Cultural permafrost field course in Utqiaġvik, Alaska

From August 29th to September 13th, 2024, Benjamin Jones, Misha Kanevskiy, Phillip Wilson, and Melissa Ward Jones led a dynamic cultural permafrost field course in Utqiaġvik, Alaska. The course brought together a diverse group of early-career researchers with expertise in the Arctic and Antarctic to explore how their skills could address cultural permafrost challenges in the region.

Each day began with a presentation by one of the participants, followed by hands-on field activities. The group visited key sites, including Point Barrow to study beach processes and eroding bluffs along the Chukchi Coast to examine exposed permafrost. They also explored a permafrost research cellar excavated in the 1960s, an Iñupiaq whaling captain’s cellar equipped with thermosiphons, and met with the Port Authority director to discuss the community’s upcoming seawall project. Additionally, they toured the water and sewer utilidor below Utqiaġvik.

The course was a tremendous success, fostering collaboration across disciplines, generations, and cultures. Plans are already in motion to offer this unique cultural permafrost field course annually, in partnership with Texas A&M.

Image above:INE researcher Melissa Ward Jones explores the permafrost research cellar.