Research takes Geology student to Arctic extremes
When Luke Trusel says he was on top of the world this summer, he isn’t kidding. The senior Geology student spent three and a half weeks conducting research in the Arctic.
For Trusel, working in the shadow of icebergs crashing from towering ice cliffs was not only about studying dynamic geologic processes, but understanding the thrills and risks researchers experience in far-off and sometimes dangerous locations.
He was part of a select group of students chosen for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to familiarize participants with the scientific rigors and rewards of working in the Arctic.
Geosciences professor Julie Brigham-Grette and University of Northern Illinois University geology professor Ross Powell chose Trusel and Ryan Cumpston from NIU to take part in a pilot program aimed at teaching undergraduates about research in the Arctic. The program is part of a larger effort also involving faculty from Mount Holyoke, Hampshire and Bates colleges to prepare undergraduates for careers in Arctic science and global climate change.
The research effort led by Brigham-Grette and Powell was based in the former coal-mining town of Ny-Alesund on the Norwegian island territory of Svalbard, where a new marine laboratory, partially sponsored by the NSF Office of Polar Programs, provided the ideal shore-based facility for classroom and laboratory instruction after a long day in the field.
Located at 79 degrees north latitude in the Arctic Ocean, Ny-Alesund is the most northerly Arctic research center in the world. In July, there is 24 hours of daylight, but the average daily temperature is only 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The region is rich with active glaciers and abundant wildlife, including birds, seals, walrus, fox and one of the Arctic’s highest concentrations of polar bears. Orientation to working on Svalbard involved safety training and target practice with rifles and flares in the event of a polar bear encounter. The team also had to jump into the near-freezing waters offshore wearing bright orange survival suits to learn first-hand of their buoyancy and mobility in the event of a boating mishap. While Brigham-Grette and Powell have decades of experience working in harsh Arctic and Antarctic environments, it was the first time the students had traveled out of the contiguous United States.
Despite the cold summer temperatures, the glaciers on Svalbard—as in many parts of the world—are retreating as monthly temperatures, especially in the Arctic, continue to rise with global warming, says Brigham-Grette.
The undergraduate research in Ny-Alesund was aimed at understanding glacial dynamics and modern sedimentation processes at the front of the Kronebreen and Kongsvegen glaciers, among the most active on Svalbard. This research will help scientists understand the physical processes of glacier retreat as well as factors that influence the rate of retreat.
The students and their advisors spent most of their time working in a small aluminum skiff or rubber Zodiac boat directly in front of the glaciers where they terminate in the sea. The ice face of the glacier not only extends 180 feet above sea level but continues another 180 feet below water to its grounding line on the sea floor.
“House-size or even larger chunks of ice routinely break off from the glacier face, letting out thunderous booms,” says Trusel. “When falling into the sea, these chunks can produce large swells. We rode out one swell that was over 30 feet high.”
Watching gigantic pieces of glacier ice break through the water surface from below left an impression on Brigham-Grette. “It’s like watching an solid icy-blue humpback whale suddenly breach, rising out of the sea tens of feet, but in this case, loaded with sediments from the base of the glacier,” she says.
The research team set out sediment traps to collect samples of the mud being produced by the glaciers. They also collected sediment cores and box cores of mud from the sea floor to determine what had been deposited in the recent past. Data about the topography of the sea floor and the temperature and saltiness of the sea in front of the glacier will help them understand the interactions between ocean currents and the glacier itself. The samples and data collected by the students will be written up as senior honors theses. Trusel and NIU’s Ryan Cumpston will collaborate with the data and samples, but each of them will focus on a different part of the glacier-marine environment.
“The REU program is as much about the scientific outcome as it is about providing an outstanding research experience for undergraduate students. It starts with asking scientific questions and then requires learning how to design a field-based study, collect the data, and put it all together for publication,” says Brigham-Grette. “The pilot program was designed to demonstrate that we could successfully work with undergraduate students in the marine environment at Ny-Alesund with the intent to expand the program to a larger number of students in future years.”
For Luke Trusel, it was the experience of a lifetime. “Conducting research in such a remote and untouched environment was an incredible opportunity that I will never forget,” he says.
Photo credits: Julie Brigham-Grette and Ross Powell
September 9, 2005.
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