image: Geological Society of America Special Paper 462, "Bering Glacier: Interdisciplinary Studies of Earth's Largest Temperate Surging Glacier," edited by Robert A. Shuchman and Edward G. Josberger, offers an excellent resource for understanding the role that the approximately 5000-square-kilometer Bering Glacier system plays in the greater southeastern coastal region of Alaska. view more
Credit: Geological Society of America
Boulder, CO, USA - The opening chapter of this new Special Paper from The Geological Society of America is titled, "The raw beauty of the Bering Glacier." One could argue that the entire book is about that raw beauty, in all aspects, as seen through the many disciplines brought to bear here: glaciology, geology, paleogeology, hydrology, limnology, oceanography, tectonics, geomorphology, geophysics, meteorology, remote sensing, climate change, anthropology, and ecological studies pertaining to vegetation, fish, and marine mammals.
This truly is an interdisciplinary effort. Edited by Robert Shuchman of Michigan Tech Research Institute and Edward Josberger of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the book includes contributions from workers at several universities in the U.S. (most notably, the University of Alaska and Michigan Tech) and the UK; the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the North Slope Science Initiative, the Dept. of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Michigan, the Altarum Institute, GeoStrata LLC, Eastman Kodak, NRF Taxonomic Services, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The book's 24 chapters include a thorough botanical inventory, a review of freshwater biogeography focusing on fish assemblages, an examination of where harbor seals haul out onto the glacier, and a survey of resident and migratory birds. Two chapters, one an introduction to the Bering Glacier system and the other an analysis of the Bering Glacier surges, are penned by Bruce Molnia of the USGS and Austin Post (USGS retired), to whom the book is dedicated.
Most unique is the inclusion of eight chapters in a section titled "New investigator activities at Bering Glacier" that documents research by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, including minority student research funded by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior.
The compilation of these individual studies into a single publication allows for a more complete understanding of the role the approximately 5000-square-kilometer Bering Glacier system plays in the greater southeastern coastal region of Alaska and, through its wastage, its impact on the circulation of the northeast Pacific Ocean and on the global sea level.
Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through the Geological Society of America online bookstore, http://rock.geosociety.org/Bookstore/default.asp?oID=0&catID=9&pID=SPE462, or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting Jeanette Hammann, jhammann@geosociety.org.
Bering Glacier: Interdisciplinary Studies of Earth's Largest Temperate Surging Glacier
Robert A. Shuchman and Edward G. Josberger (editors)
Geological Society of America Special Paper 462
SPE462, 384 p., $99.00, GSA Member price $70.00
ISBN 978-0-8137-2462-1