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© Michaela Mühl, All rights reserved

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© Michaela Mühl, All rights reserved

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© Michaela Mühl, All rights reserved

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© Michaela Mühl, All rights reserved

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Participation in Juneau Icefield Research Program 2019

Michaela Mühl

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Universität Bern

Lay summary

Description of the programme

The Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) is a multi-week (under-) graduate expedition-based field science education program on the Juneau Icefield. A group of students, staff and teachers traverse the Juneau Icefield from Juneau (Alaska) to Atlin (Canada) on skis while working on several different scientific glacier related projects. The combination of everyday fieldwork and practical training out onto the glacier with theoretical lectures led by the teaching faculty specialized in glaciology and other earth sciences and the intense camp life experience (huts and tents) makes this program outstanding.

How did you benefit from the programme?

For me, it was an amazing opportunity to gain further field experience, especially in (shallow) ice core drilling and ice core analyses. In collaboration with the US Drilling Program, we drilled an ice core on the ice divide between Llewellyn Glacier and Matthes Glacier. Samples taken in the field were later send to University Fairbanks for isotopic analysis. It was my first practical training in ice core drilling and opened the gateway for my long-term academic career as ice core scientist. In my succeeding PhD, I analyzed ice core samples from Greenland and Antarctica for paleoclimatic reconstructions. I successfully finished my PhD in 2024 and continued my research as PostDoc. I am now involved in large international ice core projects (e.g. Beyond EPICA).

What were the highlights of the training?

When traversing the icefield, I was amazed by the vast icy landscape and beauty of the glaciers. In the lonely feeling on the big icefield, you soak up everything you see and you feel grounded.

Crossing the whole icefield on skis/crampons, carrying everything you need for those couple of weeks, and facing numerous challenges was sometimes hard but leaving the comfort zone was an experience that made me grow beyond myself. From the scientific perspective, I loved the “nature classroom lectures”. Just sitting outside on the ice and learning something about glacier dynamics while you’re literally observing the glacier is a much better way than learning inside a classroom or from textbooks.  

Would you recommend the programme to other students?

From the scientific level, I can definitely recommend the program to Bachelor students rather than Master students. It is a fantastic training if you have never been on glaciated terrain before and if you have no experience in mountaineering/skiing or camp life.

Details

Regional focus Arctic
Location Juneau Icefield Research Program, North America
Funded amount 1,500 CHF
Project dates 13th June 2019 – 11th August 2019
Category Field and Summer Schools