Le Conte Bay and Petersburg
Ice ages come and ice ages go, but glaciers continue to flow. Slowly but with relentless force, the rivers of ice that are so closely associated with Alaska still gouge, grind and carve the towering mountains of bedrock that overlook the cold and sometimes stormy north Pacific Ocean. Scientists worldwide are reaching agreement that we are currently experiencing a warming trend on this planet. The natural assumption is that we will continue into a period of shrinking icefields, retreating glaciers and rising ocean waters, likely at an ever-increasing rate. Interestingly, though, some scientists are now projecting that the current global warming event - by no means not the first to occur on Earth - may do just the opposite. It may lead us directly and relatively quickly into another ice age. Should we worry? Not really. Not many of us will be around to witness it.
We can, however, witness the sheer beauty of ice. Today, in Le Conte Bay just south of Petersburg, we did just that. Bundled for warmth, we set off in our Zodiacs. The aquamarine water at our anchorage was perfectly still, and high clouds softened the light of the sun. Conditions like this are perfect for bringing out the amazingly blue colors that emanate from highly compressed ice crystals of massive icebergs. Blue light is at the high-energy end of the spectrum, its wavelengths very short. It is this energy advantage that allows only the blue to escape the trapping effect of refraction through ice. Thus, the snowflakes that had been forced with time (hundreds of years, perhaps?) and pressure (thousands of tons?) to the bottom and sides of the Le Conte Glacier were now clear, blue ice. Snow that had been near the top of the glacier and under less pressure still held within it millions of tiny bubbles and fractures; it was white, like the snowflakes from which it began.
The ghostly battleship pictured here was not the only thing we saw from the Zodiacs this morning. Feeding quietly in a small cove, and seeming to prefer sea lettuce (Ulva sp.) was a pair of Canada Geese. The Canada Goose has made a huge comeback in the northwest in the past two decades, so much so that in places it is now looked upon as a city pest. However, the two birds we found were somewhat special. Their large size and very dark, chocolate-brown breast identified them as "Dusky" Canada Geese, Branta canadensis occidentalis. This subspecies is relatively rare and may even be considered threatened. It nests only in a very limited range along the south coast of Alaska. With recent advances in the use of DNA for tracing evolutionary patterns, protection of plants and animals at the subspecies level is increasingly important.
Also during the morning, Nan Elliot of Williams College presented two excellent videos, first about the earliest inhabitants and later about the Russian occupation of the land that we now call Alaska. She followed that with a slide lecture entitled "The Magic of Alaska", touching lightheartedly on its immensity, its gold-rush history, its special features and its colorful pioneer characters. This is truly a unique state.
A little part of that uniqueness was found in Petersburg, a bustling fishing village on Mitkof Island at the north end of Wrangell Narrows. We docked there after lunch and set out to hike through a natural bog habitat, kayak among the salmon on Petersburg Creek, or just stroll into the town for a taste of life. Some of us even enjoyed the thrill of flying low over the icefields and glaciers that encrust the nearby mainland mountains.
This was a relatively easy day for us, but like the others, it was filled with many new surprises and experiences.
