University of Dayton Chautauqua Course
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Chautauqua
Course DAY-8
Glaciers in Alaska
KRISTINE
J. CROSSEN, Department of Geological Sciences
University of Alaska Anchorage
June 23-25,
2013 in and near Anchorage,
AK
Apply: DAY
Note: This course is cosponsored by and offered at
the University of
Alaska Anchorage. Applications should be sent to the DAY
Field Center. This course has a course fee of $495 (in
addition to the $100 application fee), which covers boat and van travel on field
trips, admission to certain sites, and other course‑related
expenses. Optional reduced rate lodging will be available to early applicants. Also see course DAY-12 on Ecology just before this one, and DAY-21 on Earthquakes and Tsunamis just after.
This course is a three‑day field study of
glaciers in south central Alaska.
It includes an introduction to glacial processes and landforms, and a viewing
of different types of glaciers including small cirque glaciers, valley glaciers,
and glaciers calving into lakes and tidewater.
Locations to be visited include Portage Lake,
the Matanuska Glacier, and Prince William Sound.
The beginning of the first day will be spent in
classroom discussion of glacial processes.
The remaining portion of the day will involve a trip along the scenic
Turnagain Arm fjord to Portage Lake
and a boat tour to the terminus of the iceberg‑calving Portage
Glacier. It will include an option for light hiking on good trails. The second day will be a trip
to the Matanuska Glacier, with hiking along the terminus of
the glacier and onto the ice itself to view ice structures and modern glacial
processes. For walking on glaciers, warm
clothes, daypacks, and hiking boots are required. Hiking sticks are recommended for those who
prefer more secure footing. The third
day includes a boat trip out of Whittier
to view fjords and tidewater glaciers in Prince William
Sound and College Fjord.
This trip includes a combined two hours each way by van. Some modification to this schedule may be
made at the time of the course.
Those interested in an optional fourth day can take
a commercial trip from Anchorage
to Resurrection
Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park with other members of the
course the day before the course begins.
Details of this trip will be discussed with participants prior to the
course.
For college teachers of: any discipline. Prerequisites: none, beyond an interest in the natural
sciences.
Costs for 2013
Application fee: $100
Course fee: $495 [Due in April
2013]
Optional campus lodging: $45
per person per night in a single
Dr. Crossen is a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at
the University of
Alaska Anchorage. She has offered a number of short courses on
glaciers. Her current research involves
documenting Little Ice Age glacial chronologies from southern Alaska glaciers to understand recent climate
change.
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University of Dayton Chautauqua Course