REU: Glacial Geological Research for Undergraduates, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska

This proposal is a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site. Undergraduate students will conduct research for six weeks on the Matanuska Glacier, a large valley glacier in south central Alaska. The glacier’s terminus is easily accessible from the Glenn Highway. Students will stay at the Matanuska Glacier Research Camp, about two kilometers from the glacier’s terminus. The Camp is maintained by the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory which also sponsors some of the ongoing research. Students will participate in field work that will involve collecting water samples, maintaining equipment, downloading data, filtering water for suspended sediment, and tabulating data. Each student will identify a research project to which he/she will devote several hours a day. Directed research projects may be in subdisciplines of glacial geology, sedimentology, glaciohydrology, or hydrogeology. The faculty associates will supervise the students’ research to ensure appropriate projects are defined and that the students are able to collect the necessary information. Students will be expected to complete their undergraduate thesis projects at the respective home institutions during the subsequent school year and will be encouraged to present the results at a national meeting.