Sample collection, Gilkey Glacier, Alaska July 2024.

With solar radiation being a primary driver of melting glacial ice and snow, glaciers and high-elevation mountain snowpacks are especially sensitive to even small changes in the concentration of light absorbing particles. Surface melt of snow and glacial ice is substantially higher if impurities such as mineral dust and organic matter are present in significant quantities. Bacteria and algae further promote darkening of the glacial surface and melting by aggregating these impurities in the form of biofilm. Like many mountain glaciers of the Alaskan region, the Juneau Icefield has seen extensive mass loss. Black carbon released by human and natural activities has become a major contributor to reducing snow and ice albedo. Microbes can affect the dynamics of black carbon on glacial surfaces, with biodegradation having profound implications on its residence time, light absorbance, and output to adjacent and downstream aquatic ecosystems.
This NSF Rapid Response Research (RAPID) project funded the field work necessary for the acquisition of samples from the Gilkey Glacier, Alaska in July 2024. This dataset includes sample collection types, coordinates and stream flow data.