Permafrost ice caves and NY Times article

Feb 13, 2021

570

Permafrost ice caves and NY Times articleHi everyone,
I'm excited to share that we recently published a short article about the subterranean permafrost caves that we found several years ago (article attached, see also the lab note "Exploring a wolverine permafrost cave"). Discovering these caves was one of the most surprising moments I've had in fieldwork, so I'm delighted that we've been able to share the finding in a more formal format.
There have also been several popular-press articles about our project that you might enjoy. Here's a recent story in the New York Times, featuring Peter Mather's stunning photography:
 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/11/climate/wolverines-climate-change.html 
And a short piece I wrote for Alaska Magazine:
 https://alaskamagazine.com/authentic-alaska/wildlife-nature/the-indomitable-wolverine/ 
And we even made it into Ranger Rick!
 https://rangerrick.org/ranger_rick/wolverines/ 
Best wishes,
Tom

Glass et al 2020_Permafrost ice ...

587 kb

Beth, Janet, and 3 others like this.

3 comments

Join the conversation!Sign In

Cindy Wu

Ranger Rick! That is sooooo cool!

Mar 07, 20210

Markus FriedrichBacker

Awe inspiring. Will be beautiful to share with me evolution class this winter.

Feb 15, 20210

Mary patzelBacker

So cool! I love seeing what great work you're up to! Stay warm out there. :)

Feb 14, 20210

Tom GlassResearcher

Thanks, Mary! I hope everything's going well with you.

Feb 15, 20210

About This Project

Why do wolverines need snow?

University of Alaska-Fairbanks

A warming climate in the Arctic is having profound impacts on species that rely on snow and ice, like the polar bear and walrus. However, for some snow-associated species, we do not know enough about their ecology to understand or mitigate impacts. My work investigates how wolverines, a species that relies on snow for denning, food caching, and shelter, are impacted by changing snow distribution, and advancing spring melt.