Low-Flying Helicopters To Survey Glacier Thickness At Wrangell-St. Elias In Week Of May 27th, NPS Says

 Kennicott Glacier Aircraft-borne Ice-Penetrating Radar Surveys 

Kennicott Glacier (Photo by Neil Hannan of Kenny Lake) 

 

COPPER CENTER, AK – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, in collaboration with researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and University of Arizona, will conduct helicopter-borne aerial radar surveys of the lower Kennicott Glacier in late May 2024. 

The surveys are designed to assess the glacier thickness and thus map the bed of the Kennicott Glacier. The radar equipment, including antennas, will be suspended beneath the helicopter on a 100’ longline and the helicopter will fly approximately 300’ above ground level to collect the data. Survey results will be used to predict the topography of the landscape as the glacier retreats, the proglacial lake grows, and new land is exposed. Results will also allow researchers to estimate the water content of the glacier, supporting efforts to understand changes to downstream river discharge as the glacier retreats.

 

The public, and aviators in particular, should remain aware of this survey as the time approaches. The radar will be flown slowly in a dense grid over the Kennicott Glacier between Hidden Creek Lake and the terminus, and over the tributary Root Glacier below the Stairway Icefall. This flying will require up to three full days and is scheduled to occur the week of May 27. If the work is completed efficiently and ahead of schedule, there is a chance that a less intensive survey will be conducted over the terminus of the Nizina and/or the Tana Glaciers. The helicopter will take care to avoid flying over the public (glacier hikers), will remain alert to other aircraft, and will frequently broadcast its position and trajectory on public aircraft radio frequencies. We ask that other pilots remain alert to the possibility of encountering this low-flying helicopter during the window May 27-31, with delays possible in the event of poor weather or other contingencies.

 

For more information, contact:  Michael Loso, Geologist, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, email: Michael_Loso@nps.gov, phone: 907-529-9372.