28 June, 2000

June 28, 2000

Today was slow. We accomplished our various errands within the first few hours of the morning and milled around Anchorage for the remainder of the day. University of Washington seismologist Steve Malone needs to join our party before we can depart for McCarthy. He arrives in Anchorage tonight. I am also waiting for Motient - a satellite telecommunications company - to turn on a data line to their satellite so that I can link up to the internet via a satellite phone and download journal entries to the tea website.

This project has an element of suspense - it lives and dies by when Hidden Creek Lake drains and the outburst flood occurs. Once we get to the glacier we will be working long days placing instruments in the lake and glacier so that we can gather as much data as possible to catch the "big event". The instruments will include pressure transducers that are used to measure water levels in the lake and boreholes, thermometers, turbidity probes that measure the amount of sediment in the water, conductivity probes which measure the amount of dissolved ions in the water, reflector stakes for surveying, and seismometers to measure the pattern of ice quakes before, during , and after the flood. Last year the "big event" (lake drain) was quite dramatic. It also happened earlier than we were anticipating. This year we are arriving to the field a week and half earlier than last year and are expecting to compile a much larger set of data. When the lake drains, our field work for the summer will be over.

We just learned of the first "snafoo" of the project - an unexpected glitch that is creating concern, and potentially altering departure plans. We just found out that four boxes of seismic equipment are still sitting on the shipping docks in Seattle. Apparently the shipping company made an error and did not include these boxes with the rest of our shipment. It is still unclear how this will be dealt with.