.1 m, were sampled in the northern part of Langara at altitudes as high as 98 m. Bob Peters (Fig. 9.4) assisted in the work. Later, on Graham Island, about 1 km2 of forest in the vicinity of the abandoned whaling station at Naden Harbor were reconnoitered in search of muskeg. Of considerable interest at Mary Point

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Figure 9.3. Sketch map of moraines of Upper Lemon Creek Glacier.

Figure 9.4. Bob Peters in Prince Rupert on departure to Ketchikan following studies on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

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were samples collected for study from an exposure, 0.8 m thick at 6 m above tide, where sand, gravel, and interbedded peat overlie a tillite. In Masset, a raised muskeg that was unsuccessfully cored in 1954 was recored to a depth of 8 m. Finally, in a survey about Prince Rupert and the lower Skeena River, four muskegs sampled proved to be no more than 4 m deep.

9.2.5. Glacier Variations in the Olympic Mountains Variations of Blue, White, and Hoh Glaciers, which occupy the northern slopes of Mt. Olympus (2608 m) in western Washington, were dated and mapped (Fig. 9.5). Blue Glacier (Fig. 9.6) and White Glacier (Fig. 9.7), each about 1.2 km long, descended to 1220 m; Hoh Glacier (Fig. 9.8), just short of 2 km in length, terminated at 1098 m. Blizzard Pass at 1860 m (Fig. 9.9) connects the upper reaches of the Blue and Hoh. Firn lines in 1955 rested at approximately 1680 m. Dating techniques pioneered by Lawrence (1950a) in recording ring counts of tree cores and growth patterns were followed in the study. Mapping of the dated variations made use of aerial and historical photos and locations of geomorphic features that included trimlines and moraines (Fig. 9.10). Camps were setup above the southeast margin of upper Hoh Glacier and on the high lateral moraines of Blue Glacier; a camp at Elk Lake (Fig. 9.5) gave access to the Blue–White terminal moraine area in upper Glacier Creek. The study was part of an investigation, led by Ed LaChapelle and Dick Hubley (Fig. 9.11), to assess the energy exchange and mass budget of Blue Glacier (LaChapelle, 1959). Mike Hane (Fig. 9.12), a graduate student in physics at the University of Washington, served as assistant. The completion of the study owed much to his enthusiasm in meeting the demands of reconnaissance and core collection in the mountainous terrain.

Figure 9.5. Locations of Blue, White, and Hoh Glaciers during the Little Ice Age and at mid-twentieth century.

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Figure 9.6. Blue Glacier viewed upglacier from its terminus.

Figure 9.7. White Glacier with its trimline indicating former extent of the ice.

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Figure 9.8. Hoh Glacier terminus partially mantled by debris flow.

The earliest datable advance of Blue Glacier (Fig. 9.13) was reckoned to have taken place during the mid-seventeenth century, as concluded from counts of growth rings of alpine fir and mountain hemlock found growing on outlying morainal debris (Heusser, 1957). The trees subsequently had been tilted by advance of the ice in the early nineteenth century. Mountain hemlock, growing in the forest beyond, dated to over 500 years, thereby inferring that no advance beyond the mid-seventeenth century position of the ice front had taken place for at least an equivalent period. Recession of Blue Glacier between 1815 and 1900 was approximately 855 m; 1900–1919, about 90 m; 1919–1938, about 455 m; and 1938–1953, 245 m. Cessation of recession with thickening of the snout and an advance of about 3 m was measured in 1955.

Figure 9.9. Col dividing Blue Glacier–Hoh Glacier drainage at Blizzard Pass.

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Figure 9.10. Contrasting weathered and unweathered moraines bordering the east side of Blue Glacier close to its terminus.

Dates of nineteenth century maxima and recessional behavior of Hoh and White Glaciers were found to be much the same as in the case of Blue Glacier. Total recession of White Glacier, 3200–3500 m in comparison, was far greater than the estimated 1490 and 1980 m, respectively, for Blue and Hoh Glaciers. Variations of the glaciers followed trends in temperature and precipitation drawn from meteorological records at Tatoosh Island, about 36 km northwest of Mt. Olympus. Ten-year running means of the data (Fig. 9.14) emphasized greater warmth and dryness in the early part of the twentieth century followed by cooler and wetter conditions at mid-twentieth century (Hubley, 1956b; LaChapelle, 1959, 1960). A number of the larger glaciers in the Pacific Northwest, responding similarly, underwent a period of advance but the response was limited.

Figure 9.11. Dick Hubley at Hoh Glacier camp, Olympic Mountains.

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Figure 9.12. Mike Hane at Hoh Glacier camp, Olympic Mountains.

9.3. Journal Entries From New York via Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, crossing the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, on through the prairie to Denver. A side trip to Boulder to visit distinguished plant ecologist, William Skinner Cooper, and talk about his early work in Glacier Bay and the major role he had in establishing the Glacier Bay National Monument. New York–Seattle. June 23: Departed overland on the 19th. United 1:15 pm flight from Stapleton in Denver to Seattle. Seattle. June 24: Day with Dick Hubley at UW planning for work in the Olympics and IGY. Maison Blanc with Hubley for dinner. Talked with Kermit Bengtson. Very tired to bed at 1 am. Juneau. June 25: PAA for Juneau at 9:30 am. Don and Lib Lawrence with Schoenike arrived on Princess Louise from Seattle. Lemon Creek Glacier. June 26: Flight to the Lemon with Loken. Overcast, landing a little downglacier. Ed LaChapelle and Bob Peters at the Jamesway. Here again amid the snows of yesteryear.

3

2 Hoh Glacier 1

Meters in thousands

White Glacier

Blue Glacier 0 1600

1700

1800

1900

Figure 9.13. Time–Distance relationships of Blue, Hoh, and White Glaciers relative to Little Ice Age maxima.

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10.0 250 Precipitation cm

Temperature °C

240

9.5

230 220 210 200 190

9.0

1907

180 1917

1927

1937

1947

1957

1887 1897 1907 1917 1927 1937 1947 1957

Figure 9.14. Ten-year running means of temperature and precipitation recorded at Tatoosh Island. From Hubley (1956b) and LaChapelle (1960).

June 27: Under partially clearing skies in the morning surveyed, built cairns, and measured baselines along the ridge on west side of the Lemon. Tired tonight. Read some of “Climatic Change.” June 28: Day spent inside, confined by wind, cloud, and blowing snow. June 29: More snow last night and into the morning, the wind rattling the Jamesway. Backpacked loads of 5-in-1 rations, arranging food in the Jamesway. Skied to ablation stakes for measurements. June 30: Omnipresent fox, oboe, george: FOG. Plan to hike out to Juneau tomorrow to check date of arrival of Bob Decker for seismic study on the Lemon. July 1: Three hour down but no Decker. Contacted Thomas, purchased groceries. To Bill Shields for supper. Back to John Sandor’s apartment at 11:30 pm. July 2: Spent day with the Lawrences on Mendenhall outwash. Back at the hotel by 10. July 3: Breakfast of a “stack” at Bill Shields and wiener roast at lunch with Tony, Tony’s wife, Rita, and Lacey Johnson in the Evergreen Bowl. To Herbert River, sacked out in tent with the Lawrences for early departure to sample muskeg below the terminus of Eagle Glacier. Fireworks in town tonight. Here, only the sound of the river through the night. July 4: Up at 3 am in the cool of dawn. Eagle Glacier muskeg in 4 h, taking three sections, back to Herbert River in 3 h. On return, found Decker in town. With Thomas and Decker to the Red Dog at night. July 5: Miserable with a sore throat. Decker instructed about seismographs and seismic records. Truck from Carol Transfer with rations to the airport. Forbes here, hobbling on a fractured ankle. July 6: More on seismographs. Trip to airport for 8 pm contact. Supper with Lib Lawrence. Again to the airport for a 10 o’clock contact. Taku Glacier. July 7: To Montana Creek powder cache for explosives. With Decker, seismic testing on the Taku. Marginal weather, flying over Ptarmigan Glacier and Camp 14. Back at Camp 10 after an absence on the glacier of 3 years. July 8: Geophones in diamond spread with 12 jugs. Seven traces run. Three caps per shot. Two misfires. Ultraviolet strong all day. Retired to the hut at 7:30 pm. July 9: Shot seven traces with break at noon to close up the hut. Rigged the charges and acting as “shooter.” Pattern laid out in a line with recorder midway between the jugs. Tried Poulter’s array of seven charges at 1.5 m above the ground. Another day baking in

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the ultraviolet. Loken pickup about 7 pm. Great scenic flight back to the Lemon to be greeted by LaChapelle, Peters, and Jim Maxwell. Galleys from Canadian Journal of Botany. Lemon Creek Glacier. July 10: Fog and wind in the morning. Tent blown over. Proofing galleys most of the day. Time to grease my boots. July 11: Fog, wind, and rain. Two seismic shots across the glacier. Kermit Bengtson arrived in Juneau. With luck will hike in tomorrow morning. July 12: Rain and fog. Just after noon, Bengtson and LaChapelle arrived. Tried running levels across the Lemon but too foggy. No reflections on seismic work. With Bengtson, down the Ptarmigan ridge and back in rain. Snowing tonight. July 13: Snowed most of the day accumulating nearly 8 cm by nightfall. On 8 pm contact with the CAA, Decker learned his father was quite ill, necessitating emergency return home. With Decker, departed 9:15 pm in the snow and gray light. Over Cairn Peak, touch and go, precarious in the icy heather and oncoming darkness. Just above the dam and down through torrents of water from the flume, travel by flashlight. Path following the narrowgauge railway, reaching the end of the catwalk at 1:15 am. Oscar, night porter at the Hotel Juneau, checked us in after a rather demanding trip. Juneau. July 14: Decker out on PAA 906 at 2:30 pm. Helped Hubley with lead shield for scintillation counter on one of his instruments. Supper with Ken and Pat Loken. Sack, oh sack how you are enjoyable tonight! Lemon Creek Glacier. July 15: Buzzer at 7 am. With Ken out to the airport, on to the Lemon in scattered clouds. Maxwell out with some seismic gear. With Peters to the moraines at head of the glacier. Baked two cakes. Cooked candied sweet potatoes and ham for supper. July 16: Today accomplished altimetry of high-level Lemon moraines. Fog and evening clear-off. Forbes in tomorrow. July 17: Up 6 am to clear blue sky. Set up baseline between stations on Cairn. Cold wind, parka weather. Under clouds moving in from the south, socked in before noon, bringing survey work to a halt. After lunch, Loken in with Bob Forbes; Bengtson and LaChapelle out. July 18: Rigged Forbes with a ski and plastic bag to cover the cast on his foot. Together, back to the upglacier moraines, discussed their formation, and collected. Caught on moraine in rain, lunched beneath rock slabs. Back at the Jamesway, rain and fog. Prior to supper, whisky sours took the edge off the weather. July 19: Wet fog with us all day. LaChapelle and Bengtson managed to make it in on foot. Cooked supper after a pleasant prelude of orange blossoms. Finished reading “Climatic Change.” All troops in a bull session at night. July 20: With LaChapelle and Bengtson to Observation Peak. A grand vista from the summit of a sea of fog in all the valleys out to the ocean. Great glissading down on return. Surveyed on North and South Cairn using subtense bar. No stopping for lunch, so packed it in at supper. July 21: Today the wind blew continuously from the time leaving at 9:30 am to go down Ptarmigan Glacier to the Lemon terminus until returning at 11:30 pm. Visited treeline of mountain hemlock. Noted an abundance of bear droppings. Climb back an exhausting march. Only the sound of the wind against a steady strike of boots and ice axes. Saw a star. July 22: Loud and clear on CAA radio contact. With Forbes, discussed granitization and IGY plans. LaChapelle, Bengtson, and Peters occupied Cairn Peak for sea level control. Loken on three trips, taking out a good deal of nonexpendable gear. Forbes out on the last flight. July 23: Loken in at 10 am, ferrying LaChapelle and Bengtson to Camp 16 for survey. With Peters, took a short flight to upper Mendenhall icefall to check altitudes. Loken back in at 3 pm. Together on an extended circuit to Camp 15, up Gilkey Glacier, past lakes in trunk valleys, and over the upper Taku to the Organ Pipes, Twin Glaciers, Hole-in-the-Wall,

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and termini of the Taku and Norris, back to the Lemon. Don Lawrence on the Lemon until we returned. Loken picked up party from Camp 16 in two flights. Sacked out at 11 pm. Read some of “Moulin Rouge.” July 24: After getting into sleeping bag last night, tossed until about 12:30 pm, when for about 15 m, for whatever reason, experienced a spasm of uncontrollable shakes. Numbness came on, while quivering from my legs to my shoulders. Felt the need to throw up, but after getting up and standing in the doorway, decided the sleeping bag was the best place to be. Had a moment of concern, never having had this happen before. Slowly, however, the shaking inexplicably passed. In the morning, fully recovered, ran levels on the glacier, followed later in the day surveying on baseline above upper Lemon moraines. July 25: At 5 am in the clear dawn, tied in baseline above the upper Lemon. Back for breakfast. At about noon, down the ridge to lower baseline. Opportunity for bathing in glacier pool. After beer and supper, another last night on the Lemon. July 26: Loken faithful as the returning sun for 11 am flight back to Juneau. Earlier about 8 am, waved as he flew over in his sleek blue Stinson, engine singing smoothly in the cold early morn. Caught a downwind, returning to the airport in what seemed to be only a few minutes. Out to Montana Creek powder cache to return blasting caps. Movie at night: “Glass Slipper” starring Leslie Caron. July 27: With Bob Peters to sample muskeg resting on apparent moraine in upper Lemon Creek valley below terminus. A good trip of 2 h to the site. Evening chat with Don Lawrence. July 28: Met “Hardrock” Rossman from USGS. Upper Montana Creek muskeg to sample for radiocarbon dating. Just over 1 h up and about an hour down. Raining and pretty wet. Arrangements made for Masset and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Steaks at the Baranof. Pressed plants till midnight. July 29: Last day of the 1955 season in Juneau. Flight with Bengtson to the Taku–Norris Stations in Taku Valley, Loken carrying us one by one off the floats of the Stinson to the outwash. Salmon Derby fever in town. Tonight clear and starry. Another chapter closes. July 30: PAA to Annette Island with Bob Peters. Cessna 180 charter from Annette Island to Canadian customs in Prince Rupert and then on to Masset. View of beach ridges building Rose Spit on northern Graham Island. Checked in hotel. Cracked crabs till midnight. July 31: After failure to locate muskeg in Masset, found Johnny Hageman who eventually got us there for section unable to complete previously. Back at the hotel at 6. After supper, Wolf Bennett came and said he could take us to Langara Island. Picked up food for trip and sacked out at 11:30. Ever since we came off the Lemon, it has been a case of going like hell everyday. Beginning to feel the pace. August 1: By 8, on the “Bennett.” Breakfasted and departed by 8:45 am. A good boat and a good day. To Langara in 4 h. Up the telephone line for 1.8–2.4 km en route to lighthouse on north end. Sampled muskegs at 41 m and 98 m altitude, returning by 7:45. Soup and tea for supper. Played “crib” with Wolf. August 2: Visited Haida burial cave from smallpox epidemic, old Kiusha totems and abandoned houses. At Egeria Bay and Explorer Bay, sampled muskeg at 96 m. Slumgullion of salmon for lunch. To Shag Rock and Naden Harbor. Talked till midnight. Masset. August 3: Into the forest at Naden Harbor just up from the Whaling Station but no muskeg. Collected peat beds exposed at Mary Point before returning to Masset at 4:30 pm. Visited crab cannery. Midnight. Prince Rupert. August 4: Cramped with gear in the back of the Cessna 180 with a passenger up front in need of dental work, flew through dense fog low over the water across Hecate Strait. Prince Rupert Hotel. Saw Young of B.C. Forest Service for transportation

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next day up the Skeena. To bed at 10. Distantly, Wolf ’s voice transmitting on the radio, “Hello Masset, hello Masset... the Bennett.” August 5: After checking sea level on altimeter, met Jack Scott who took us out the road to Terrace to sample muskegs at 33, 50, 134, and 168 m, all found disappointedly to be at depths less than anticipated. Back by 1:30 pm for lunch with Scott. Ellis Airlines to Ketchikan for a room at Hotel Ingersoll and supper at Del Mar Restaurant. Ketchikan–Seattle. August 6: Rain beat at the window all night and the wind in the morning was quite furious. Day spent waiting for Ellis Airlines to fly to Annette Island to catch the Pan Am flight to Seattle. Finally got off about 5:30 pm. Dick Hubley at the airport, while Bob Peters left on United for Los Angeles. Now at 11 in the sack at Dick’s rooming house on UW campus. August 7: To Carbon Glacier on Mount Rainier with breakfast en route. Got up to 1982-m level with spectacular views of Rainier, the Carbon, and Winthrop Glacier. Avalanche lilies flowering, coming out from beneath the snow. Supper in Enumclaw. Olympics. August 8: Up at 4:30 for trip to the Hoh. Picked up Ed LaChapelle and Mike Hane. Ferries across Puget Sound. On the way to Port Angeles, Hubley’s car broke down and had to be abandoned. Met Gunnar Fagerlund, Olympic National Park naturalist. Gear to airport for Bill Fairchild to drop on Blue Glacier from his Stinson. Took a pack horse up the Hoh. Spent the night in Happy Four Shelter. August 9: Wrangler met us at Olympic Guard Station Trail. By way of Elk Lake and Glacier Meadows, setting up camp at 1525 m on moraine above Blue Glacier. Beautiful light at evening. August 10: Drone of the Stinson and sound of drops slamming onto the glacier. Backpacked a good portion of the day, consolidating drops. Camp on the moraine dirty and dusty. Witnessed a lone elk crossing the snow near the summit of Mount Olympus. Went downslope to check on the lower trimline. August 11: Collected on upper moraine and cored four sound mountain hemlocks for dating. Mike Hane arrived. Decided to move camp down into the heath where conditions were far less dusty. August 12: Foggy morning. With Mike to the lower moraines to core trees. Cleared toward evening, becoming cold, parka weather. Finished reading “Sayonara.” August 13: Cored more trees on lower moraines. Tillamook cheese and logan bread for lunch. After supper sat around campfire. At nightfall, constellations upon constellations. Must be getting close to the night of the Perseids. August 14: Coring on lower outwash. Reconnoitered cliffs west of Glacier Meadows but no route down. Returned to camp at 3:30 pm. After supper, another enjoyable camp fire. August 15: With Mike, roped up over Blizzard Pass at the head of Blue Glacier and over to upper Hoh Glacier. Two hour trip. Ed and Dick later joined us. Set up camp at treeline in wind-sheared mountain hemlock. Retiring at 9 pm, after sitting around camp fire. Clouds and fog coming and going. August 16: On the west side of the glacier, cored trees along the trimline, and descended below the snout, returning to camp by five. August 17: Hubley and LaChapelle to Humes Glacier. With Mike, returned over Blizzard Pass to the Blue, later going down to Elk Lake at 760 m, arriving at 4:30 pm. Camp fire, tree trunks brightened in the firelight. Strong scent of balsam from the fir boughs. August 18: Up at 7 to a fine day. Descended in 2 h of bushwhacking to terminal moraine of the Blue, dating the approximate age of the advance, and returning to camp by 3 pm. Fire is now crackling, and glow in the cool air is heartening. After the red coals turn black in the night, it will be time to take leave of the Olympics.

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August 19: Night passed and when day came, watched till the sun touched the trees high on the ridgetop above Elk Lake. It was 5:30 and with breakfast gone and “good luck” and “thanks” to Mike, started down the trail an hour later. Felt great euphoria and physically good. Herds of elk grazing in the valley. Surprised to meet Henri Bader and his wife, on vacation, hiking the lower trail. Had not seen Henri since 1950 on the Taku. What a rare coincidence! Sometime later, after Mike Hane was on Lemon Creek Glacier in 1956, I was saddened to learn that he has been killed while climbing in the Cordillera Blanca in Perú. Although our days in the Olympics working together lasted just over a week, I got to know Mike in a special way as a friend. There are many things I learned from him, particularly memorable, a song, “The Fox.”

Chapter 10 1956 Field Season

10.1. Introduction After the failure to measure depth of the ice by seismic reflection on Lemon Creek Glacier in 1955, extra effort was paid to the application of the gravity method for solving the problem (Thiel et al., 1957). Measurements using this approach, requiring eight days of survey work, were made by three members of the party. Results (Figs. 10.1, 10.2), although not with the accuracy possible through use of a seismograph, were far less difficult to obtain (LaChapelle, 1956; Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1956b).

Figure 10.1. Principal gravity traverses on Lemon Creek Glacier (above) and isopach sketch map (below). From Thiel et al. (1957).

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Figure 10.2. Bouguer anomalies and cross sections for Lemon Creek Glacier. Note that horizontal and vertical scales are equal. From Thiel et al. (1957).

Ablation, accumulation, and movement on cross-glacier transects continued to be recorded in relation to data from the meteorological program. Mapping of Lemon Creek Glacier proceeded, which lead to the production of a topographic map at 5-m intervals on a scale of 1:10,000 (American Geographical Society, 1960). Initial supplies and equipment were delivered to the glacier by parachute from a U.S. Air Force C-119 Flying Boxcar from Elmendorf AFB. During the remainder of the season, deliveries were made directly from Juneau Airport by ski-wheel Piper Super Cruiser. For arranging logistical support, a schedule of daily radio contact was maintained with Juneau Radio. Further reconnaissance of Late Quaternary deposits on the North Pacific coast was put forth to extend the study carried out during previous field seasons of the Project. Under contract N9onr 641 (03)

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Figure 10.3. Al Hawbecker at the Juneau float dock, Douglas Island bridge, Gastineau Channel.

with the Office of Naval Research, the undertaking investigated the paleoecology of sites between Kodiak Island and northern California. In the course of the survey, Al Hawbecker, Professor of Zoology on the faculty of Fresno State College and a former fellow graduate student at Oregon State, acted as field assistant (Figs. 10.3, 10.4). A field party of ten for various lengths of stay tackled various objectives of the Project between June and August. Field leader: E.R. LaChapelle.

10.2. Research 10.2.1. Hydrological Budget 1955–1956 A deficit of 9.34 ¥ 106 m3 was the largest for the period of observation on Lemon Creek Glacier (Marcus, 1964). Ablation rate of ice between late June and late August below the icefall averaged 6.7 cm day-1; above the icefall, the rate was 4.5 cm day-1. Snow ablation was at an average rate of 5.8 cm day-1. The firn line stood at 1200 m.

Figure 10.4. Norseman, charter of Pacific Western Airlines, Fitzhugh Sound, British Columbia.

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10.2.2. Gravity Profiles on Lemon Creek Glacier For the purpose of preparing a map of ice thickness, 182 gravity stations were occupied (Thiel et al., 1957). They were set out distributed on four principal traverses above the icefall to the head of the glacier (Fig. 10.1). The instrument used in the survey was a Worden Geodetic Gravity Meter calibrated against gravity stations over a broad range of latitude. The main gravity base on the glacier was tied in with a base in Juneau, which was part of an International Gravity Network. The short time interval required between measurements was done using the ski-wheel light aircraft in service to the Project. Altitudes of stations on the glacier were obtained by altimetry using values established by theodolite at opposite ends of each traverse. From readings made on two altimeters, each of which was corrected for barometric changes, altitudes on average agreed within 2 m. In data reduction, effects of latitude, altitude, terrain, and geology were taken into consideration. Profiles of ice thicknesses across the traverses (Fig. 10.2), using an ice-rock density differential, were computed by the fit of Bouguer anomalies, which represented observed gravity minus theoretical gravity. From samples taken on ridges adjacent to the glacier, densities (g cm-3) averaged 2.76 for the bedrock and 0.90 for ice, giving a differential value of 1.86. An isopach map of Lemon Creek Glacier (Fig. 10.1) shows ice thicknesses reaching approximately 200 m at midpoint in the upper part of the glacier; downglacier along the axis of flow, amounts decreased to 100 m and less. Slope of the surface was calculated to be 3.5∞ upglacier and continuing to the icefall below, 6.3∞. These values compare with respective measurements of 2.4∞ and 4.6∞ for the slope of the underlying bedrock.

10.2.3. Paleoecology of the North Pacific Coast Some 2800 stratigraphic samples from 67 sections of mires were taken between Karluk on Kodiak Island, Alaska and Fort Bragg, California (Figs. 10.5–10.8). Sites and results for 3900 km along the oceanfront between southwestern Alaska and northern California were incorporated with previous paleoecological work done in connection with the Project (see Heusser, 1960a). Sampling of the sections, requiring much of the 1956 summer, was dovetailed with over three weeks of Project activities in Juneau and on Lemon Creek Glacier.

10.3. Journal Entries San Francisco–Seattle–Juneau. June 21: After a trip to Denver, caught 4:15 pm flight on United to San Francisco, checking in at the Hotel Governor. June 22: Up at 6 am. After breakfast, taken around town by Don Miller and on to U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park for lunch and informal extemporaneous talk about Alaskan studies. With Al Hawbecker, after meeting at San Francisco Airport, flew to Seattle to take a room at the Hungerford. Seattle. June 23: All day with George Rigg, going over his notes on bogs and having lunch together. Juneau. June 24: PAA 8 am flight to Juneau. Touched base with Ken Loken. Enjoyed coffee with Tony Thomas at his house. June 25: Talked with Andy Anderson at USFS. Stopped at Railway Express. Ed LaChapelle in on an early evening flight. Supper with Ken and Pat Loken. June 26: In with Loken to the Lemon on a brilliant day. Shoveled snow out of the Jamesway hut. Started to sock in but later cleared and turned cold. Loken back for pickup at about 6:30 pm. To bed tired after meeting with USGS party: Rossman, Lathram, Conlon, and Loney.

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Figure 10.5. Mire locations from which sections were taken bordering the Gulf of Alaska. Kodiak Island: (1) Karluk, (2) Cape Chiniak, (3) Cape Grenville 1, (4) Cape Grenville 2, (5) Kodiak 1, (6) Kodiak 2, (7) Kodiak 3, (8) Afognak Island; Kenai Peninsula: (9) Homer 1, (10) Homer 2, (11) Homer 3, (12) Seward, (13) Windy Bay, (14) Port Chatham, (15) Moose Pass, (16) Saxton, (17) Girdwood; Prince William Sound: (18) Perry Island, (19) Montague Island, (20) Hinchinbrook Island, (21) Cordova, (22) Alaganik 1, (23) Alaganik 2, (24) Upper Katalla, (25) Lower Katalla, (26) Martin Lake, (27) Bering Lake.

June 27: Rented truck from Caro Transfer. Lumber and seismic gear out to the airport. Groceries out. Talked with Capt. T.H. Daily of the 5049th ABW at Elmendorf, arranging for a drop by the Air Force on July 1. June 28: Local business about town. With Rossman, going over maps in the evening. Thomas with us for supper. June 29: Talked with Joe Hartshorn, visiting on way to the Malaspina. Jim Maxwell arrived this afternoon. Supper with John Sandor and his wife, Lee. Mike Hane in today. June 30: With LaChapelle, Hane, Hartshorn, and Hawbecker to the airport. Together with Hartshorn and Hawbecker, climbed Mt. Roberts in fog to treeline and collected. Sorry not to visit with Bill Cooper, who had come to Juneau, before he left for Seattle. Ed Thiel and John Behrendt in today. C-119 arrived about 2:15 pm from Elmendorf (flown by Maj. Lopes, Capt. Biggerstaff, and crew). In preparation for the drop, Loken flew Hane and LaChapelle to Lemon, followed by Air Force photographer. Aboard C-119, took off just below the overcast and on up over the Mendenhall out into the bright blue world of the icefield. Circled over the upper Herbert and went southeast to the Lemon with cloud front just at the edge of the glacier. Counterclockwise, beginning over the upper Norris, made about six passes. All went out OK, including a jump on the last pass by two Army paratroopers. Back in Juneau tonight, all a phantasy. Juneau–Anchorage. July 2: Called Maj. Lopes, who OK’d our hitching a ride to Anchorage on return of C-119 to Elmendorf. After lunch saw Lopes, but in the end it appeared we could not fly unless each of us had a parachute. Moreover, the flight was crowded with about 25 Civil Air Patrol personnel. Faced with dilemma of having no parachutes for the flight and after pursuing a number of leads, finally had two of the paratroopers,

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Figure 10.6. Locations of mire sections collected in and adjacent to the Gulf of Alaska–Alexander Archipelago: (28) Munday Creek, (29) Upper Northwest Lituya Bay, (30) Lower Northwest Lituya Bay, (31) Grand Plateau Glacier, (32) Southeast Lituya Bay, (33) Icy Point, (34) Upper Montana Creek, (35) Lower Montana Creek, (36) Lemon Creek, (37) Whitestone Harbor, (38) Gull Cove, (39) Mite Cove, (40) Threemile Arm, (41) Suloia Lake, (42) Port Krestof, (43) Hasselborg Lake, (44) Hobart Bay, (45) Salmon Bay, (46) Hamilton Bay, (47) Hollis, (48) Sarkar Lake, (49) Kendrick Bay, (50) Southeast Gokachin Lakes.

who jumped yesterday, come up with a pair. Departed about 2:15 pm. Nice flight. Elmendorf for the night. Anchorage–Kodiak Naval Air Station. July 3. Early breakfast at Elmendorf. In town, met Bob Goodwin who took us to airport for PNA flight over Kenai Lowland to Homer and on to Kodiak. Supper in the station cafeteria. Visit to see Will Troyer in Kodiak, a former student at Oregon State. July 4: Noisy night with heavy rain. As it was Independence Day, operations were shut down. Read most of the day. Sure hope tomorrow will get work underway. July 5: To base commander’s office by 8:30 to meet for orientation with the executive officer, who directed us to District Public Works, where we were given a jeep and security passes. To Sequel Point and Narrow Cape. Stumps of Sitka spruce with 123, 128, and 138 growth rings attested to the recency of the species on Kodiak. Among the avifauna, Al noted a loon, varied and hermit thrushes, golden crown sparrow, raven, black-billed magpie, and

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Figure 10.7. Locations of sections collected from mires in coastal British Columbia. (51) Masset, (52) Summit, (53) Rainbow Lake, (54) Prince Rupert, (55) Pitt Island, (56) Susan Island, (57) Fitzhugh Sound, (58) Cape Caution, (59) Upper Hope Island, (60) Lower Hope Island, (61) Port Hardy, (62) Harbledown Island, (63) Menzies Bay, (64) Malahat, (65) Little Qualicum Falls.

bald eagle. As Al was keen on getting a skull of a grizzly bear, learned that an animal had been shot nearby. On approaching the locality, a flock of ravens went up amid the stench of the dead bear. After decapitation, left the skull overnight in the jeep, which was a mistake. Because of the stink, it left the vehicle almost unserviceable the rest of our stay. Finally, after leaving the skull underwater in a stream for a few days, it was cleaned flesh-free and could be safely shipped to Fresno. July 6: With the jeep, went out the Sequel Point road to sample three shallow muskegs. Day had begun with driving rain but ended in low hanging clouds, blue sky, and little wind. Terrain is hard to take into perspective. No till is apparent and valleys appear not to have been glaciated. Poplar seems to occupy low tracts without spruce and vice versa. Question is what factors have been operating? Perhaps we shall know tomorrow. July 7: To Anton Larsen Bay. Noted deeply dissected landscape and absence of till. Took a section at Fort Greeley, where considerable till obtains. Next to Monashka Bay, outside of Kodiak, sampling another site. Back at the Station just after 5 pm. Called Bill Harvey with hopes of going to Afognak tomorrow. July 8: Got off in Harvey’s Sea Bee but after about 5 min out over Monashka Bay, engine started vibrating. Bill managed to keep it going until we came down and hit the water, where the engine died while we were taxiing. With the flaps down, despite outgoing tide, wind carried us to shore while we took turns paddling. Debacle apparently caused by a break in the oil line. Oil was smeared over a good part of the tail assembly. Later on the return was able to sample another location of minimal depth.

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Figure 10.8. Locations of mire sections studied in Washington, Oregon, and California. Washington: (66) Pangborn Lake, (67) Whidbey Island, (68) Wessler, (69) Ozette Lake, (70) Humptulips, (71) Seaview; Oregon: (72) Warrenton, (73) Devils Lake, (74) Tahkenich Lake, (75) Garrison Lake; California: (76) Lake Earl, (77) Capetown, (78) Fort Bragg.

Afognak–Karluk. July 9: In another Sea Bee flown by Vince Daily, a second attempt to reach Afognak. Flew over Whale Island and soon afterward spotted a sizable muskeg. Landed and sampled. Next, to Karluk on the northwest side of Kodiak Island. Viewed the last stand of spruce on Uganuk Island and a large cannery at Larsen Bay. Landed on the lagoon at Karluk. Greeted by Aleuts and taken ashore to village, climbed up steps and along alleys mid shacks and racks of drying salmon. Accompanied by four native children, sampled at about 30 m above sea level, the site within view of a Russian Orthodox Church with an added vista across Shelikof Strait to the Alaska Peninsula. Day better on the return, as we flew over the Karluk River flats. Kodiak–Homer. July 10: Back to Homer on PNA. Met up with Jim Scott of the Bureau of Land Management, who was most courteous and helpful in showing us around, pointing out a hybrid spruce (Picea lutzii: P. glauca ¥ P. sitchensis), and taking us to a potential

1956 Field Season

sampling location. Supper of halibut at the Driftwood Inn, a lovely spot on Homer Spit. Afterward with extended daylight, sampled muskeg just outside Homer, at 5.3 m thus far the deepest deposit encountered. July 11: Jim Scott, a person long to be remembered for his utter hospitality and assistance, met us at 9:30 am for flight by Grumman Goose, piloted by John McCormack, to southwestern extremity of the Kenai Peninsula. Sections taken at Windy Bay and Port Chatham. Flight back to Homer via the Harding Icefield and over McCarthy Glacier. At night, supper of moose with Jim, his wife, and four children at their lovely log home fronted by lawn and garden overlooking Kachemak Bay. July 12: Two more sections from Homer at Nelson Lake and on road to Lookout Mountain. Met resident at the lake and his wife, who invited us in for coffee. The fellow was on a jag. It was funny, as he kept getting us mixed up: Al was Cal and Cal was Al. Lunch again at Driftwood Inn. Back at the hotel, many thanks to Scott, after he had taken us out toward Boulder Point for look at the spruce-birch forest. Homer–Anchorage. July 13: PNA to Anchorage with room at the Parsons. Met Bob Goodwin, who was at the Westward, and we talked. Plan is to go down to Bob’s place in Girdwood on Turnagain Arm. Girdwood. July 14: From Girdwood with Bob went up Glacier Valley road botanizing to treeline. Returned for lunch at the Little Dipper. To Portage Glacier, Byron Glacier, and on to terminal moraine of the Portage. Over to Moose Pass for supper. Night back at Girdwood. July 15: Bob cooked breakfast of hot cakes and eggs. Later to Crow Pass and Raven Glacier. Supper at Indian Lodge. During two-day stay, sections taken at three sites: Girdwood, Saxton, and Moose Pass. Thanked Bob for his hospitality and readied for the morrow. Anchorage–Cordova–Prince William Sound. July 16: Up at 5 am for flight on PNA out of Anchorage, landing under a low ceiling in Cordova. At the Windsor Hotel, its long, dark hallways, creaky stairs, countless unoccupied rooms, just plain emptiness and stale odor. Hotel leftover from when Cordova was a boom town, after the railroad was built over the Copper River at the Million Dollar Bridge, past Miles and Childs Glaciers, to the Kennicott mine. Writing letters and studying maps. Ice cream soda at 10 o’clock ($0.30). July 17: After breakfast with Clyde Maycock of the U.S. Forest Service out the Copper River road to Alaganik. Area with sea stacks still standing in from the ocean sure looks unglaciated. Two sites worked. Back in Cordova, cleaned up and went to Clyde and Irene’s house to celebrate Clyde’s birthday. July 18: Cordova Airlines was not flying because of weather, so with Clyde went back out to McKinley Lake in the Alaganik area. Mosquitoes were the thickest encountered on travels in Alaska. Picked up sample from the base of one of the sections to ensure having enough material for radiocarbon dating. Felt chilled. Went to bed early reading Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse.” July 19: Cal Ward, our pilot on planned trip to Yakutat, called off going until weather cleared. Visited machinist to have shafts of the sampler repaired. Climbed good deal of the way up Mt. Eyak behind Cordova. Fish supper at Maycock’s, joined by Mal Hardy. With Al, doing the dishes afterward. Weather seems to be turning better. July 20: At 7 am, breakfast with Hardy. Doug Clayholdt on a flight in Cessna 180 to sample on Hinchinbrook and Montague Islands in Prince William Sound. Storm and return to Eyak Lake. July 21: Today, as yesterday, the little beads of rain traveled back over the plexiglass windshield of the Cessna. On takeoff, there seemed to be more power than on the day

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before; we were “on the step” a lot quicker. With Doug doing the flying, in Clyde’s company, we tried to reach Katalla but it grew pretty bumpy over Alaganik, while the weather looked real dirty ahead. Decided to make a go for Port Nellie Juan. Pleasant crossing the Sound but our destination was clouded over. Bedrock lay near the surface with muskeg nil. Terrain looked wintry, still with much snow. Flew over Culross Island but much the same. Decided to take a look at Perry Island. Landed and collected a section. Also looked at Naked and Bligh Islands and over to check on Ellamar and Tatitlek. All to no avail, returned to Eyak Lake. Glad to call it a day, as dizziness from scanning the terrain started to set in. Saturday night in Cordova, time to get off the streets! July 22: Rain beating on the salmonberry outside our window foretold “no show” today. Instead, writing letters and getting receipts together. Slept after lunch, arms were sore and had half a headache. July 23: More rain on the salmonberry. Drizzle, dry rain, hard rain, clouds, and rain. A hotel commando. Reading “Away All Boats.” Cordova–Katalla–Icy Cape. July 24: Hard to believe that the monotony in Room 334 at Hotel Windsor is now over. Eight days there; longer than on Kodiak. Weather looked only mediocre when Cal Ward knocked at our door. Departed Eyak Lake just before noon in a Cordova Airlines Widgeon. Sky opened beautifully with Katalla ahead. Over sedge flats like green velvet in wet places adjacent to the Copper River; dunes beyond, some still with snow. Landed Katalla for two muskegs on two beach ridges at altitudes of 12.2 and 55 m. Two additional sites at Martin Lake and Bering Lake. Thick mosquitoes at the first and some of the thickest brush getting into the latter (reeking odor of elder). Nice flight to Icy Cape past the Suckling Hills and Bering Glacier. Edge of the Bering with trees and shrubs mantling ice-covered moraine. Forest thinned out between the Hills and Yakataga. Landed at Phillips Petroleum strip with facilities offered for a night’s stay in their camp. Washing up, followed by a fabulous meal with waiter service. July 25: Did not catch much sleep. Too much coffee or overextended intensity of the day before. Up at 6 am to fine breakfast. By truck across Johnson Creek to near sampling site at Munday Creek. Climbed on top of terrace at 55 m above sea level to take section to 7.2 m. After lunch, with many thanks to George Cain of Phillips for being so accommodating, took off for Yakutat in fine weather flying over Icy Bay, Malaspina Glacier, Yakutat Bay, and flats out from Situk Lake. Thanked Cal, bidding him farewell after great trip. Got a sack in Quonset hut with supper at the airport. Walked the strip afterward with great visibility of Mt. St. Elias and other peaks in the St. Elias Mountains. Another day. Yakutat. July 26: At breakfast, met a consulting geologist for Colorado Oil and Gas. Much exploration ongoing in the “Tertiary Province.” Beautiful clear day reconnoitering out to the beach to visit end moraine at Ocean Cape. Followed tracks of a bear and cub for some distance. After lunch walked out the right of way of railroad used for transporting fish. Sampling there and elsewhere about Yakutat proved unproductive. Day was again clear with great views of the St. Elias mountain mass. Juneau. July 27: Back in Juneau after PNA flight from Yakutat. Room 410 in Hotel Juneau, talking with Loken till midnight. July 28: On Glacier Highway to visit raised Salmon Creek delta excavation and a stand of lodgepole pine at Auke Bay. Trees at 15–18 m in height with diameters up to 1.6 m at about 275 years in age. Juneau–Alexander Archipelago. July 29: Up 6 am to another beautiful day, meeting Loken with his new Aeronca Sedan at Juneau float under the Douglas Bridge. Flew to sample on Chichagof Island at Whitestone Harbor, out over Hoonah to Gull Cove, then

1956 Field Season

south to Suloia Lake, stopping en route at Mite Cove on Yakobi Island. Noted huge earth slide to sea level on Chichagof Island. To Port Kruzof on Kruzof Island, gassing up at Sitka, followed by a flight over the crater of Mt. Edgecumbe. Return to Juneau via Tenakee at 9:30 pm. Supper at Bill Shields. July 30: Met Kenny at the hotel for more flying time. Down to the float sleepy and tired. Took off, sampling first at Hasselborg Lake. As day grew better, flew down over Admiralty Island, over Kake on Kupreanof Island, sampling at Hamilton Bay, and at Three Mile Arm on Kuiu Island. Gassed up at Petersburg with supper at the Pastime. Return to Juneau via Sumdum Glacier, Windham Bay, and Taku Harbor. Hotel Juneau and off to Percy’s for a milk shake with Ed LaChapelle. July 31: Poor day, rainy. Indoors, spent writing notes, attending to samples, and catching up. August 1: Another rainy day in town. Talked with Ray Taylor. Bill Long arrived. Rain in the gutters in the Juneau night. August 2: Rain. Writing letters much of the day. Delicious dinner and evening at John Sandor’s. Another rainy night. August 3: Day spent going over Canadian Rockies manuscript. Talked with John Hall of U.S. Forest Service regarding more attention needed to be given the trail up Salmon Creek to Lemon Creek Glacier. Lituya Bay–Deception Hills. August 4: Loken called to say that Cape Spencer was giving 600-m ceiling, so trip to sample muskegs on the coast was on. To the Lemon for a supply of rations; later, took skis off the plane to reduce weight. Bob Gregory was flying with us en echelon in his yellow Cub. Out over Dundas Bay and Brady Glacier. Rainy, ceiling lowering after Glacier Bay, but by Boussel Bay and Astrolabe Point broke out into good weather. Landed west of Lituya Bay to drop off rations and gear, then off for Deception Hills to note northwestern coastal extent of lodgepole. Crossed back over Grand Plateau Glacier, landing beyond Sea Otter Creek. Going inland to muskeg, Devils Club wicked to penetrate and spruce so thick had to go through on hands and knees. After sampling, returned to beach and flew back over Fairweather Glacier to Lituya Bay cache. Set up camp, had supper, and walked the beach. Sand was cold and hard under the sack. But no rain, stars shining through. August 5: Gregory up early, had fire going, and after breakfast took off to return to Juneau. Loken joining us on trek in through spruce and Devils Club, followed creek bed to muskegs. Alaska yellow cedars with ages of at least 1000 years. Worked from about 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. On way out to beach, a Steller’s jay. Took off, crossing Lituya Bay, amazed by height of moraines, trimlines, size of Solomon’s Railroad. Landed on beach south side of bay. Lowest terrace with trees 100 years in age. Loken took us to see vertebral remains of beached whale resting on the terrace and to pick up large glass float that having come from a Japanese fishing net had crossed the Pacific. Sampled muskeg at about 23 m above sea level. Loaded plane and took off about 7 pm for return evening flight to Juneau. Engine gunning hard, the plane gaining speed surged upward after the last touch. Breakers on the beach going under, falling away. Joining our flight, two gulls below winging out over the water. Ocean bright, waves shimmering, sparkling like multifaceted jewels in the sun. Sky azure, sharp, and deep. Turned inland, climbing over foothills back from the beach over dark stretch of ancient coastal forest. Following higher, the magnificent ice-wrought peaks of the Fairweathers rising in snowy mist. To Juneau via Crillon Lake, over upper LaPerouse Glacier along conspicuous fault, south of Mount LaPerouse and across upper Brady Glacier, Glacier Bay, Excursion Inlet,

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Chilkats, and Point Retreat on Admiralty Island. Landed in oncoming storm. Back at Hotel Juneau, fell asleep talking with Dick Hubley. Juneau. August 6: Woke up with a headache. Feeling poor a good deal of the day. Breakfast with Dick. Later, he and Bob Mason hiked to the Lemon. Loken at the hotel for talk about further sampling. Visited Andy Anderson in anticipation of later stop at Hollis on Prince of Wales Island. August 7: Not much today. Rainy and wet. Pressed plants. Got receipts off to the Society. Nice chat with Mrs. Gray, who is like a mother to us all. August 8: Breakfast with Walter Wood, talking till 11:30 am about Brooks Range studies. Met with Maxcine Williams discussing Alaska plants. Hubley and Mason back from the Lemon, all of us with Walter for lunch. Pleasant evening spent at supper at Loken’s. Another last night in Juneau. Years seem to pass like days. Alexander Archipelago. August 9: Juneau slipped away. Flying out with Loken at about 9:30 am along Glass Peninsula, landing on an unnamed lake to sample at Hobart Bay. Ceiling was low but able to get in and get out, taking each of us out one at a time. Petersburg for gas and then on to Salmon Bay on northern Prince of Wales Island and to Sarkar Lake, north of Tuxekan. By 8 pm at Hollis for a night on U.S.F.S. wanigan mounted on floats, where Andy Anderson and crew had prepared supper for us. August 10: Breakfast on a sunny morning in Hollis courtesy of Bob Gregory. Party, including Russ McGregor, Jim James, and Dave Malinero, later going across the bay in two skiffs, hiking to muskeg to take a section. Back to wanigan for quick lunch. While Andy, Russ, and Al discussed Peromyscus speciation, flew with Loken and Gregory to Craig for gas, then over Hydaburg to Kendrick Bay on southernmost Prince of Wales, where sampled in lake. Air bumpy, windy. Along Behm Canal to Gokachin Lakes with circular takeoff. Over Annette Island to Ketchikan for fuel and back to Hollis. Packed, said our thanks to Andy Anderson for arranging for our visit, and left for Ketchikan. Bye to Ken at 2:30 pm, expressing our appreciation for his expert flying over the past two weeks. Hotel Ingersoll for the night after supper at Howard’s. Exhausted. Ketchikan. August 11: Luxuriated at the hotel till 8:30 am. Picked up tickets at Ellis Airlines for flight to Prince Rupert. Stroll out to the north of town. Beautiful evening with late supper followed by a walk on the docks. Quarter moon over Tongass Narrows. August 12: Nothing but blue sky out the window, unlike the pouring rain in early morning darkness experienced on start of the 1950 fieldwork. Sunday quiet after a raucous Saturday night. Wandered into Howard’s Restaurant, greeted by Beethoven on the air waves, his Third Piano Concerto. Out to Saxman to photograph the Haida totems. Prince Rupert–Ocean Falls. August 13: Checked out of the hotel. To Rupert on Ellis Airlines. Ocean fog over Dixon Entrance, otherwise CAVU. Through customs with immediate charter on a Norseman of Pacific Western Airlines, piloted by Ted Keniston. Good flying with stops to collect at Pitt Island and Susan Island. Passed Bella Bella, landing at Ocean Falls (largely Crown Zellerbach Paper with a population of 2500). Overnight at the Martin Inn with quite comfortable quarters. Port Hardy. August 14: Because of dense fog, did not get off till early afternoon. Ocean fog moves in at evening and does not burn off until late morning of the following day. Takeoff required caution because of “dead heads,” logs floating erect with only tops barely visible. Over Namu, landing at Fitzhugh Sound to sample another disappointingly shallow muskeg. Reconnoitered Hope and Nigei Islands before getting to Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island. At Port Hardy Hotel, tired and completely lethargic. Ocean fog back in.

1956 Field Season

Alert Bay. August 15: Don Thompson, flying a Cessna 180 of B.C. Airlines, arrived about 1:30 pm for a go on Hope Island, where sections were taken at altitudes of 15 and 30 m. Crossed to the mainland for samples from Cape Caution. Alert Bay on Vancouver Island for the night at Harbour Hotel, landing about 7:30 pm. Despite frustration over the widespread occurrence of shallow mires, enjoyed the hospitality of Don and his wife at their home until after midnight. Alert Bay–Victoria. August 16: Takes much energy to write tonight, as this has been a long and tiring day since we left Alert Bay this morning. After breakfast at Royal Café, took off at 9:30 am to Harbledown Island. With permission and help from Alice Lake Logging, drove up to nearby site, bushwacking through salal and salmonberry over logs for section. To Menzies Bay, flying over tremendous tracts of burned and cutover forest, landing on small lake, and sampling with ease. B.C. Airlines flight went over and wanted to know what those two fellows were doing down there “in the mud.” Tried to get through to the west side of Vancouver Island by way of upper Campbell River but weather got dirty. Instead, down to Courtenay and out to Port Alberni for gas. Back to the Strait of Georgia, over Nanaimo, and out to Valdes and Galiano Islands. Landed Victoria at 7:30 pm. Straightened out costs at B.C. Airlines office. Now at James Bay Hotel after supper with Don Thompson. Bright moonlit night but feel worn out like an old rag; am looking forward to a dark night of pleasant slumber and renewal of energy. August 17: Should mention a couple of things: smell of sulfite while flying high above the vicinity of paper mills and huge flexure in the rock scarp at Horne Lake. Here in Victoria, visited Provincial Museum, Empress Hotel, and Hudson Bay Store. A warm day, enjoyed looking at shops, seeing the people, and watching the tallyhos (four-in-hand coaches) go by. Now the Provincial Museum is all lit up with reflections among boats in the harbor. Moon again is bright in a clear sky. Malahat. August 18: Just finished supper at 11:30 pm. A long day, both of us frayed at the edges. Drove to Malahat in rented car to sample mire seen from the air two days ago. On to Port Alberni through beautiful McDonald Forest. Worked another site, deceptively shallow, at Little Qualicum Falls. Back to Victoria, clocking about 75 km. Victoria. August 19: A warm and peaceful Sunday. Later than usual breakfast. Walk through Beacon Hill Park among beautiful gardens. Watching a cricket match, and passing endless ranks of retired persons. Victoria with flowers blooming everywhere. Multitudinous flower pots strung from lamp posts along main thoroughfares. Port Angeles. August 20: By 9:35 am in Port Angeles, Washington, having crossed Strait of Juan de Fuca on the ferry through ocean fog. Ferry left close to schedule, although two people having trouble at customs delayed departure. At Hotel Olympus with Gunnar Fagerlund, who brought us our mail. Movie in the evening. August 21: Reconnoitered bluffs of glacial sands and gravels above town, collecting organic samples from intercalated peat lenses. Gunnar with us for supper. Seattle. August 22: Back at the Hungerford. West Coast Airline DC-3, climbing, circling over the Olympics, Prokofiev’s 7th Symphony resonant in my mind, as so often has been the case on takeoff during the summer. Over Hurricane Ridge, Hood Canal, Puget Sound, to Boeing Field. Freshening up in the big city. August 23: Visited book shops, picking up second-hand copies of Jepson’s “California Flora” and “Between Pacific Tides” by Ricketts and Calvin. Supper at Maison Blanc. Talked with George Rigg till 10 o’clock. August 24: Much of the day discussing Puget Lowland glacial geology with Henry Waldron and Don Mullineaux at the U.S.Geological Survey. Now watching the sky darken over the Sound.

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August 25: About town for more purchases. Another evening enjoying the menu at Maison Blanc. Sumas–Pangborn Lake. August 26: Bellingham and Sumas. Lengthy time spent sampling at Pangborn Lake, lasting until it grew dark. Mars, reddish and mysterious, in the sky at dusk. August 27: Back to Pangborn Lake in rain to complete the sampling. Continued on to Anacortes, the day clearing in the afternoon and evening. At night, listening to Schubert. Whidbey Island–Cranberry Lake. August 28: Outbound by 6 am from Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island. Cranberry Lake in Deception Pass State Park, penetrating to 14.7 m and very much a record. Down to Oak Harbor and via ferry at Columbia Beach and Mukulteo for ferry back to Seattle on business, later to continue across the Sound, Edmunds, Kingston, South Point, and Lofall, and on the Olympic Peninsula to Hotel Olympus in Port Angeles. Port Angeles–Olympic Peninsula. August 29: Derby Day in Port Angeles. After lunch, visited Gunnar, then drove to Sappho and Clallam Bay, finally to the little village of Sekiu. Ocean fog now moving in over the Strait. August 30: Off to Ozette Lake on the northwest side of the Peninsula, the day clear and sunny. With rented rowboat, reached a mire at Ericson Bay. Next, to Wessler Bog and back through Hoko Rayonier Camp to Sekiu and Sappho, then on to Forks for the night. August 31: Ruby Beach with visit to the site of the largest western red cedar. Several hours spent near the mouth of the Raft River visiting with Ed LaChapelle and getting a rundown on what transpired on the Project in Juneau during our absence. Now in Hoquium, cooling off after a rather hot day. September 1: A sampling site along Highway 101 north of Humptulips. After lunch through Aberdeen, South Bend, and around Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay to Seaview. September 2: Departed motel just back from the ocean after early morning barefoot stroll on the beach. Ferry to Astoria, following a winding road along the Columbia River to Portland and checking in motel on Sandy. Supper at The Bohemian and a movie till after midnight. Oregon. September 3: Back to the coast, sampling near Warrenton. Studied another exposure at Tillamook, over 90 m in length, of interbedded marine mud and freshwater peat with wood and bases of trees in place along the ocean front. September 4: Sampled the Tillamook exposure before going on to sample at Devils Lake. Noted considerable lodgepole pine between Siletz and Boiler Bay area. Depoe Bay, Otter Rock, Hecate Head, Agate Beach, and Newport. Now the sound of surf in the night. September 5: Day spent in Corvallis at Oregon State among former professors and friends, recapturing with Al our time as graduate students. September 6: After breakfast at Hotel Benton to Santiam Pass in the Cascades with Helen Gilkey, Professor of Botany, picnicking at Suttle Lake. Visited lava flows and returned via Detroit Dam and North Santiam. Evening with Henry Hansen, Dean of the Graduate School and my advisor, till after midnight. September 7: Gone from Corvallis, lunched at Newport and later sampled with good weather at Tahkenitch Lake. September 8: Massive dunes between Florence and Reedsport. To Cape Blanco and lighthouse. Night at Port Orford in motel looking south over the ocean. Feeling a virus coming on, went to bed at 7:30. California. September 9: Sunday morning sampling at Garrison Lake. In the afternoon at a motel in Crescent City, still under the weather. To bed early again. Restless night.

1956 Field Season

September 10: Today 32nd birthday. Earl Lake in the rain. At Eureka, looking for mires in the vicinity of Humboldt Bay. September 11: At Capetown, worked a lake deposit on land belonging to Mr. Coombe. Still infected by wretched, tiring virus. Visited redwoods on Dyerville Flats and 111-m-tall Founders Tree. Invigorating day traveling along the ocean for our last section at Fort Bragg. September 12: Cool morning with breakfast at small hotel near Mendocino City. South to Muir Woods. San Francisco and the bus terminal, where Al left for Fresno. Much appreciation to Al for untiringly coming to the task each day since 22 June and completing the reconnaissance as had been planned. Back at Hotel Governor full circle after close to three months. Now to New York.

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Chapter 11 1957 Field Season

11.1. Introduction Lemon Creek Glacier was one of nine glaciers selected for mapping and comprehensive hydrological study during the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958 (Hubley, 1957b). During this period, which terminated the Project, the hydrological budgets for 1956–1957 and 1957–1958 were of primary concern (Juneau Icefield Research Project, 1957). Surface movement in the accumulation area was measured on two transverse profiles. The objective was to tie in movement with accumulation and ablation and relate these factors to the glacier’s budgets. Data were recorded both early and late in the ablation season. Results were evaluated in terms of average net loss or gain of ice ablated annually and in transit passing through the profile at the firn limit. Transport of supplies, equipment, and personnel from Juneau Airport to Lemon Creek Glacier, as proven workable and efficient since 1954, was by means of ski-wheel light aircraft. The trail to Salmon Creek dam and over Cairn Ridge for travel to the glacier on foot remained serviceable. It was used frequently, particularly when weather was below the margin of safety for flying. A party of five (Figs. 11.1, 11.2) carried out studies on the glacier in early June and again in September. Field leader: C.R. Wilson.

11.2. Research 11.2.1. Hydrological Budgets for 1954–1957 During the 1954 summer (Marcus, 1964), rate of ablation for snow on the upper profile averaged 3.5 cm day-1 over the 88-day period beginning on June 7. Ablation of ice over an 11-day interval on

Figure 11.1. Field party at the Jamesway; left to right, Mel Marcus, Dick Scott, Bob Forbes, and Bucky Wilson.

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Figure 11.2. Dick Scott, Bucky Wilson, and Mel Marcus at the summit of Cairn Peak.

the lower glacier in September was at a mean 5.7 cm day-1; values were at a mean of 3.5 and 5.98 cm day-1 for respective firn and ice sectors of the glacier. The area below the firn line measured 3.21 ¥ 106 m2, which in 1954 was 3.27 ¥ 106 m2. Total ablation, much the same as for 1953–1954, amounted to 6.7 ¥ 106 m3 water equivalent versus 6.04 ¥ 106 m3 for 1954–1957. The 1954–1957 hydrological budgets showed a net loss of 1.0 ¥ 106 m3 water equivalent, which is not indicated by values of the earlier net annual accumulation of 2.2 ¥ 106 m3 from the 1957 movement study. Apparently, the amount of ice moving away from the upper glacier was somewhat greater than ice formed downslope by firnification.

11.2.2. Movement Profiles for Lemon Creek Glacier Movement across two transverse profiles was carried out (Wilson, 1959), where depths of the ice were known from measurements taken in 1955 by the gravity method of geophysical exploration (Thiel et al., 1957). The objective was to draw a relationship between movement in the accumulation area and the average annual hydrological budget. Use was made of snow surveys and ablation ascertained since the 1953–1954 budget year. For the 1956–1957 hydrological budget, snow depths and rates of ablation were calculated along the profiles. The ablation rate for ice from below the firn line was recorded with reference to a 3-m hole drilled near the terminus. The upper of the two profiles (Fig. 11.3) was at an altitude of approximately 1190 m, 1.9 km above the terminus and 0.6 km from the head of the glacier; the lower profile was at approximately 1130 m, 1.5 km from the terminus and just above the firn limit. A base line of 1073 m was laid out to survey five stakes on each of the profiles. The vertical displacement due to ablation needed to be known and was measured at the end of the survey period from changes in depth of 4.6-m holes, which were initially rammed into the snow at each stake location. Stakes set out were designed to settle uniformly on the ablating snow surface and to withstand being toppled by wind. The stakes (Fig. 11.4), pyramidal in form, were constructed of pieces of lumber wired together and their bases weighted.

1957 Field Season

22′

161

134°20′

24′

24′

1

2

3

4

5

Profile II

1

2 3 4 5 Profile I 58°22′

58°22′

Map scale:

Vector velocity scale: 0

60 m 22′

yr−1

0

500 1000 1500m. 134°20′

Figure 11.3. Sketch map showing directions and velocity vectors for stakes in Profiles I and II on Lemon Creek Glacier. Redrawn from Wilson (1959).

A triangle formed by the ends of the base line and the middle stake of each profile was roughly equilateral, assuring maximum accuracy in the positions of stakes for random error in the angles taken from the ends of the base line. A Wild T-2 theodolite was used to measure angles in June and September over a movement period of 88 days with an accuracy of 1 s of arc. For a three-dimensional rectangular coordinate system, the south end of the base line was selected for survey. The positive y axis of movement was parallel with the axis of flow; the x axis was positive eastward; and the z axis was negative downward. Changes on account of ablation were subtracted from changes in z to ascertain actual ice movement. Average component of velocity of the y axis was 13 m year-1 for the upper profile and 0.25 m year-1 for the lower profile (Fig. 11.3). The component was greatest in the middle part of the glacier along its axis of flow. In longitudinal cross section (Fig. 11.5), ice formed in the accumulation area descends into the glacier’s interior, and after flowing downvalley, the ice rises in the ablation area where it is subject to melting; surface ice at the firn limit is young and at depth comparatively old. These flow characteristics were indicated by the relatively steep angles of inclination in the velocity vectors

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Figure 11.4. Stake, pyramidal in form, one of ten set out five each on Profiles I and II.

Ablation region

Accumulation region Annual excess accumulation

Firn limit Glacier head f′

Bedrock

e′

d′

c′

b′

a′

a b c d e f

Vertical velocity distribution

Depth

Figure 11.5. Longitudinal section of the glacier in the accumulation area and in the vicinity of the firn limit. Redrawn from Wilson (1959).

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Profile I

3

1

4

2 5

Glacier surface 3.5 ° slope

Profile II 5

4

1

3

2

Vector velocity scale: 30 m yr−1

0

Figure 11.6. Angles of inclination and velocity vectors of stakes in Profiles I and II. Redrawn from Wilson (1959).

Profile I East

West

0

200

1

2

400

600

3

5

4

800

1000

1200

1400

1800 m. East

Profile II West

0

1

200

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600

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1000

1200

Horizontal–vertical scales: 0

200

400

1400

1600

1800 m.

Vector velocity scale x,z plane:

600 m.

0

30

60 m yr−1

Figure 11.7. Vector velocities and directions of stakes in Profiles I and II in relation to cross sections of the glacier. Redrawn from Wilson (1959).

in upper Profile I compared with the angles in lower Profile II (Fig. 11.6). In the vertical plane, convergence is shown by the velocities, as plotted on the cross sections of the glacier (Fig. 11.7). Data lent support to the theory of equilibrium glaciers (Nielsen, 1955). According to the theory, the quantity of ice flowing through a cross section of the glacier at the average firn limit is the same as annual ablation of ice below the firn limit. In terms of water equivalent, the mass of ice moving through the firn limit in 1957 measured 5.12 ¥ 106 m3, whereas the amount ablated was 5.05 ¥ 106 m3. Given the approximations made in the calculations, the 1957 gain–loss ratio for Lemon Creek Glacier appeared to be close to equilibrium.

11.3. Journal Entries Laboratory work, processing and analyzing samples taken largely during the 1956 North Pacific reconnaissance, preempted rejoining the field party on Lemon Creek Glacier in September. The 1957 tour in June lasted 2 weeks.

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New York–Seattle–Juneau. June 4–5: Evening flight on United 507 to Chicago, Denver, Portland, and Seattle, teaming up with Dick Scott in Denver. Breakfast in Seattle with Austin Post, Ed LaChapelle, and Bucky Wilson. Out on PAA Stratoclipper at 7 am only to return to Sea-Tac because of an oil leak in number three engine. Heavy, jettisoned load of fuel before landing. Later, on another Stratoclipper, great flight in absolutely clear weather to Juneau. Supper with Tony Thomas at the Baranof. Lemon Creek Glacier. June 16: Another day CAVU, apparently 11th consecutive. After meeting Thomas in his office at the U.S. Forest Service, together with Wilson, Scott, and Marcus to lunch at the Baranof. Rented truck at Connors Motors for taking lumber, food, and personal effects to the airport. Loken flew all to the Lemon. Jamesway hut found to be in fine shape. After some organization, the comforts of home. Colorful light on the peaks now at 10:30 pm. June 7: Scott set out willow wands on traverses across the glacier, followed by stakes in the form of field-fabricated tripods (10 tripods in all). All surveyed in by Wilson and Scott from stations on nearby ridge. June 8: Another good day. With Marcus, off to lower Lemon to set up eight additional stakes and measure annual snow cover. Lunch in the rocks overlooking the icefall. Crevasses just beginning to appear. Back by six, again feeling burn from the sun. Now at midnight, Wilson and Scott have just returned from shooting azimuths from Camp 16. June 9: Hut surrounded by fog. Leisured, cooking, eating, reading, discussing various study aspects of the Project. June 10: Having a little weather here tonight. Alone with Scott, as Marcus and Wilson decided to walk out and, according to contact with Juneau Radio, are now in Juneau. Set out ablation stakes. At 11:30 pm will sack out and listen to the wind, as sleep gathers and the Coleman lantern sputters into darkness. June 11: Despite the fog, the morning broke with overcast of dull, steely clouds, as in many mornings seen before over the glacier. On 8:20 am radio contact, learned that Loken would bring Marcus and Wilson in by 10. At 9:45 am, Loken went over right on schedule. With Scott, headed to the lower tongue of the Lemon to set up stake on the ice. Visited an apparent old moraine with Cassiope, Phyllodoce, Vaccinium, Loiseleuria, Primula, Lycopodium; younger moraine with Petasites and Calamagrostis. Difficult to ascertain ages of as many as nine apparent moraines. Much stratified sand of lacustrine origin at glacier’s edge. Several morainal arcs and remnants. Lower Ptarmigan and Lemon formerly joined. Trekked up the ice to 16A in 2 h, arriving just before storm broke. Ready for the sack after supper. Wind really howling a gale, pelting rain driving horizontally. June 12: Storm with us when we awoke. Read short stories most of the day and did some baking. Felt good to let down, enjoy the sanctuary and comfort of the hut. Was a little chilly last night, so tonight have an additional sleeping bag for added warmth. June 13: Damp and cold on meeting the day. Visibility zero. Rain comes hard in gusts, then relenting turns to drizzle. Enjoyed opportunity to read John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row.” Remember digesting parts of Ricketts and Calvin “Between Pacific Tides” last summer and recalling reference to “Cannery Row.” Think that Steinbeck’s characters wonderfully capture the spirit of common man in their sharing and enjoyment of one another. Talked with Bob Forbes in Juneau on 8:20 pm radio contact. Now at 10 o’clock still enveloped in cloud. Only escape is the sack. June 14: Wind and fog continued unabating. Our trip downglacier tomorrow anticipated to be grim, as bad weather expected to continue.

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June 15: Up early and downglacier under the ceiling. As expected, storm made for an unpleasant day. Dug two pits and used SIPRE (Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Research Establishment) corer, which proved to be efficient for implanting ablation stake. Later in the day opened enough for Loken to bring in Forbes. Last night together here in the Jamesway at 16A. June 16: After midnight now back at the Hotel Juneau. A glorious day hiking down Cairn Ridge. Enjoyed a sauna at the Scandinavian Rooms. Baranof for supper. Visited with Thomas at his place in Douglas. Saw Bob Gregory. Dropped in at the Red Dog and at the Bubble Room but not much activity. June 17: Showers and pretty wet hiking up Lemon Creek trail with Wilson for further collection of tree ring data. To outwash in 2.5 h. Returned about 3 pm. Despite squalls and poor visibility; flew with Loken to the Mendenhall, Herbert, Eagle, and Lemon Creek termini for aerial photographs. Great baked salmon at Bill Shields. With Wilson, Thomas, and Merritt Mitchell to the Bubble Room, drinking beer and chatting till 12:30 am. Wound up going for bacon, eggs, and coffee at Tony’s place. Now at 2 am, feel fortunate in knowing such a great bunch of guys. June 18: Back to New York.

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Chapter 12 1958 Field Season

12.1. Introduction Work during the final season of the Project, done in collaboration with the glaciology program of the International Geophysical Year, focused on the continued hydrology and mapping of Lemon Creek Glacier (Figs. 12.1, 12.2). The budget year 1957–1958 ended a series of records kept since 1952–1953. The objective, at this point, was to place the glacier’s current hydrological status in perspective with former seasons of record and with climatic trends over the period (Heusser and Marcus, 1960). Of importance was the study of the periodic discharge of ice-dammed Tulsequah Lake in British Columbia; special consideration, in addition, was given to variations of Gilkey Glacier at the northwestern edge of the icefield during the Little Ice Age. A five-man core party (Fig. 12.3), aided at different times by additional participants, was in the field for the bulk of the season, which lasted from mid-July to mid-September. Field leader: M.G. Marcus. Tony Thomas, U.S. Forest Service, continued to act in a liaison capacity in Juneau (Fig. 12.4). Aerial support, as in earlier seasons, was made available by Ken Loken, Juneau Air Taxi Service (Fig. 12.5). The Hotel Juneau remained a center of operations, as during all previous years of the Project (Fig. 12.6). Early in July, the U.S. Coast Guard based at Annette Island supplied the Project with provisions and equipment via parachute from a Grumman SA-16 Albatross. Drops were made in proximity to the Research Station on Lemon Creek Glacier and in the Camp 15 area. Owing to its frequent use, the all-weather route to Lemon Creek Glacier up Cairn Ridge (since officially named Blackerby Ridge) and on over Cairn Peak became familiar to members of the

Figure 12.1. Transient snow line, firn, and ice, Lemon Creek Glacier (August 8, 1958).

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Figure 12.2. Lemon Creek Glacier terminus (June 17, 1957).

party (Fig. 12.7). When the need arose to be air-lifted, personnel took advantage of the ski-wheel Piper Super Cruiser, which had been available to the Project on a long-term basis. This was the case when Bohn, Chappelear, Heusser, Marcus, Nielsen, and Scott were ferried to Camp 15 for work on Gilkey Glacier. For access to Tulsequah Lake, Loken flew Marcus with Morrison on one occasion and with Heusser on another in his Aeronca Sedan on floats. Weather during the field season, stormy and cloudy, hampered operations. Some 30 days were subject to extended periods of rain, snow, and fog. Survey work was accomplished after frequent reoccupation of stations by parties, who patiently waited for clearing to enable the sighting of targets. For an added digest of activities, see Bohn (1958).

Figure 12.3. Field party 1958 season, left to right, Dick Scott, Mel Marcus, Cal Heusser, Larry Nielsen, Dave Bohn, and Dave Chappelear. Photograph by Dave Bohn.

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Figure 12.4. Tony Thomas, U.S. Forest Service, long-time Project liaison officer in Juneau. Photograph by Dave Bohn.

12.2. Research 12.2.1. Hydrological Budgets for 1956–1957 and 1957–1958 For the 1956–1958 budgets, areas of accumulation and ablation used in the calculations were from a newly compiled map of Lemon Creek Glacier (Heusser and Marcus, 1964a). The map (Fig. 12.8), plotted at the Institute of Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography of The Ohio State University on a scale of 1:10,000 with 5-m contour intervals (Case, 1958; American Geographical Society, 1960),

Figure 12.5. Ken Loken, pilot, Juneau Air Taxi Service, during many years servicing the Project. Photograph by Dave Bohn.

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Figure 12.6. Party at Hotel Juneau, 1958 field season; left to right, Ed Thiel, Dick Scott, and Dave Bohn.

Figure 12.7. Above treeline on Cairn Ridge en route to Lemon Creek Glacier, Salmon Creek Reservoir below. Photograph by Dave Bohn.

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was generated from 1957 aerial photography by the U.S. Navy and 1955 ground control by the Project. The total area of the glacier measured by planimeter was shown to be 9.36 ¥ 106 m2. For 1956–1957, there was a deficit, amounting to 0.82 ¥ 106 m3 water equivalent, the value derived from the difference between total ice ablation and net snow accumulation using densities of 0.85 g cm-3 for ice and 0.55 g cm-3 for snow. For 1957–1958, the budget deficit was less, totaling 8.96 ¥ 106 m3 water equivalent. Both budgets show deficits smaller than what actually occurred, owing to the fact that the ablation periods extended later than periods taken into account. Budgets in water equivalents for earlier years (LaChapelle, 1956; Marcus, 1964), corrected on the basis of 1957 mapping, gave deficits of 6.0 ¥ 106 m3 for 1952–1953, 3.80 ¥ 106 m3 for 1953–1954, and 9.34 ¥ 106 m3 for 1955–1956, contrasting a strong surplus of 12.60 ¥ 106 m3 for 1954–1955. Budgets over the period for 1953–1958 revealed a net deficit of 10.32 ¥ 106 m3.

Figure 12.8(A). Lemon Creek Glacier mapped during the IGY (American Geographical Society, 1960; Marcus et al., 1995). Continued

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Figure 12.8(B). Lemon Creek Glacier IGY map showing locations of cross-section profiles, directions of movement stakes, and vector velocities. Modified from Heusser and Marcus (1964a).

According to Marcus (1964), firn lines were as low as 875 m for 1954–1955 and as high as 1200 m for 1955–1956. Measurements of surface flow taken on five transverse profiles indicated that the glacier was behaving in accordance with the equilibrium flow theory proposed by Nielsen (1955). Data thus corroborated a similar conclusion reached previously from the survey made by Wilson (1959).

12.2.2. Recession of Lemon Creek Glacier From positions of the terminus inferred from dendrochronological records in relation to aerial photographs taken in 1929 and 1948 (Fig. 12.9), rates of recession were found to be relatively low

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Figure 12.9. Map of Lemon Creek Glacier System outlining limits of the glacier between mid-eighteenth century and 1957–1958. Modified from Heusser and Marcus (1964b).

at £12.5 m year-1 during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Heusser and Marcus, 1964b). Rates reached a maximum 61 m year-1 between 1891–1902, slowed again to <10 m year-1 during the first three decades of the twentieth century; and increased to 32.9 m year-1 between 1929–1948 and 37.5 m year-1 between 1948–1958, until observations ended in 1958. Lemon Creek Glacier lost >25% of its area between the mid-eighteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The glacier’s behavior tends to be substantiated by weather records (temperature and precipitation) collected in Juneau since the early twentieth century. Minimal recession during the first three decades followed a drop in mean July temperature (Fig. 12.10), while increased recession afterward was in keeping with rising July temperature. High annual precipitation at the beginning of the period did not contribute to net accumulation that would be expected to cause the glacier

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CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS Note Scale is not uniform with that used for plotting mean July and January Temperature

64 55 54

Annual Mean °C.

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LEMON CREEK GLACIER GLACIER VARIATIONS CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS

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July Mean °C.

.17 .11 −39 −67

January Mean °C.

2400 2300 2200 2100

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2500

Net Terminal Recession

25

1948 20

2000 1919

1902

1500

1929

15

Note Scale changes for 1900's

1000 500 0

1819

10

1891

Area Diminution

5

1769 1759 1750

1800

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

0

Percent Area Diminution

Net Terminal Recession (m)

Mean Annual Precipitation mm.

GLACIER VARIATIONS

Figure 12.10. Net terminal recession and percent area diminution of Lemon Creek Glacier compared with 10-year running means of Juneau temperature and precipitation. Modified from Heusser and Marcus (1964b).

to readvance. Amounts possibly represent rainfall from the passage of warm storms, as Hubley (1957a) emphasized, thus influencing wastage and recession.

12.2.3. Ice-Dammed Tulsequah Lake Sudden release of water impounded by glacial blockage (the Icelandic jökulhlaup) characterizes Tulsequah Lake (Marcus, 1960). Outbursts, known to have taken place periodically since at least the beginning of the twentieth century, probably began while glaciers first underwent recession following the Little Ice Age. Tulsequah Lake (Fig. 12.11) occupies what was formerly a branch that fed Tulsequah Glacier. As the glacier in the tributary valley pulled back, the lake formed when the main stream, seeking an outlet, dammed the drainage (Fig. 12.12). Icebergs produced by the calving ice front,

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Figure 12.11. Ice-dammed Tulsequah Lake following outburst July 7–10, 1958. Stranded icebergs produced by calving of distant Tulsequah Glacier mark limits of the lake prior to discharge.

afloat in water 195 m deep, became grounded about the periphery upon rapid release of the impounded lake. The burst of water in the Tulsequah terminal area is attributed to melting out of englacial ice in summer, generally between late July and early August, followed by concomitant enlargement of subsurface drainage tunnels. At a critical point, the increase in hydrostatic pressure effects the release of water downvalley over a distance of about 2.7 km from beneath the glacier’s snout. In autumn with freezing conditions, ice reforms at depth blocking the means of water egress, after which the lake regains its predrainage volume.

Figure 12.12. Diagrammatic sequence during and since the Little Ice Age of glacier withdrawal leading up to formation of Tulsequah Lake. From Marcus (1960).

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Of significance with regard to similar early twentieth century stability of Lemon Creek Glacier is the high-water level of ice-dammed Tulsequah Lake (Marcus, 1960). Between 1910 and 1920, lake level showed no appreciable variation, thus indicating a more or less stationary Tulsequah Glacier during the interval. Apparently responding to a later trend that brought about recession of the terminus at Lemon Creek, the Tulsequah icefront also underwent recession. Water in the lake, estimated at over 330 ¥ 1012 l between 1915 and 1920, progressively decreased to some 217 ¥ 1012 l in 1958. During the period, lake level fell from 195 to 73 m. Marcus (1964) addressed the hypothesis that short-term climatic fluctuations govern short-term variations in the hydrological regime of not only Lemon Creek, but also the Tulsequah and other glaciers of the Juneau Icefield. Temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, storm frequency, and length of seasons bearing on surpluses or deficits were evaluated. Of these factors, thermal effectiveness and precipitation over the course of the accumulation season were found to be of primary importance in control of the annual budgets.

12.2.4. Variations of Gilkey Glacier Gilkey Glacier, deeply entrenched, flows westward about 10.8 km from an altitude of about 1830 m in the vicinity of Mt. Ogilvie on the Canadian Boundary. The glacier is much branched with icefalls at the heads of tributaries, as indicated by collections of ogives and number of medial moraines (Fig. 12.13). The Camp 15 branch, the locus of study of the glacier’s variations, is likewise identified by ogives below a generating icefall (Fig. 12.14). Scattered stands of Pacific Coastal Forest penetrate the glacier system to an altitude of around 915 m. The terminus at an altitude of about 60 m is in the valley of the South Fork of the Antler River. Camp 15 at the edge of the branch icefall with a nearby landing area for the Piper Super Cruiser (Fig. 12.15) was conveniently located. The steep descent into the trench of Gilkey Glacier at the edge of the icefall, led by Dave Bohn, required careful planning and route selection because of the heavy, awkward loads carried by each member of the party (Fig. 12.16). Fixed ropes were used for rappelling to the ice to establish “Ogive Camp” (Fig. 12.17) and for return to Camp 15. On the east side of the Camp 15 branch, at a point north of the icefall just downglacier from “Ogive Camp,” a segment of arboreal vegetation was studied and trees dated. For approximately 45 m directly

Figure 12.13. Gilkey Glacier draining the northern part of the Juneau Icefield. A network of distributary branches, fed via icefalls, contributes to a system of moraines and ogives. Trimlines reveal amounts of wastage with lowering of the glacier surface.

1958 Field Season

Figure 12.14. Camp 15 branch of Gilkey Glacier below the icefall.

Figure 12.15. Piper Super Cruiser servicing Camp 15.

Figure 12.16. Dave Chappelear rappelling below Camp 15 to set up “Ogive Camp.”

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Figure 12.17. “Ogive Camp” on the rock-strewn surface of the Camp 15 branch. Alluvial cone constructed of avalanche debris in the background.

above the glacier’s surface, slopes consisted of bare bedrock and scree (Fig. 12.18). Higher up, successional alder communities, limited by a lateral moraine (Fig. 12.19), covered a total vertical distance of about 90 m. Seeded in on the moraine, mountain hemlocks dating to about 1900 indicated that upper Gilkey Glacier, close to its source in the Northwest Branch of the Juneau Icefield (Fig. 12.20), did not begin to downwaste until the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. This age assignment is much later than the time of terminal recession. The glacier probably had a normal gradient until the late nineteenth century, while the icefall at the head of the Camp 15 branch did not form until later, as the glacier surface increasingly lowered. Upslope at the edge of the moraine, an ancient mountain hemlock, 35 cm in diameter and 19.2 m tall, stood bowed, suggesting that it had been tilted at the time the moraine was emplaced. The tree with rotten core, found to be >255 years old, dated to the late-seventeenth century or earlier.

Figure 12.18. Lateral moraine, above bare rock-alder and below ancient forest, east wall of Camp 15 branch.

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Figure 12.19. Bouldery lateral moraine marking recent upper limit of the glacier, Camp 15 branch.

Examination of its annual rings showed relatively increased growth during intervals of 1703–1767 and 1780–1790, whereas growth was much suppressed during 1767–1780 and 1790–1900; after 1900, annual rings again increased. Farther downvalley from “Ogive Camp,” at the meeting of the Camp 15 branch and main stream of Gilkey Glacier, the ice was beset with ablation moraine in a state of wastage. Erosion by surficial streams intensified (Fig. 12.21), at one point exposing the apparently inactive remains of an englacial “plumbing system” (Fig. 12.22). In the terminal area, about 1.8 km farther on, the end moraine likewise showed signs of extensive stream erosion and segmentation (Fig. 12.23). Outwash had been fluvially sorted (Fig. 12.24), leaving broad boulder fields in the valley train in proximity to the glacier’s snout (Fig. 12.25). Outbursts of meltwater in the terminal area have possibly modified the outwash by sudden emptying

Figure 12.20. Camp 15 branch with icefall at the head seen from the height of the lateral moraine. Glacier surface had dropped some 100 m since the moraine was emplaced.

Figure 12.21. Stream erosion of the ice surface of Camp 15 branch. Ablation moraine in the background.

Figure 12.22. Water-filled englacial drainage tunnel, no longer active, at point where Camp 15 branch joins the main stream of Gilkey Glacier.

Figure 12.23. View upvalley of Gilkey Glacier from its terminus.

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Figure 12.24. Bouldery outwash among remnants of moraine downvalley from Gilkey Glacier terminus.

of ice-dammed lakes upglacier, although no tunnel where floodwater might discharge was seen along the icefront. Nevertheless, a predominance of scattered alder and willow in pioneer stages on the valley train suggests the effect of more or less regular fluvial discharges on these surfaces. Growing on a morainal segment in the outwash on the north side of the valley, Sitka spruce in first-generation forest measured 19.8–27.7 cm in diameter and as much as 24.4 m in height. Following an interval to produce a suitable seed bed (ecesis) and to allow trees to reach coring height under the pronounced cold air drainage in the entrenched valley, growth rings dated recession of the Gilkey Glacier terminus to about 1783.

12.2.5. Glacier Mice One of the most interesting encounters during the reconnaissance foray on Gilkey Glacier was the discovery of “glacier mice,” which were constituted by the moss, Drepanocladus berggrenii (C. Jens.) Broth. (Heusser, 1972a). The name derives from what in Icelandic are called “jökla mys.”

Figure 12.25. Valley train following the South Fork of the Antler River.

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Figure 12.26. “Glacier mice,” cushions of the moss Drepanocladus berggrenii scattered on the ice of the Camp 15 branch at its confluence with the main stream of Gilkey Glacier.

At an altitude of 330 m, the moss occurred in an area of ablation moraine on the southwestern side of the Camp 15 branch at its junction with the main stream of Gilkey Glacier. Judged to cover an area of 400–500 m2, hundreds of the moss polsters grew scattered on the glacier (Fig. 12.26). Spheroidal in shape, each truncated above and below to resemble a cushion, the polsters in size ranged roughly 2.5–17.5 cm across and 2.5–10 cm in height. Most specimens grew directly on the ice surface, while the remainder were attached to broken pieces of locally eroded metamorphic rock. Polsters consisted of dead and living leaves, stems, and rhizoids surrounding a core of sand, silt, and pebbles. The moss, identified by Dr. Howard Crum of the University of Michigan, was found to be new for Alaska. Although “glacier mice” had been observed at one other Alaskan location, Matanuska Glacier on the north side of the Chugach Mountains (Benninghoff, 1955), their makeup did not include the Gilkey Glacier species. Distributed in the Arctic of Norway, Greenland, and America, Drepanocladus berggrenii is proximally located over 900 km distant on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada. Its occurrence on Gilkey Glacier may be fortuitous. But from the number of colonies observed, it seems well adjusted to proliferation locally in the glacier setting. Alternatively, the species is a relict in the region since the last glaciation.

12.3. Journal Entries In the loss of the Journal for the 1958 field season, what follows are entries taken from a Journal kept by Dave Bohn, who has kindly made his record available for inclusion here: July 15: Arrived Juneau via Pan Am from Seattle. Burdens of the day considerably lightened by the fact that, beginning at 4:30 am, four breakfasts were had by 11 am and a total of six meals by 9:30 pm in Juneau.

1958 Field Season

July 16: Preparations in Juneau for Lemon Creek Glacier. July 17: Conference with Coast Guard. Air drops at Lemon Creek Glacier and Camp 15 scheduled for 6 am. Marcus, Scott, and Chappelear to Lemon Creek Glacier by Ken Loken. Heusser and Bohn in Juneau to handle and film drops. July 18: Rain, no drops. July 19–23: Rain. July 24: Coast Guard arrives at noon, and air drops are accomplished. Three of four probably lost in Gilkey canyon, three others successively landed at Camp 15. July 25: Heusser and Bohn flown to Lemon Creek Glacier by Loken at 5:30 am. A bedraggled crew at the Jamesway hut after seven days of fog and rain. Heusser, Scott, and Bohn put in 2nd profile downglacier. July 26: Rain. Slept, ate, slept, ate. July 27: Heusser, Scott, and Bohn put in 3rd profile. On ice most of the time. Weather misty and cold. Yet to see the sun. Marcus out to Juneau. July 28: Clear! Heusser and Bohn descend Ptarmigan Glacier, one hour in the hot sun for lunch, then on to terminus of Lemon Creek Glacier to place ablation stake. Scott and Chappelear survey lower and middle profiles, but do not return by 10 pm, so out to look for them. All OK, however. July 29: Rain, fog. July 30: Haul 300 lbs (140 kg) of Ed Thiel’s gear across Ptarmigan Glacier. July 31: Rain, fog. August 1: Loken brings in Marcus. Foggy. Ceiling about 20 ft (6.6 m). Thiel out with Loken, who takes off with no ceiling. August 2: Early morning clear, somewhat. Heusser, Chappelear, and Bohn down Ptarmigan Glacier to Lemon terminus to reset ablation stake. Attempt to climb icefall but stopped halfway by spanning crevasses. Ascend snow couloir to top of icefall, completely soaked. Cross a number of rotten snow bridges and arrive back at hut at 10 pm, completely soaked again after having dried out twice. August 3: Sun, rain. Winds up to 50 mph (30 km h-1) this night. August 4: High winds, rain, and no visibility. Radio contact with Larry Nielsen in Juneau. He will walk in tomorrow. August 5: High winds and fog. Heusser and Bohn out to the dam to meet Nielsen. Leave Hut at 12 noon, at dam by 2 pm. Leave dam at 3 pm, reach Hut by 7 pm, soaked and tired. Six of us here now. Seventy-two hours of high wind and rain. August 6: Rain and 96th hour of wind. August 7: Heusser, Scott, and Nielsen to terminus of the Lemon. Chappelear, Marcus, and Bohn survey middle and upper profiles. Photos of surveying taken. Evening clearing. Day was high overcast. Loken in at 8 pm after dropping off Blazo and food at Camp 15. August 8: Nielsen organizes and packs food and gear to be airlifted to Camp 15. Scott and Marcus airlifted at 5:30 am to Station 16 (Camp 16) for surveying. Heusser, Chappelear, and Bohn to lower profile baseline to set up stake. Then traversed the glacier and sank lower profile ablation stakes to 10 ft (3.3 m). Skied down. Day was cloudy bright and some sun. Expected Loken to airlift us to Camp 15 but did not show. August 9: Marcus out to Juneau with Loken, 6 am. Bohn to Camp 15, Nielsen and Chappelear followed. Set up big tent. Picture Stations A, B, and C, start 35 mm movie filming. Radio contact with Camp 16A. Day is cloudy bright, high overcast, light rain. This is a most extraordinary spot. A 2200-ft-drop icefall (670 m), hanging glaciers, snow avalanches, mud avalanches, arêtes, spires, gendarmes, avalanche fans, enormous snowfields stretching east, 3000-ft rock faces (915 m). Call it “Thunder Camp” because of the

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avalanches and the reverberation in the great Gilkey canyon below us. Words fail, yet we try to describe. August 10: Nielsen and Bohn descend 800 ft (244 m) to put in route to bottom of icefall, carrying sixty pounds of food each (27 kg). Intermittent rain and cloudy bright, some glacial fog. Loken makes three trips and brings in Heusser, Chappelear, and gear. Party now assembled at Camp 15. Magnificent sunset and some promise of good day tomorrow. Picture work continues. August 11: Day breaks brilliantly clear, the first such day since July 16th. Nielsen and Chappelear survey. Heusser, Scott, and Bohn erect four tripods on axis of flow above icefall. Enormous crevasses, overhung above and below. Never seen this type before. Sunken holes all over. Gorgeous day! Most of surveying done. Hope is to descend to bottom of icefall tomorrow, carrying about 170 lbs of gear (77 kg). Nielsen and Scott to stay below. Day closes clear and cool, not a cloud in the sky. Have found only two air drops out of four. Sunset at Camp 15 beautiful. August 12: Leave camp at 9:15 am and descend to “Ogive Camp” in 8.5 h. Grueling trip, heavy packs, much belaying, fixed lines, bottom at 5:30 pm. Nielsen out on the ice to check what Bohn thought was a chute, which it was, but empty. Two smashed boxes of 5-in-1s found between chute and Blazo chute (with streamer showing), which was 200 ft below mud flow (60 m). No other chutes in sight yet. Scott sets up tent. Heusser, Chappelear, and Bohn leave at 6 pm to climb back up to Camp 15. Arrive 8:45 pm, wet, cold, and hungry (naturally). Radio contact with “Ogive Camp” is successful. Camp is established after 12-h day of heavy backpacking. August 13–14: Rain and fog. Tents very wet. August 15: Snow and fog. August 16: More snow. At 12 noon, Chappelear and Bohn decide to descend to “Ogive Camp” to bring down fuel. Chappelear takes 15 gallon (63 l) and Bohn picks up 5-in-1s at lunch depot. Pack weighs only 45 lb (20 kg). Leave Camp 15 at 2 pm, arrive below at 5:15 pm. Nielsen and Scott had been up in the icefall, and arrive back at about the same time. Location of the Nielsen/Scott tent making them nervous because of potential rockfall, so they had us help move them out on the ice. Wet and cold, use chutes for “flooring” along with tripod stakes. Since no lantern to interfere, extraordinary dark blue glow coming up from below. Tent tied down with big rocks set on the ice. August 17: Chappelear and Bohn leave at 11 am, carrying theodolite. Lay out 500-ft baseline (152-m) above the glacier, then on to Camp 15 at 3:30 pm, where Heusser cooks lunch of rice, beef, and vegetables for us, a very good lunch I may say. Some frisbee. Late clearing and a nice alpine glow on the peaks to the south. August 18: High winds, snow. Very cold. In tents most of the day at Camp 15. No Loken. August 19: No visibility until afternoon. Chappelear and Bohn leave at 3:30 pm to climb nearby “Little Gibraltar.” On top at 6:30, having used one piton for belay point. Two friction traverses. Loken finally in at 5 pm with Marcus. Heusser off with Loken to drop tents, clothing, etc. at “Ogive Camp” and C-Ration carton at terminus of Gilkey Glacier for later trip down there. Marcus brings in cognac, celery, onions, meat, smoked fish, frozen fish, nectarines, grapes, four quarts milk, two dozen eggs, magazines, and mail. Marcus should probably go out more often! Chappelear and Bohn at tents, after climb, to meal of Chef Boyardee, milk, fruit, and celery. Marvelous. Unable to move!

1958 Field Season

August 20: Leave at 1:30 pm for descent to “Ogive Camp.” All down by 5:45, including a 240-ft (73-m) rappel, which was great. Heusser and Bohn take two-man tent and, despite all razzing and guffaws, pitch it in a bowl of the great mudflow of 1951–1952. Boulders weighing tons all around, but spend the night warm with no wind when off the ice. Frisbee on the ice before leaving the large tent for the mudflow. August 21: Heusser, Chappelear, and Bohn leave “Ogive” at 10 am for the trek to the terminus of the Gilkey, about eight miles (12.8 km). After passing first valley below and east of “Ogive,” we are on virgin ground, never before tramped by man. Arrive at campsite at 5:45 pm after crossing two medial moraines and a lateral moraine. Beautiful site about 400 ft above ice in alder (122 m). Campfire. No rain all day, some sun. A very interesting trip down. Rations found, all OK. August 22: Heusser botanizes after we reach terminal moraine. We core and date spruce and hemlock, the spruce about 135 years old. Heusser presses various plants. See family of five ducks in lake by lateral moraine. River high, no sign of where upper ice-dammed lakes drain out. Find signs of other people, recent tin cans. Build cairn on highest morainal point. Back to campsite by 5 pm. Beans, beef stew, the usual peach jam and other C-Rations for dinner. Bohn sleeps out again. Rains all night, but keeps reasonably dry. And, oh yes, we did have three minutes of sun while on the moraine. August 23: Leave the terminus at 11:45 am, back at “Ogive Camp” at 5:45. Others went to first moraine first night, missed ice-dammed lake by 1 h, and back to moraine the second night. They greeted us at “Ogive.” Have soup, pound cake, two soft-boiled eggs and coffee! Wow! Good! Rained our last mile into camp (0.62 km). Heusser and three others go out to chop ice from ogive and melt down for pollen. Small tent set up for Chappelear and Bohn. We three trekkers are drying out, or so we tell ourselves. August 24: Marcus and Bohn leave “Ogive” at 12 noon for the “slabs” and Camp 15. Free climb all the way. Arrive soaked and very cold. Bring up food box left at depot. Bohn with 65-lb pack from that point (30 kg). Meal of onions and corned beef, peaches, bread, jam. Dry out pretty well. Bohn’s bag completely soaked through, however. August 25: Breakfast of fresh orange, one fresh egg, bacon, jam, bread, and coffee. Others arrive from “Ogive” at 6:30 pm, after Chappelear and Nielsen finish lower survey. Heusser and Scott measure ogives before leaving. Tent left on glacier. August 26: No Loken. Some surveying done until noon. Visibility drops. Food beginning to get a bit tight. August 27: About four inches (10 cm) of wet snow on waking. No visibility at all. Food now on a semi-ration basis. Big breakfast. No hope for Loken until later today at least. Fog, some snow. August 28: Loken in at 11:30 am. Nielsen out to Juneau. Day is good, mostly sunny until late afternoon, with clouds disappearing by 6 pm. Loken in again at 6 pm to take Marcus out to Juneau. Back about 8 pm to take Heusser out. Beautiful moon, sunset, crystal clear night, our first such. August 29: Clear, sunny, and hot. Loken in at 3 pm to take Bohn to Lemon Creek Glacier. Chappelear and Scott follow. Clear night. Moon again. Our total of sunny days now three! August 30: Clear, sunny again. Loken in at 12 noon. Off with Bohn on aerial photo flight of 2 h duration after dropping Chappelear and Scott at Camp 16 for survey. August 31: Clear again. Now five days of sun total. Chappelear and Scott out to survey. Bohn takes some movies of the surveying, returns, and has visitors, who hiked in to see Marcus, for lunch. Took the sun for 3 h.

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September 1–2: Socked in. Some surveying. Weather deteriorating. September 3: Blizzard this afternoon. Sixty mph (37 km h-1) winds this night and into morning. Six inches (15 cm) of snow. Marcus and Gray turned back. September 4: High winds, torrential rains. Gas is low. September 5: Third day of no visibility and high winds. Down to 1 gallon of gas (4 l). September 6: Juneau contact with Heusser and Marcus. They will be in tomorrow by trail. Day is poor again. Enough gas for two more days. September 7: Weather fair. Chappelear and Bohn off to the terminus to measure ablation, meandering stream study, circuit to lower profile for ablation. Weather clears. Blue sky. Back at 4 pm and Heusser and Marcus are already in. Juneau Radio contact, Loken due in at 4 pm tomorrow to take out entire party. September 8: Chappelear and Marcus walk out at noon. Heusser, Scott, and Bohn out on glacier to take density measurements. Brilliant, sunny day. Lunch in hot sun. At “air head” at 3:30 pm after closing the hut. Loken never shows. We spend another bitter and remorseful night again at the glacier. So no tossed green salad. A miserable can of sardines for supper. Ugh! September 9: Heusser, Scott, and Bohn leave hut at 8:30 am, carrying only cameras and a theodolite. A very great hike out. Arrive Juneau 2 pm. Tossed green salad! September 10: All personnel except Bohn fly south on Pan Am, 1:30 pm. Weather continues brilliant. Bohn for flight over Lemon Creek and Mendenhall Glaciers with Loken. September 11: So long Juneau. Gordon Gray and Dave Gray on hand to say goodbye at Hotel Juneau to the last of the JIRPs. Bohn south on Pan Am, 1:30 pm. As an addendum are two insightful observations by Dave Bohn that characterized the 1958 field party at the Jamesway and are in part covered in his “Backcountry Journal” (Bohn, 1974): “When there were six of us there, the ‘division’ was three ‘night’ people and three ‘morning’ people, meaning the night people stayed up quite late with the Coleman lanterns burning (lots of noise, of course), then were never able to do anything in the morning, such as fire up the stove, put the water on for coffee, and so forth. One of the night people was Ed Thiel, who was always clicking and clacking that bloody abacus.” “Of the night people, mornings were the most devastating for Marcus, who, long after everyone else was up and at least had coffee, would struggle mightily to an ashen-faced sitting position on his cot, pull the chicken feather bag with semihood over his head, reach for a cigarette and light it, and with that healthy item sagging out of his mouth, would reach for his steel cup, so as to tap it weakly on the cot’s rail, all the while plaintively intoning: ‘Roman Mealº Roman Mealº Roman Mealº’ ”

Part 4 Summation

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Chapter 13 Taku Glacier Variations

Among research objectives foremost on the agenda of the Project was the study of the advance of Taku Glacier, including its branch, Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Fig. 13.1). The advance had drawn attention because it stood out-of-phase with the recessional mode shown by other glaciers emanating from the Juneau Icefield, as well as by most coastal glaciers (Miller, 1964b). Compared with the retreat of its neighbor, Norris Glacier (Fig. 13.2), the Taku in 1948 had come forward 2.17 km since the beginning of the twentieth century (Field, 1954); at the same time, branching Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier (Fig. 13.3) had advanced about 1 km. A typically steep, bulging ice front characterized advancing Taku Glacier (Fig. 13.4), versus a thinning, low-angle terminus of the Norris at the margin of its large frontal outwash apron. Lawrence (1950a) made an extended investigation of the status of the Taku and its neighbors in recent centuries. Beyond information of former positions of glacier termini contained in historical accounts, old photographs, and U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey charts, moraines and trimlines were dated from the ages of trees in first-generation and ancient forests. Chronologies in first generation forest proved to cover at most about 200 years; beyond Little Ice Age trimlines, stands of ancient forest containing telltale rotten stumps and downed tree trunks indicative of greater antiquity, dated to well over five centuries. It became clear that Taku, Hole-in-the-Wall, and Norris Glaciers, as well as East and West Twin Glaciers farther on in the Taku River Valley (Fig. 13.1), together advanced and receded during the

Figure 13.1. Lower Taku River-Taku Inlet showing positions of icefield glaciers during the early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, and earlier maxima. From Lawrence (1950a).

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Figure 13.2. Advancing Taku Glacier (above) and receding Norris Glacier (below), juxtaposed in the Taku River Valley in 1955.

Little Ice Age. Of these, Taku and Hole-in-the-Wall have shown a later extended period of readvance in the twentieth century; Norris Glacier registered short-term activity, peaking after 1878–1880 and before 1916–1918, followed by recession. Trees of first generation forest at Taku Point (Fig. 13.1), 30–46 m below the trimline, date the maximum stand of a coalesced Taku–Norris ice front to about 1735–1737. The piedmont lobe lay completely across Taku Inlet, 2.4 km beyond the 1948 position of the Taku terminus, blocking drainage of Taku River. A lake impounded by the ice dam appears to have extended well up the valley at least as far as the Twin Glaciers. Lawrence (1950a) observed organic silt 15.2–20.3 cm thick, thought to be from the lake, resting on the Twin Glaciers end moraine. Although refuted by Muntz (1955), Lawrence’s claim for the existence of a lake in Taku Valley has been given support recently by wave-cut terraces upvalley from Taku Point (Post and Motyka, 1995). Net recession of Taku Glacier, figured to be more than 3 km, followed its eighteenth century maximum until the late nineteenth century. In 1890, according to bathymetry by the U.S. Coast and

Figure 13.3. Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier advancing in 1955.

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Figure 13.4. Steep front of advancing snout of Taku Glacier in 1955.

Geodetic Survey, the terminus rested in tidewater just beyond a point now occupied by the branching outlet of Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier. Hole-in-the-Wall did not exist at the time but formed around the turn of the century when the Taku began to advance. Advance of both glaciers has been more or less steady during the early twentieth century with forward positions marked in 1909, 1929, 1931, 1937, 1941, and 1948 (Fig. 13.1). In the years following the Project, new data and modifications of old data have come to light relevant to Taku Glacier variations. Ice thicknesses of Taku Glacier by seismic reflection measured by Poulter et al. (1949) were found to be inconsistent with amounts obtained in subsequent studies (Nolan et al., 1995). Nielsen (1957) originally had questioned depths on the seismic profiles. His study of regimen and movement had showed that volumes of ice flowing through cross sections were unexpectedly less than volumes calculated from ablation measurements. According to data gathered by Nolan et al. (1995), over half of the glacier’s bed is below sea level. The terminus when the nineteenth century advance began was possibly in 200–500 m of tidewater, 25 km farther upglacier (at the minimum) from the location set by Poulter et al. (1949). Post and Motyka (1995) emphasize the speed of iceberg calving as a major factor causing the retreat of Taku Glacier following its advance early last century. Climatic change and dynamic discharge of an ice-dammed lake in Taku Valley are postulated as possible factors contributing to the start of the retreat. The twentieth century advance, in turn, has been attributed to the generative phase of a tidewater–glacier cycle. Cessation of calving in the cycle was brought on by sediments filling in the deep basin of the fjord, accompanied by shoaling and the formation of push moraines. Because Taku Glacier now rests on outwash above sea level, calving at the present time is unlikely to occur. Renewed activity exhibited by the glacier’s advance during the summer of 2001 produced deformational, proglacial structures, push moraines and distal bulges, as much as 200 m from the ice front (Motyka and Echelmeyer, 2003). Evident is the fact that complex forces have been active to account for the advance of Taku Glacier over the past century. Post and Motyka (1995) point out the extent to which rise of the equilibrium line altitude has had more of an effect on the Norris with its small accumulation area compared with the Taku. An accumulation area ratio of the Taku at 0.83, versus a less favorably ratio of 0.62 for retreating Norris Glacier, underlies the advance (Fig. 13.5). Pelto and Miller (1990) are inclined to explain the Taku advance by the glacier’s long-term (1946–1986) positive mass balance, averaging

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2500

8000

Taku Glacier

Norris Glacier

7000 2000 6000

5000

Altitude

1500

4000 1000

3000

ELA

ELA

Former ELA

Former ELA

2000 500 1000

0 m

0 ft

0 0

50 100

100 200 Area

150 300

400

0 0

50 m2 100 km2

Figure 13.5. Area–altitude relationships of Taku and Norris Glaciers including locations of the ELA at present and during 1750–1850. Modified from Post and Motyka (1995).

0.37 ± 0.06 m year-1 of water equivalent, which is tied in with Juneau weather records over the period of observation. Despite overall steady-state mass balance, observations made during the years of the Project showed that snow cover remaining on nunataks was dwindling. Upglacier on Taku A, B, C, and D, bedrock unweathered beneath a snow cover at altitudes between approximately 1220 and 1524 m had become increasingly exposed during summer months (see Figs. 3.3, 3.8, 5.5, 6.7). Moreover, fresh surfaces of rock detritus were prone to invasion by pioneer plant species in the course of primary succession (Fig. 6.9). At the same time, nunataks supported a few shrubby specimens of Sitka spruce that had migrated upglacier from treeline at just over 1000 m. Conditions on the upper Taku apparently were equally subject to a rise in snowline as observed on Cairn Ridge near Juneau (see Fig. 2.12). The implication of this evidence is of rising summer temperatures, part of the trend associated with the Taku, as it has varied in size since the Little Ice Age. Upglacier, the surface of the ice relative to the trimline under the moderating climate was observed to have fallen 170–206 m on Taku D, 188 m on Taku C, 136–168 m on Taku B, and 102 m on Taku A. Downglacier (Fig. 6.10), where the ice had been thickening and advancing beginning in the early 1900s, the surface was found to be rising and the differential with the trimline was at about 50 m or less. These observations formed the basis for the assumption that a kinematic wave, produced upglacier in the nineteenth century, was subsequently being conveyed to lower Taku Glacier (Heusser et al., 1954). During the past three millennia, Taku Glacier has apparently advanced and receded on five occasions (Motyka and Begét, 1996). The chronology is derived from the age of laminated clays occupying a terrace along the lower Taku River, a tree trunk melted out at the glacier’s terminus, and a bog sedimentary sequence related to moraines located on a bench at about 200 m altitude along the lower Taku–Norris divide. Advances are judged to date to approximately 2560, 1650, 1100, and 260 14C years BP (2740, 1550, 1040, and 300 cal years BP) and the beginning of the twentieth century.

Chapter 14 Lemon Creek Glacier Variations

Lemon Creek Glacier, terminating on land during the Holocene and uninfluenced by tidewater forcing, has undergone variations more directly in response to climate. The point was made that the calving ice front of the Taku was subject to a tidewater cycle, which acted to offset control of the glacier’s behavior by fluctuations of climate (Post and Motyka, 1995). With advance of Lemon Creek Glacier downvalley to an altitude of about 200 m, the ice front dated to 1750 AD rested 375 m upvalley from its earlier Lateglacial location. At these times, the terminus had descended the west slope of the Coast Mountains a distance of about 3 km, lowering an estimated 400 m relative to its position in the mid-twentieth century. A sample of basal peat in muskeg resting on morainal boulders at the outermost site and dated to 10,300 ± 600 14C years BP (L-297A; 12,130 cal years BP), implied that the terminal positions of the glacier in the Lateglacial and during the Little Ice Age were not vastly different. Their climatic settings would seem to have been closely comparable and likewise also the relationship drawn previously between frontal positions along Lemon Creek and the two moraines at the glacier’s head (Fig. 9.3). That the downvalley position of Lemon Creek Glacier represents a Lateglacial event of Younger Dryas age is probable, given the evidence cited for Younger Dryas-age cooling on the North Pacific coast (Engstrom et al., 1990; Mathewes, 1993; Mathewes et al., 1993; Hansen and Engstrom, 1996). This probability is strengthened by Younger Dryas cooling indicated by a s18O fluctuation in a cave speleothem in the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon (Vacco et al., 2005). The record corresponds to similar s18O records found in Greenland ice core GISP2 (Grootes et al., 1993) and at Hulu Cave in China (Wang et al., 2001). No variations of the terminus of Lemon Creek Glacier during the Holocene are on record until the Little Ice Age when the terminus, coalesced with Ptarmigan and Thomas Glaciers, came forward before about 1750 AD (Heusser and Marcus, 1964b). Not in evidence are buried forest layers, as occurring at nearby Mendenhall Glacier (Figs. 14.1, 14.2), which bracket Neoglacial advances dated to between 2790 and 1090 14C years BP (2910–970 cal years BP; Kulp et al., 1951; Preston et al., 1955). According to Kerr (1948), interstadial forest remains, however undated, also occur in the outwash of Tulsequah and Wright Glaciers in the Taku River Valley. Possible overriding of forest by Lemon Creek Glacier upvalley is cause to believe that remains of this kind, had they been in existence, remain buried or have been obliterated. Nonetheless, dated advances are recorded over a broad latitudinal range along the North Pacific coast. They increase in frequency during the time of Neoglaciation over the past 4600 14C years (5310 cal years BP; Porter and Denton, 1967). As the advances reflect ice fronts both afloat and aground at different times, climate control to some extent no doubt has been locally variable. Wiles and Calkin (1994) in the Kenai fjords found that glaciers terminating both in tidewater and on land were involved simultaneously in an advance dated to 600 AD. In contrast during the Little Ice Age, tidewater glaciers on the Kenai advanced several centuries earlier than those on land. Also in contrast was the timing for recession of west-facing, land-bound termini in the Kenai Mountains, which retreated two centuries earlier than those facing eastward. At Muir Inlet in Glacier Bay (Fig. 14.3), ice fronts prior to the Little Ice Age came forward by 4200 and later by 2700 14C years BP (4820 and 2770 cal years BP; Goldthwait, 1966; Goodwin, 1984, 1988). The terminus of Brady Glacier, west of Glacier Bay, came forward about 4700, 2900, 193

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Figure 14.1. Mal Miller observing stratum of stumps in situ in outwash of Mendenhall Glacier. Site was overridden by the ice between 2790 and 1090 14C years BP.

Figure 14.2. Don Miller (USGS, foreground) sampling forest debris exposed in outwash at Mendenhall Glacier.

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Figure 14.3. Sketch map of North Pacific coastal region showing distribution of study sites and physical features.

2000–1200, and after 700 14C years BP (5450, 3000, 1990–1140, and 650 cal years BP; Derksen, 1976). At Lituya Bay, Mann (1986) found that advances date earliest to 6000 14C years BP (6800 cal years BP) and, subsequently, to 3600 and 1500 14C years BP (3900–1400 cal years BP). Maximum stands of the ice farther to the northwest in Yakutat Bay occurred at about 830 14C years BP (Plafker and Miller, 1958); in Icy Bay, at about 2000, lasting until 1600–1200 14C years BP (1990–1140 cal years BP), which preceded a later stand dated younger than 550 14C years BP (550 cal years BP; Porter, 1989); in the St. Elias and Wrangell Mountains, Interior Alaska–Yukon, between 2900–2100 14C years BP (3050–2090 cal years BP; Denton and Karlén, 1977); at Bering Glacier beginning about 1500 14C years BP and culminating between 1000 and 500 years ago (1500–500 cal years BP; Molnia and Post, 1995); in Prince William Sound at 3200–2500 14C years BP (3450–2700 cal years BP; Heusser, 1983b); and in the Kenai fjords at 3600 14C years BP and 600 years ago (3890 and 600 cal years BP; Wiles and Calkin, 1994; Wiles et al., 1995). In the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, southeast of the Juneau Icefield, advances date to 5260 and 3300–1900 14C years BP (5950 and 3550–1850 cal years BP; Stuiver et al., 1960; Ryder and Thomson, 1986; Desloges and Ryder, 1990), and in the Canadian Rockies are between about 3300–2800 and at 2500 14C years BP (3560–2810 and 2710 cal years BP; Luckman et al., 1993). South Cascade Glacier in the North Cascade Range in Washington State came forward at 4700 14C years BP (5450 cal years BP; Meier, 1964). Timing of the onset of terminal activity of glaciers of the Juneau Icefield relevant to the Little Ice Age is not reliably established because of problems with dating and stratigraphic relationships among a paucity of sites (Motyka and Begét, 1996). Tree trunks and stumps, remnants of overridden forest stands, serve to date initial expansion of the ice elsewhere in the American North Pacific Cordillera. In Glacier Bay (Fig. 14.3), stumps were overridden less than 300 years ago (Lawrence, 1958) and in the St. Elias Mountains about 420 years ago (Borns and Goldthwait, 1966). In the Canadian Rockies (Fig. 7.5), a date of 450 ± 150 14C years BP (530 ± 180 cal years BP) is given for

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the time a tree trunk (Fig. 7.8) at Robson Glacier was sheared by advancing ice (Heusser, 1956); Luckman et al. (1993), based on additional evidence, place the beginning of the Little Ice Age in the Canadian Rockies at 800–600 14C years BP (700–550 cal years BP). At Blue Glacier in the Olympic Mountains of Washington State (Fig. 9.5), the earliest advance, reckoned from ages of an alpine fir and mountain hemlock growing on a downvalley morainal segment, dates to mid-seventeenth century (Heusser, 1957). The age of forest beyond the trimline showed that Blue Glacier had not undergone an earlier advance for over 500 years. Lemon Creek Glacier, after the terminus pulled back at about 1750 AD, underwent two episodes of relatively slow wastage, each followed by pronounced diminution in area (Heusser and Marcus, 1964b). Time–distance relationships of the ice front show recession early on to be at a much reduced rate until 1891, averaging 6.6 m year-1 over a distance of 675 m. Later, with a comparable amount of retreat between 1891–1902, the rate reached an exceptional high of 6l.4 m year-1. Recession slowed during the first three decades of the twentieth century, averaging close to 6 m year-1 over 150 m, but afterward increased markedly to roughly 35 m year-1 until 1958, when the ice front withdrew some 1000 m. Originally, Lemon Creek Glacier included Ptarmigan and Thomas Glaciers but in the course of wastage, the Ptarmigan became isolated at around the beginning of the twentieth century and the Thomas between 1929 and 1948. Lemon Creek Glacier variations bear a close relationship to behavior patterns during recession set by other Juneau Icefield glaciers that descended valleys above tidewater during the Little Ice Age. A measure of parallelism obtains with the earliest recession of Mendenhall and Herbert Glaciers, respectively, in 1769 and 1700, and of the Eagle and Gilkey, both in 1783 (Lawrence, 1950a; Heusser and Marcus, 1964b). During the nineteenth century, recessional moraines at Mendenhall Glacier were laid down about 1832 and 1865 with a possible intervening advance evinced from a group of tilted trees. Herbert Glacier simultaneously produced two sets of multiple moraines, retreating from the outer set in 1835 and from the inner one in 1861. During intervals of 1766–1871 and 1910–1928, the limited recession of Herbert Glacier finds a parallel with intervals at Lemon Creek Glacier between 1769–1891 and 1902–1929. For the Herbert, rapid recession dating to 1871–1910 appears correlative with the 1891–1902 interval at Lemon Creek. Since 1928–1929, both glaciers have withdrawn most rapidly. Farther afield, East and West Twin Glaciers in the Taku River Valley receded about 1775, later forming recessional moraines between 1835 and 1877. Pertinent with regard to the twentieth century advance of Taku Glacier, as well as the 1916 advance of Norris Glacier, is the fact that corresponding net advances of Lemon Creek and Herbert Glaciers took place during 1902–1929. During the early half of the twentieth century, the bulk of glaciers of the Juneau Icefield, as illustrated by Lemon Creek Glacier, generally reflected fluctuations of temperature and precipitation. A minimum of recession during the first three decades of the 1900s, shown in Fig. 12.11, was apparently maintained by lower mean July temperature. After 1930, recession increased in concert with increase of mean annual temperature. While precipitation also increased, it seems likely to have been in the form of rain with minimal effect on the hydrological budget, given the prevailing maximum of temperature in the early 1940s. For a broader perspective of the status of Lemon Creek Glacier in recent centuries, it is instructive to consider trends of glacier variations and climatic fluctuations in other parts of the western cordillera. In the Canadian Rockies, Alberta–British Columbia, glaciers also began receding slowly but more or less continuously in the early 1700s after advancing in the mid 1600s (Heusser, 1956). Subsequent readvances were dated, most notably in the early 1800s during an interval of activity greater than any other during the previous two centuries. Thereafter, the rate of recession increased in the late 1800s and early 1900s, before reaching an unprecedented increase after about 1930.

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In southwestern British Columbia on Mount Garibaldi, glacier recession is dated earliest to about 1725 (Mathews, 1951). On Mount Hood in Oregon, glaciers in an advanced state in 1740 readvanced about 1840 (Lawrence, 1948). In the Olympic Mountains in Washington, rate of recession was low in the early 1700s, varied late in the 1700s and early 1800s, and overall increased more or less continuously thereafter until 1954–1955, when a small advance of Blue Glacier was recorded (Heusser, 1957). A general parallel appears to exist among trends in mean annual temperature for Juneau and other parts of northwestern North America during the early twentieth century. Juneau records show a rise for the period 1917–1941 (range to 0.85∞C) and a fall from 1941 to 1950 (range of 0.74∞C). In western Washington, the rise amounted to 0.9∞C from 1917 to 1943, followed by a decrease of 0.7∞C from 1943 to 1957 (Hubley, 1956b); on the coast of British Columbia, amounts rose 1.8∞C between 1916 and 1943 and fell 1.2∞C from 1943 to 1952 (Longley, 1954); in western Alberta, an increase of 1.7∞C took place from 1913 to 1938 with a decrease of 1.9∞C afterward until 1950 (Heusser, 1956); and in western Montana between 1920 and 1940, temperature rose 1.2∞C, after which values fell 1.1∞C from 1940 to 1952 (Dightman and Beatty, 1952). Overall, fluctuations of mean annual temperature at Juneau during the 1920s gained greater definition at higher latitudes. In the data set, there seems to be some displacement of fluctuations of the 1920s into the 1930s. Hydrological budgets and firn line altitudes for 1953–1954 through 1957–1958 for Lemon Creek Glacier are summarized in Table 14.1, together with estimates of budgets and firn lines made from end of the ablation season photographs for 1945–1946 and from 1947–1948 to 1952–1953 (Marcus, 1964). Data show water deficits for 1945–1953 totaling 25.58 ¥ 106 m3; deficits for 1953–1958 at 22.92 ¥ 106 m3, by comparison, are somewhat less. Surplus for the period 1945–1953 follows considerably lower at 4.0 ¥ 106 m3 than the 1953–1958 surplus at 12.6 ¥ 106 m3. The respective surplus values reduce deficit values to 21.58 for 1945–1946 and 10.32 ¥ 106 m3 for 1953–1958. Average altitude of the firn line for 1945–1953 (range of 1050–1150 m) is at 1096 m, not much different from the average 1080 m (range of 875–1200 m) for 1953–1958. Lemon Creek Glacier, when remapped in 1989 (Marcus et al., 1995), had further retreated an average 700 m and lost 131.9 ¥ 106 m3 (14.6%) of its volume during the 1957–1989 period. Its negative mass balance between 1953 and 1997, as calculated by Miller and Pelto (1999), was in step with the volume loss estimated at 5.5 km3 given for nearby Mendenhall Glacier between 1948 and 2000 (Motyka et al., 2002). Table 14.1. Lemon Creek Glacier hydrological budgets and firn lines estimated for 1945–1946 and between 1947–1948 and 1952–1953 and measured from 1953–1954 to 1957–1958 (after Marcus, 1964). Budget Year 1945–1946 1947–1948 1948–1949 1949–1950 1950–1951 1951–1952 1952–1953 1953–1954 1954–1955 1955–1956 1956–1957 1957–1958

Maximum Firn Line Altitude (m) 1050 1100 1050 1125 1150 1075 1125 1100 875 1200 1075 1150

Water Surplus (¥ 106 m3) 2.0 – 2.0 – – – – – 12.6 – – –

Water Deficit (¥ 106 m3) – 3.8 – 6.0 8.96 0.82 6.0 3.8 – 9.34 0.82 8.96

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Table 14.2. Taku Glacier hydrological budget and equilibrium line altitudes for 1945–1958 for comparison with corresponding data from Lemon Creek Glacier (modified from Pelto and Miller, 1990). Budget Year 1945–1946 1946–1947 1947–1948 1948–1949 1949–1950 1950–1951 1951–1952 1952–1953 1953–1954 1954–1955 1955–1956 1956–1957 1957–1958

Equilibrium Line Altitude (m) 980 900 870 800 1010 1160 950 1010 980 780 1000 1010 930

Surplus Water Equivalent (mm) – 360 510 930 – – 160 – – 970 – – 210

Deficit Water Equivalent (mm) 40 – – – 180 340 – 150 70 – 130 40 –

Hydrological measurements in relation to equilibrium line altitudes for the Taku are contained in Table 14.2 (Pelto and Miller, 1990). Data for Taku Glacier show surplus water equivalents (mm) for 1946–1947, 1947–1948, 1948–1949, 1951–1952, 1954–1955, and 1957–1958. These occurred when equilibrium line altitudes were above 800 m and at 950 m, except in one instance (1954–1955) at 780 m. Lemon Creek Glacier fluctuations for the period only in part follow the Taku record (Table 14.1). For 1954–1955, there is good agreement between maxima of water surplus of 12.6 ¥ 106 m3 at Lemon Creek and maximum surplus of 970 mm at Taku. Lemon Creek maximum for the period of record (1953–1958) was at an equilibrium line altitude as low as 875 m (1954–1955). Altitude discrepancy in the Lemon Creek and Taku data appears attributable to measurements of firn lines and equilibrium lines prior to their stabilization for budget years. Consistency in these times, although not always practicably achieved, is obviously of significance. There is also the factor of percolation in need of consideration, whereby localized digenetic ice structures are formed without loss of accumulation by refreezing at depth. This phenomenon appears to be variable. Englacial ice formation was not observed on Lemon Creek Glacier but was frequently noted in pits and crevasses on the Taku.

Part 5 Chronology and Paleoecology of North Pacific America During and Following the Last Glacial Maximum

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Chapter 15 Chronology and Paleoecology

15.1. Glaciation, Deglaciation, and Climate Alaskan glaciers, among those of the Juneau Icefield, became comparatively starved of nourishment by the mode of atmospheric circulation incurred during millennia of the Last Glacial Maximum (Péwé, 1975; Hamilton and Thorson, 1983; Kutzbach, 1987; Mann and Hamilton, 1995). The Cordilleran Glacier Complex failed to cover much of Interior Alaska, while the North Pacific Coastal Sector, controlled by the Arctic Front, contained intermittent ice-free areas. Storm tracks of the westerlies that cross the Gulf of Alaska and pass onto the continent during the present interglaciation had shifted southward over southern Canada and the conterminous United States, thereby depleting the source of moisture fed to dependent glaciers in the higher middle latitudes. A highpressure cell centered over the Cordilleran Glacier Complex in the southern sector was the source of powerful southwesterly air flow (Barnosky et al., 1987). On the Olympic Peninsula, loess blanketed the region with a thickness of >1 m and as much as 4 m locally (Florer, 1972). Reworked Pliocene diatoms from the interior, carried by eolian transport, were incorporated in marine deposits off southern Oregon (Sancetta et al., 1992). Cape Ball on eastern Graham Island illustrates ice-free conditions surrounding the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia (Figs. 15.1, 15.2). In comparison with the mainland, the northeast sector of Graham Island was only partially glaciated (Clague, 1981, 1989; Clague et al., 1982; Warner et al., 1982). At 16,000 14C years BP (18,480 cal years BP) and afterward, Cape Ball was ice-free, when the lowland phase of Fraser Glaciation, just after 15,000 14C years BP (17,350 cal years BP), was at its maximum in the Puget Lowland of northwestern Washington (Waitt and Thorson, 1983). Glaciers from the Coast Mountains, having crossed Hecate Strait to Graham Island before 16,000 14C years BP, afterward pulled back to the cordillera (Blaise et al., 1990). Similar conditions may be assumed to be the case in southeastern Alaska among glaciers of the Juneau Icefield. Along the western edge of the Alexander Archipelago and adjacent continental shelf (Fig. 15.3), Carrara et al. (2003) point out a number of areas likely to have been ice-free. Places not overridden by ice facing the open ocean were nunataks emerged above the glacier complex between approximately 915 and 1375 m. Where glaciers debouched directly to the Pacific, intervening headlands with southerly aspect conceivably remained unglaciated, owing to the fact that the ice would not have had the capability of expanding laterally (Dahl, 1946). This condition for times of glaciation may be held applicable for the whole of North Pacific America where similar settings prevail. The Alexander Archipelago had been sculpted by multiple episodes of glaciation. Retreat of the ice front from the edge of the continental shelf in Dixon Entrance dates to 16,000–15,000 14C years BP (Barrie and Conway, 1999). Associated with a Lateglacial episode of marine submergence, deglaciation is dated earlier than 12,880 14C years BP (14,380 cal years BP) in the Juneau area (Miller, 1973) and before 12,400 14C years BP (13,980 cal years BP) near Petersburg (Ives et al., 1967). The age of the younger of two tills deposited on southern Prince of Wales Island carries a limiting date of 9510 14C years BP (10,250 cal years BP; Swanston, 1969). 201

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Figure 15.1. Coastal British Columbia and western Washington with reference to locations of places discussed in the text.

Figure 15.2. Lateglacial exposure at Cape Ball, eastern Graham Island, Queen Charlotte Islands.

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Figure 15.3. Gulf of Alaska region and contiguous portions of British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska.

To the northwest along the Gulf of Alaska coast (Fig. 15.3), piedmont lobes calved into the Pacific between extended tracts of unglaciated terrain. The configuration in the vicinity of Lituya Bay extended onto the continental shelf in the Late Pleistocene when sea level was down (Mann, 1986). On the west slope of the Fairweather Range (Fig. 15.4), Crillon and Lituya Glaciers advanced to occupy positions during Neoglaciation that were similar to advances reached during the Late Pleistocene; higher ground remained in part unglaciated (Goldthwait et al., 1963). Deglaciation during the Lateglacial occurred earlier than 12,430 14C years BP (14,100 cal years BP), based on the age of a log imbedded in morainal diamicton. Glaciers readvancing in Lituya Bay overrode forest between about 2100 to 1700 14C years BP (2090 to 1600 cal years BP; Goldthwait et al., 1963; Mann, 1986). Farther on, stretches of coastline extending to Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula (Fig. 15.3) continue to exhibit a pattern of unglaciated interlobate ground (Molnia, 1986). Segments are given ice-free status for some distance fronting the Robinson Mountains west of Icy Cape, in the vicinity of Katalla, at Alaganik near the Copper River mouth, at higher altitudes of Hinchinbrook Island in Prince William Sound, and in the Kenai Lowland (Tarr and Martin, 1914; Miller, 1958; Schmoll and Yehle, 1986). Deglaciation, in progress on the continental shelf before 12,000 14C years BP (14,500 cal years BP), is based on limiting dates of 14,430 14C years BP (17,400 cal years BP) at Katalla (Sirkin and Tuthill, 1969) and of 14,000–14,500 14C years BP (16,780–17,430 cal years BP) for the Kenai Peninsula (Rymer and Sims, 1982; Ager, 1983, 1998). Wastage of the Cordilleran Glacier Complex intensified, accommodating plant communities, as a result of warmth and soil development brought on in the Lateglacial–Early Holocene. At Saanich Inlet on southern Vancouver Island (Fig. 15.1), pollen in varved marine sediments contained in the basin, dating to 11,450 cal years BP, shows vegetation at the beginning indicative of increasing warmth, which continued in effect to 7040 cal years BP (Pellatt et al., 2001). Cool and wet climate

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Figure 15.4. Unglaciated ground at Lituya Bay upslope beyond limits of Crillon and Lituya Glaciers.

under Neoglacial conditions ensued after 5750, prevailing from 3800 years ago to the present. At Castle Peak in the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia (Fig. 15.1), fossil wood dated to 9100–8100 14C years BP (10,200–9000 cal years BP) at 60–130 m above present-day treeline infers summer temperature of 0.4∞C, possibly as much as 0.85∞C higher than the present (Clague and Mathewes, 1989; Clague et al., 1992). Trends of Holocene temperature at the coast and in the continental interior bear a similarity to each other. According to Denton and Karlén (1977), spruce under favorable summer warmth was growing in the White River Valley, north of the St. Elias Mountains (Fig. 15.3), at least by 8020 14C years BP (9000 cal years BP), and subsequently advanced upslope upon glacier retreat. Treelines higher than the present altitude of 1250 m are recorded in the Wind River Valley during the Neoglaciation at about 5250, 3600–3000, and 2100–1230 14C years BP (5990, 3900–3200, and 2100–1170 cal years BP). Elevated treelines also in evidence in the Canadian Rockies (Fig. 15.1) date to between 8800 and 5200 14C years BP (9910–5930 cal years BP; Kearney and Luckman, 1983; Luckman and Kearney, 1986; Luckman, 1988a, b). For Interior Alaska and Yukon, Calkin (1988) in a comprehensive survey reported on pronounced glacial advances in the region beginning at 4400 14C years BP (5030 cal years BP), followed by projected advances at around 3000 and recession afterward at about 2000 14C years BP (3200 and 2000 cal years BP); most widespread was activity during the Little Ice Age between about 400 and 500 years ago. In Northwest Canada at the treeline, spruce–birch forest was at its northernmost limit. Fossil pollen evidence dates to 8500– 5500 14C years BP (9525–6285 cal years BP) with spruce stumps in place that date to 4940 14C years BP (5640 cal years BP; Ritchie and Hare, 1971). For the Gulf of Alaska region, average July temperatures and annual precipitation were reconstructed from an 11,000 14C years BP (13,000 cal years BP) fossil pollen sequence at Munday Creek just west of Icy Cape (Fig. 15.3). Values were derived by way of regression equations applied to the pollen data. The equations were calibrated from meteorological data at 41 stations and 13 numerically significant pollen taxa from 178 surface samples (Figs. 15.5, 15.6) of Aleutian Island tundra and Pacific Coastal Forest between Alaska and northern California (Heusser, 1985;

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Figure 15.5. Modern pollen rain sites on the North Pacific coast. Modified with reference to the Juneau Icefield from Heusser (1985).

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Figure 15.6. Modern pollen frequency (%) of coastal vegetation at stations sampled between Alaska and California. Reference with modification is to Heusser (1985).

Heusser et al., 1985). Climatic conditions beginning with the Lateglacial were shown to be cooler and wetter, while there occurred during the Hypsithermal in the Early Holocene an increase in average July temperature and decrease in annual precipitation (Fig. 15.7). During the Neoglaciation, as trends of these parameters reversed, climate again became cooler and wetter, at the same time exhibiting a number of undated oscillations. Under the warmer and drier climate of the Early Holocene, the present-day extensive piedmont lobes of the Malaspina and Bering Glaciers, facing the Gulf of Alaska to the east and west of Icy Bay, are likely to have retreated to the low hills fronting the Chugach–St. Elias Mountains.

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Figure 15.7. Reconstruction of Lateglacial–Holocene average July temperature and annual precipitation from core taken at Munday Creek. From Heusser et al. (1985).

Tempered in addition by the moderating effect of marine climate under a protracted tidewater cycle, retreat created embayments that were later reoccupied by the Neoglacial ice in the manner that they exist at present. In support of this projected reconstruction, Molnia and Post (1995) have dated the retreat of Bering Glacier to between 8000 and about 1500 14C years BP (8800–1400 cal years BP). Within limits of standard errors, temperature and precipitation trends during the Holocene at Munday Creek were found to follow other records from southern British Columbia and northern Washington. The records were similarly derived from the application of regression equations to fossil pollen data (Heusser et al., 1980; Mathewes and Heusser, 1981). The multiplicity of Late Holocene fluctuations in temperature and precipitation compared with the Early Holocene at Munday Creek infers submillennial frequency of glacier variations and altitudinal changes at treeline. Minimal time control prevents drawing other than general chronostratigraphic conclusions. Inferences in the main, nevertheless, are compatible with the millennia of Hypsithermal warmth from before 7050 until 4150 14C years BP (7940–4800 cal years BP) in Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay (Goldthwait, 1966; Haselton, 1966), after which the Neoglacial termini expanded at 4200–2200, 2700, and 1700 14C years BP (4830–2300, 2820, and 1580 cal years BP) and during the Little Ice Age of recent centuries (Goldthwait, 1966; McKenzie and Goldthwait, 1971; Goodwin, 1984). Early Holocene climatic reconstruction derives from control over the Gulf of Alaska by stable air of the North Pacific High. It contrasts the effect of an unstable air mass predominantly held under stormy conditions by the Aleutian Low in the Late Holocene. The frequency of natural phenomena made manifest by glacier variations, rise and fall of treelines, and formation of recurrence surfaces in mires, can be attributed in the main to shifting seasonal dominance of the pressure pattern. Moraines formed by glaciers flowing out of the Juneau Icefield can be ascribed to excessive snowfall at altitude during periods when storms associated with the Aleutian Low lay concentrated in the northern part of the Coast Mountains. Each moraine at these times hypothetically represents a period of strongly positive mass balance and equilibrium line altitude depression. During the snowier and colder Little Ice Age, the frequency of moraine formation is a reflection of greater strength and duration of storm incidence. With excessive amounts of net accumulation in recent centuries, the Juneau Icefield became more extensive when a progression of advances actively transported great quantities of ice to the periphery. Snowlines fell by a minimum of 300–350 m (Goldthwait, 1966).

15.2. Refugia and Plant Migration Vegetation beginning in the Lateglacial spread onto deglaciated areas, migrating principally northwestward along the coast from refugia located principally south of the glacial border on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington (Fig. 15.1; Heusser, 1960a, 1972b, 1983a; Heusser et al., 1999). Migratory centers also are likely to have been in ice-free tracts in Pacific British Columbia and

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Alaska (Fig. 15.3), chiefly on Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte Islands, Alexander Archipelago, about Lituya Bay, and along segments of the coast at the mouth of the Copper River, Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island (Heusser, 1971, 1989; Mann, 1983; Peteet, 1991; Mann and Peteet, 1994; Heaton et al., 1996; Hebda et al., 1997; Carrara et al., 2003). Refugia are recognized where fossil assemblages with chronological control obtain on unglaciated ground or from distribution patterns among endemic taxa. Outside these settings, taxa constituting suspected refugia are possibly no more than Holocene immigrants. The sea cliffs of the western Olympic Peninsula have yielded exceptional vegetation records spanning millennia to >47,000 14C years BP (Florer, 1972; Heusser, 1972b, 1974). In the vicinity of Kalaloch, fossil pollen is contained chiefly in lignitic peat horizons, interbedded with outwash sand, silt, clay, and gravel, dating to between 16,700 14C years BP (19,710 cal years BP) and infinite ages. Alpine glaciers advanced from the Olympic Mountains to within 6–8 km of Kalaloch. Peat, deposited in interfluves in the braided-stream networks, was later exposed in section along the cliffs by beach erosion. Antiquity of the vegetation reconstruction stems principally from pollen assemblages of a 32-m cliff sampled about 3 km north of Kalaloch (Fig. 15.1). Vegetation at the Last Glacial Maximum at the site consisted of Tundra and of Parkland communities made up of mountain hemlock, grasses, sedges, and composites. Earlier, western hemlock and Sitka spruce implied more moderated temperature fluctuations during intervals of Parkland interrupted by Tundra. The arboreal component, much reduced during the last 2–3 millennia at Kalaloch, was given over to Tundra of grasses, sedges, and composites. In the Hoh River valley, close to 12 km northeast of Kalaloch, mires dated to 18,800 and 15,600 14 C years BP (21,800 and 18,850 cal years BP) approximate the time of deglaciation (Heusser, 1974). Tundra of grass and some localized lodgepole pine is in evidence from the pollen data. In the Humptulips mire, resting on the huge Quinault piedmont lobe inland to the southeast of Kalaloch (Fig. 15.1), the pollen record based on ecologically significant taxa shown according to depth and age extends from before the Last Glacial Maximum to the present (Fig. 15.8). Onset of sedimentation is estimated during Marine Oxygen-Isotope Stage 5a in keeping with trends from Martinson et al. (1987). Lodgepole pine, mountain hemlock-true fir, and grass-composites, for the most part, are characteristic. In the Holocene, alder-Douglas fir follows during an interval of warmth/dryness prior to the breakout during recent millennia of western hemlock–cedar forest. Considerable interest at three of the Olympic sites is the Lateglacial presence of the vascular cryptogam, Selaginella selaginoides. Easily identifiable are its distinctly trilete microspores with robust spines. S. selaginoides, while absent from the Holocene, is traceable at a number of stratigraphic levels dated to > 47,000 14C years BP (Heusser et al., 1999). The species, having vacated northern Washington, today grows in sphagnous mires and wet open woodland from sea level to alpine tundra on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and coastal Alaska across the Pacific rim to Asia and Japan. Edaphic and other environmental constraints during the Holocene or earlier acted to eliminate S. selaginoides from the Olympic Peninsula flora. Northwest of the Olympic Peninsula on eastern Graham Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands of northern coastal British Columbia, macroremains of Lateglacial seed plants make up plant assemblages in the refugium at Cape Ball (Figs. 15.1, 15.2). These include Juncus, Caryophyllaceae, Rumex, Potamogeton filiformis, Callitriche, Ranunculus aquatilis, and Salix reticulata. The assemblage, representative of Herb Tundra (Mathewes and Clague, 1982; Warner et al., 1982; Mathewes, 1989), suggests a climatic setting that was oceanic and cooler than today but able to support plants of diverse affinity, as illustrated by the presence of Callitriche, a low altitude aquatic, and Salix reticulata, now confined to the Queen Charlotte Ranges. The Queen Charlotte Islands as a refugium contain 13 endemics (Calder and Taylor, 1968): Calamagrostis purpurascens subsp. tasuensis, Lloydia serotina subsp. flava, Salix reticulata subsp.

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Figure 15.8. Pollen frequency (%) diagrams drawn to depth (above) and plotted to age (below) of ecologically significant taxa in core from Humptulips.

glabellicsarpa, Isopyrum savilei, Saxifraga punctata subsp. carlottae, S. taylori, Geum schofieldii, Viola biflora subsp. carlottae, Ligusticum calderi, Cassiope lycopodioides subsp. cristapilosa, Mimulus guttatus subsp. haidensis, Pedicularis pennellii subsp. insularis, and Senecio newcombei (since reclassified as S. moresbiensis, according to Ogilvie, 1997). The endemics hypothetically existed beyond ice limits in the Queen Charlotte Ranges (Fig. 15.9) since before the Last Glacial Maximum, the height of the ice standing below the highest peaks, which reach a maximum altitude of 1030 m (Heusser, 1989). The environs of Takakia Lake on western Graham Island possess a rich collection of endemics, among which is Saxifraga taylori (Fig. 15.10). Nine of the 13 species in the Cape Ball refugium are also found on the Brooks Peninsula (Fig. 15.1) of northwestern Vancouver Island (Ogilvie and Ceska, 1984; Ogilvie, 1989, 1997): Calamagrostis purpurascens subsp. tasuensis, Cassiope lycopodioides subsp. cristapilosa, Geum schofieldii, Isopyrum savilei, Ligusticum calderi, Lloydia serotina subsp. flava, Saxifraga taylori, Senecio moresbiensis, and Viola biflora subsp. carlottae. As in the Charlottes, species are presumed to have survived on nunataks, in view of the fact that at the Last Glacial Maximum the ice apparently did not entirely inundate Brooks Peninsula (Howes, 1997). From the presence of Lateglacial plant remains on the sea floor of Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound (Lutenauer et al., 1989; Barrie et al., 1993), the hypothesis is advanced that a migration corridor connected the Queen Charlotte Islands

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Figure 15.9. Queen Charlotte Ranges viewed to the south from Takakia Lake, Graham Island, Queen Charlotte Islands.

and Vancouver Island. Palynological evidence supports the survival of Ligusticum calderi on Brooks Peninsula since at least 12,250 14C years (14,300 cal years BP; Hebda, 1997; Hebda et al., 1997). Ogilvie (1997) called attention to the distribution of species on the Charlottes and Brooks Peninsula, namely Senecio moresbiensis and Ligusticum calderi, in the Alexander Archipelago. No emergent corridor enabled their migration to the archipelago, owing to the great depth of intervening Dixon Entrance, greater than of Hecate Strait. The species are possibly recent immigrants, favored by seeds having been transported northwestward by coastal cyclonic storms or by currents of the Gulf of Alaska gyre. At Pilot Mill (Fig. 15.1), inland on Graham Island in relation to Cape Ball, a pollen record from a 55-cm peat horizon is bracketed by dates to 45,700 and 27,500 14C years BP (Warner et al., 1984). The Pilot Mill record, as opposed to Herb Tundra identified during late millennia of the Last Glacial Maximum at Cape Ball and on Langara Island (Fig. 15.11), contains an abundance of Sitka spruce

Figure 15.10. Saxifraga taylori among endemics at Takakia Lake in the Queen Charlotte Ranges.

Chronology and Paleoecology

Figure 15.11. Pollen diagram, Langara Island, Queen Charlotte Islands. From Heusser (1995).

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and mountain hemlock. Grasses and sedges identify a pre-Last Glacial Maximum open terrain with nearby forest communities. Tree line is figured to have been at 400 m in altitude with average annual temperature 1–2∞C lower than now. Fir (Abies), no longer found on the Charlottes, amounted to 5% of the pollen sum. Climate, moderated and more humid than during the Last Glacial Maximum, characterized forested terrain. Refugial status of alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) in the Alexander Archipelago (Fig. 15.12) accordingly seems more credible than on the Charlottes (Heusser, 1989). Distantly removed from its main range in the British Columbia Interior, the species occurs at an outlying station on Dall Island and two stations on Prince of Wales Island (Harris, 1965; Worley and Jacques, 1973). Recently, Carrara et al. (2003) reported alpine fir in the mountains of nearby Heceta Island and Kosciusko Island. Its pollen in Early Holocene deposits suggests local expansion from one or more lowland refugia prior to migration to higher altitudes (T.A. Ager, personal communication, 2002). The additional known outlier bordering Taku Glacier (Heusser, 1954a) may have been derived from a coastal refugial network. Endemism evident among plant populations is also shown by mammals in both the Queen Charlottes and in the Alexander Archipelago but not on the Brooks Peninsula (Campbell and Summers, 1997). Among sixteen indigenous species in the Charlottes, Cowan (1989) lists the presence of dusky shrew (Sorex monticolus elassodon), black bear (Ursus americanus carlottae), marten (Martes americana nesophila), deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus keeni), and caribou (Rangifer tarandus dawsoni). Heaton et al. (1996), working in limestone caves of northern Prince of Wales Island, bring to light a remarkable discovery of vertebrate fossil remains that include black bear (Ursus americanus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), and caribou (Rangifer). Radiocarbon dating places the presence of both brown and black bears in the Alexander Archipelago from before the Last Glacial Maximum. Currently occupying Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof Islands in the northern part of the Alexander Archipelago, brown bears, as shown by their genetic makeup, are considered

Figure 15.12. Distribution of disjuncts of alpine fir in southeastern Alaska. From Heusser (1989).

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to be a “living relict” of the cave inhabitants. The implication of these findings is of considerable significance regarding human habitation. Unglaciated coastal Prince of Wales Island equally was likely to have been serviceable for intercontinental migration of ice-age man across the North Pacific (Fladmark, 1979, 1989). An evident refugium on Kodiak Island (Fig. 15.3) is constrained by a setting similar to the surroundings at Cape Ball on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Mann and Peteet, 1994; Peteet and Mann, 1994). During the Last Glacial Maximum, ice of the Cordilleran Glacier Complex on the Alaska Peninsula advanced on the continental shelf by 23,000 and retreated before 14,700 14C years BP (17,600 cal years BP), while marine submergence was in effect on Kodiak between 16,500 and 16,000 14C years BP (19,620–19,100 cal years BP). The existence of a Kodiak Island refugium (Karlstrom and Ball, 1969) gained support earlier from botanical studies by Hultén (1969), who pointed out the presence of a number of relicts, including Carex scirpoides, Eritrichium chamissonis, Minuartia rossii, and Draba alpina. (Fig. 15.13). In the Queen Charlottes, wastage of the Cordilleran Glacier Complex on Langara Island (Fig. 15.11) at the outer limit of Dixon Entrance is seen to date some millennia later than at Cape Ball on Hecate Strait (Warner et al., 1982; Heusser, 1995). Tundra initially invading Langara on deglaciation consisted of grasses, sedges, heath, and umbellifers, among other selected taxa. Plant communities

Figure 15.13. Disjuncts associated with the Kodiak Island refugium. From Hultén (1968, 1969).

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adapted to highly mineralized soils on regional outwash remained treeless until after an estimated 12,000 14C years BP, when lodgepole pine with secondary amounts of Sitka spruce, alder, and ferns migrated to Langara Island. An apparently short-term but clearly distinguishable oscillation of mountain hemlock, in age stratigraphically close to the Lateglacial–Holocene boundary in the pollen record (Zone LI-6; Fig. 15.11), covers an episode of cooler climate, possibly of Younger Dryas age, in the course of overall warming. Later, until about 5000 14C years BP (5730 cal years BP), alder and spruce became dominant against a background of ferns with Lysichiton americanum, serving as an indicator of the mire’s warmer, drier degenerative phase. Under cooler hyperhumid climate beginning around 5000 14C years BP, heath spread on the regenerative mire and at low altitude beyond the forest margin. Favored by organic soil, accompanied by western red cedar (Thuja type) among Pacific Coastal Forest elements, western hemlock increasingly outranked spruce. While western hemlock and Sitka spruce migrated along the Gulf of Alaska to about 61∞N, cedar ranged only as far as 57∞N in southeastern Alaska. In the surroundings of the Juneau Icefield at just over 58∞N, a basic format obtains (comparable to the one on Langara but with cedar absent) in the development of Pacific Coastal Forest during the Holocene (lodgepole pine, Sitka spruce–alder, western hemlock–Sitka spruce–Lysichiton, western hemlock–Sitka spruce). Reconstructed during the formative years of the Juneau Icefield Research Project (Fig. 4.15), the record since has been further elaborated (Cwyner, 1987; Engstrom et al., 1990; Hansen and Engstrom, 1996). Elements of Pacific Coastal Forest were slow to migrate northwestward along the Gulf of Alaska. From macrofossil evidence, lodgepole pine reached Yakutat, terminating its range, around 10,000 14 C years BP (11,520 cal years BP; Peteet, 1991). At Munday Creek (Fig. 15.14), Sedge–Heath

Figure 15.14. Pollen diagram of Munday Creek mire, Gulf of Alaska. Radiocarbon-dated levels shown by arrows are from Peteet (1986) and Heusser (1960a). From Heusser (1995).

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Figure 15.15. Pollen diagram of Golden mire, Prince William Sound. From Heusser (1995).

Tundra, present at the close of the Lateglacial, was followed by communities of alder, sedges, Lysichiton, and ferns. Sitka spruce proliferated after about 7000 14C years BP (7800 cal years BP; Peteet, 1986; Heusser, 1995). As spruce spread, alder dominated the assemblage over much of the Holocene. Western hemlock reached Munday Creek after 6000 and mountain hemlock after 4000 14C years BP (6800 and 4430 cal years BP). In northern Prince William Sound (Fig. 15.3), as shown by the record at Golden (Fig. 15.15), Sitka spruce and mountain hemlock did not arrive and expand until after about 4000 14C years BP; western hemlock in low frequencies apparently became established most recently, concurrent with the spread of muskeg, which is evident by the increase of sphagnum and sedge in the record. Beyond Prince William Sound on the Kenai Peninsula, both species of hemlock are at the ends of their ranges. Sitka spruce (Fig. 15.16), the solitary remaining component of Pacific Coastal Forest, reached Kodiak Island prior to the 1912 eruption of Mt. Katmai, which is located some 60 km distant to the northwest, and has expanded during the last several 100 years (Griggs, 1914, 1934). The eruption of Katmai is represented by a 30-cm tephra layer on Kodiak (Griggs, 1922). On the Alaska

Figure 15.16. Sitka spruce migrating on eastern Kodiak Island.

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Figure 15.17. Coastal tundra community on the Alaska Peninsula.

Peninsula, some 145–150 km farther to the southwest beyond Kodiak, vegetation consists of Coastal Tundra (Fig. 15.17). At site AP-3 (Fig. 15.18) dating from 10,730 14C years BP (12,840 cal years BP) in the absence of spruce, the pollen record is solely of herbs and shrubs (Heusser, 1983c). Migration of the vascular cryptogam, Selaginella selaginoides, distributed between North America and Asia (Figs. 15.19, 15.20), is traceable from 16 late Pleistocene refugia in western Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, and the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan (Heusser and Igarashi, 1994). Migration of the cryptogam in the Holocene was initially apparently rapid on the American coast, gaining the Gulf of Alaska between 9000 and 8000 14C years BP (10,200 and 9000 cal years) but later slowed, reaching the Aleutian Islands only after 4000 14C years BP (4410 cal years BP). While few localities apply to the northeast beyond Hokkaido, data portray an advance of S. selaginoides from Japan to Bering Island in the Commander Islands before 5800 14C years BP (6675 cal years BP).

15.3. Glacier–Climate Cycles Lawrence (1950a) postulated that behavior of glaciers of the Juneau Icefield during the Little Ice Age of recent centuries was subject to the 11-year sunspot cycle. He laid emphasis on the ages of moraines of Herbert, Mendenhall, and Twin Glaciers, correlating moraine formation with sunspot minima from 1765 until the middle of the twentieth century, while recognizing significance of the Maunder sunspot dearth period recorded between 1645 and 1715. Glaciers had not advanced into forest growing outside the moraines dated to approximately 1765 since before the 1300s. In theory, Juneau glaciers during sunspot maxima received greater sunshine, brought on by increased circulation of northerly winds and thereby increasing ablation; during sun spot minima, southerly winds caused ablation decrease and enhanced accumulation. For glaciers of the Juneau Icefield, evidence of millennial-scale glacier–climate cycles in the Holocene, mostly fragmentary and incomplete, is best recorded for Taku Glacier over the past three millennia (Motyka and Begét, 1996). Problematic, however, is the asynchronous behavior of the Taku versus the land-based glaciers with exception taken for advances dated to 1720 and 1110 14C years BP (1609 and 983 cal years BP) during the time span between 2000 and 100 years ago. Intrinsic in the record is the influence of climatic and nonclimatic factors. Lack of defined evidence for

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Figure 15.18. Lateglacial–Holocene pollen record (AP-3), Alaska Peninsula. Radiocarbon dates shown accompanied by arrows; tephra layers marked TA. From Heusser (1983c).

Figure 15.19. Modern range of Selaginella selaginoides and fossil sampling sites in the North Pacific. Modified from Heusser and Igarashi (1994).

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Figure 15.20. Stratigraphic ranges and radiocarbon chronologies of fossil Selaginella selaginoides at sampling sites in the North Pacific. With modification from Heusser and Igarashi (1994).

extended and more coherent cyclicity of Holocene glacier variations is typical of the curtailed and incongruous records that have been collected in the northwestern Cordillera. At Glacier Bay, following Hypsithermal warmth in the early Holocene, Neoglacial advances are dated to 4150–4650 and 2350–300 cal years BP, possibly confounded by tectonism in the Fairweather Range (Goldthwait, 1966). At Brady Glacier, also in the Fairweather Range, a more complete set of glacier variations according to Derksen (1976) obtains for the late Holocene at about 4700, 2900, 2000–1200, and after 700 14C years BP (5450, 3040, 1950–1170, and 300 cal years BP). These data, also somewhat questionable on account of local tectonic activity, give an enhanced cyclicity averaging approximately 1400 14C years (2587 cal years BP). In the White River Valley of Interior Alaska–Yukon, according to Denton and Karlén (1977), a comprehensive set of climatic variations is realized. Glacial activity between 2900–2100 (peaking at 2800–2600) and 1230–1050 14C years BP and extending to the Little Ice Age (3000–2040, 1160–950, and 450 cal years BP) is found interlocked with elevated treelines dated to 5250, 3600–3000, and 2100–1230 14C years BP (6160, 3890–3210, and 2100–1170 cal years BP). Climatic fluctuations associated with these events bear a relationship with conditions in the Arctic extending to Swedish Lappland. Highly significant in this instance is the serial occurrence in North Atlantic marine cores of ice-rafted debris, which dates to 11,100, 10,300, 9400, 8100, 5900, 4200, 2800, and 1400 cal years BP (Bond et al., 1997). The debris, emanating from expanded Greenland glaciers during episodes of cold climate, serves as a tie-in between Holocene mountain glacier and ice sheet activity. Cyclicity, measured at close to 1470 years, rounded off to 1500 years (Bond et al., 2001), is attributed to variable subpolar circulation, as dictated by changes in solar insolation.

Epilogue

Events at the very end of the final season of the Juneau Icefield Research Project in 1958 seemed to follow without pause. During the last two days on Lemon Creek Glacier, time spent closing up the Jamesway gave the impression of spanning but a few hours. That field studies carried out during the past decade were over with was unimaginable. After collecting data each year, there were no future seasons to contemplate. Return to Juneau over Cairn Peak was in good weather. Cairn Ridge, traversed so often in snow, rain, and gloom, was on the day we took leave of Lemon Creek Glacier imbued with bright autumn sunlight. On slopes golden from the coloring of tundra grasses and sedges, we lingered a bit in the frosty air. The scene from Cairn Ridge on the way down, before making the ultimate descent to Gastineau Channel and returning for one more overnight at Hotel Juneau, is quite memorable to this day. The return flight to Seattle and New York followed in good spirits with a feeling of gratification that comes from the knowledge that basic objectives, set out to be accomplished each summer, had been achieved. The 1958 field party with a sense of fellowship had been a most dedicated and compatible group, had worked effectively, and had contributed in a lasting way to the goals set by the Project. Research in the Juneau Icefield over the years of the Project remains a quintessential, neverto-be-forgotten experience. With a roster of talented and dedicated personnel, the Project produced studies that were designed to gain a greater grasp of glacier–climate relations. There was the supreme physical effort, under demanding conditions, put forth almost daily to fulfill objectives. Through it all, the magnificent backdrop of the icefield and the reward of camaraderie. It is significant to point out the number of studies involving theses that led to graduate academic degrees: Ward (1951), University of Minnesota; Gilkey (1951), Columbia University; Heusser (1952b), Oregon State; Miller (1956–1957), Cambridge University; Forbes (1959), University of Washington; and Marcus (1964), University of Chicago. Honorary doctoral degrees were later awarded by the University of Alaska to Field and to Post and by the College of the Pacific to LaChapelle. Glaciers in the northwestern sector of the icefield were named in honor of Gilkey, Field, and Thiel. Not surprising, the Project proved to be a training ground for later studies during the IGY by Hubley on McCall Glacier in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska; LaChapelle on Blue Glacier in the Olympic Mountains of western Washington; and Milan, Wilson, Thiel, and Behrendt in Antarctica. The Lawrences extended their studies on glacier variations to South America and New Zealand (Lawrence and Lawrence, 1959, 1965); Marcus joined the Icefield Ranges Research Project for a number of years in the St. Elias Mountains (Marcus and Ragle, 1970), later becoming Vice President of the American Geographical Society; Forbes became State Geologist of Alaska; and Bohn, after the 1958 field season on Lemon Creek Glacier, worked in the Glacier Bay National Monument, ultimately publishing his highly acclaimed Glacier Bay. The Land and the Silence (Bohn, 1967). Under the aegis of the Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research, following termination of the Project, Miller organized the long-term Juneau Icefield Research Program. Mountaineering techniques were taught with emphasis on glaciology and use of the Juneau Icefield as a laboratory. Confusion exists regarding the initial Project, under which studies began, and the 219

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later Program. The two separate undertakings have come to be attributed entirely to the Program (Molenaar, 1993; U.S. Forest Service, 2003), while downplaying the American Geographical Society and the vital role played early on by W.O. Field in the Society’s 10-year Office of Naval Research contract (Field and Miller, 1950; Wright, 1952). On a more disquieting note, Gilkey died in an attempt to reach the summit of K2 in the Karakorum, Hubley took his life on McCall Glacier, Thiel died in an air crash in Antarctica, and Hane was killed in Perú climbing in the Cordillera Blanca. The Society in pursuit of its original objective to coordinate studies on glacier behavior in the Southern Hemisphere organized the Southern Chile Expedition 1959 to Laguna de San Rafael (Heusser, 1960b). Thus began long-term fieldwork in Chile and Argentina (Heusser, 2003), punctuated by further studies in Alaska (Shumagin Islands, Prince William Sound, Icy Bay, Bering Glacier) that continued after the author’s retirement from the faculty of New York University in 1991 until his death in 2006.

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