Soil Science on Vacation 4: Return to Alaska

摘要

In August of 2008,1 was lucky enough to return to Alaska for two weeks along with my son and six friends. Because during my last trip to Alaska I had been forced to focus upon fishing (see "Soil Science on Vacation—North to Alaska," Soil Survey Horizons, Summer 2008, p. 41-43), I was determined to make the most of this trip to examine the soils and geology of the area in greater detail. Luckily, the group that I traveled with included a sanitarian and an engineer, both with soils and geology experience, a brother-in-law who has long tolerated my interests, and two 12-year-old boys blessed with innate curiosity. This was coupled with the fact that I was approaching graduation, working on a master's thesis deeply involved in periglacial processes, and studying under a professor who was willing to sponsor an independent study that would contribute one credit toward my degree. So it was that at the end of a long flight that included diverting to skirt several thunderstorms, I landed in Anchorage to begin a two-week trip to investigate the soils and geology of south-central Alaska.