Fall 2008

While long-term climate variability in central Alaska has been mapped, high-resolution records of Holocene climate variability have been lacking from central Alaska. However, a collaboration of scientists from New England is working to recover valuable information from the ice in Denali National Park.

Changing global climate is forcing scientists to vigorously test the existing paradigms and to find improved evidence of how the climate system really works at various time scales.

Each year, a new Girls on Ice team spends eight days exploring glaciated Mt. Baker in Washington State guided by myself, mountaineer Cecelia Mortonson, and a third (rotating) instructor. The nine teenage girls on the team learn not only about alpine geology, glaciology, and mountaineering, but they also challenge themselves and gain self-confidence in their physical, intellectual, and social abilities.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Director Mark Myers has informed NSF's Office of Polar Programs that USGS intends to continue to operate the National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) for the foreseeable future.

As part of its internal strategic planning, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently evaluated its long-term commitment to operate the National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL).