Petersburg/Le Conte Bay, Southeast Alaska
Guests on the Sea Bird came to travel in the temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska this week. We are, indeed, in Southeast Alaska, but not a drop of rain, or a cloud, has been seen in many days. In fact, temperatures in the 80s have been breaking records here lately. This is very unusual for a rainforest, but nobody is complaining about it at the moment. Is it global warming? Are the glaciers all going to melt? Is the rainforest in danger of extinction? Or is it just our good luck or good Karma? Some people think we must have been transported to another planet, or at least another part of the globe. It is too sunny and dry to be a rainforest. We all brought the wrong clothes to wear. But the trees are still here. They need water – a lot of water, and nutrients. It is water that allows this area to be so lush and beautiful – and unique. The forest won’t survive without it. It needs at least 100 inches per year to remain a rainforest. Residents and veteran travelers in Southeast Alaska are confident that it will rain here again – soon enough. So we are fortunate, and are enjoying the sunshine and outstanding scenery while we can.
Southeast Alaska holds a good portion of the world’s temperate rainforest. We hear so much about the tropical rainforest, but the temperate rainforests are special, and vulnerable, as well. They contain less diversity but more biomass than tropical rainforests. Some of the threat is from logging. But “climate change” is a popular buzz-phrase these days and has severe implications for all aspects of our planet. How much influence do we, as intelligent beings, have? Alaska is warming faster and more than other parts of the globe, especially in winter. We are already seeing the effects of this. Bark beetle infestations are increasing because warmer winters allow more larvae to survive. Alaska’s notorious mosquitoes are spreading, sea ice is shrinking, the permafrost is melting. Warmer waters will affect the marine food chain. If temperatures continue to rise, increased evaporation and precipitation may actually cause glaciers to advance for a while; if the globe were to warm enough to melt the world’s ice reserves, sea level would rise over 300 feet. Just a few feet would dramatically affect many coastal cities worldwide, changing life as we know it and the world to which we have become accustomed.
To make a glacier, a source of moisture and temperatures that are cold enough for snow to fall and persist are needed. Over time, the snow metamorphoses into ice, builds up and moves downward as a river of ice. The Le Conte Glacier is the southernmost tidewater glacier in North America. Clear weather today enabled us to see into the mountain environment that spawns the glaciers that have sculpted this landscape and that can only exist here if it remains a temperate rainforest. A visit to the many large icebergs clogging the mouth of Le Conte fjord caused us to reflect on the future of this area and the effects of our presence on this planet.
Guests on the Sea Bird came to travel in the temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska this week. We are, indeed, in Southeast Alaska, but not a drop of rain, or a cloud, has been seen in many days. In fact, temperatures in the 80s have been breaking records here lately. This is very unusual for a rainforest, but nobody is complaining about it at the moment. Is it global warming? Are the glaciers all going to melt? Is the rainforest in danger of extinction? Or is it just our good luck or good Karma? Some people think we must have been transported to another planet, or at least another part of the globe. It is too sunny and dry to be a rainforest. We all brought the wrong clothes to wear. But the trees are still here. They need water – a lot of water, and nutrients. It is water that allows this area to be so lush and beautiful – and unique. The forest won’t survive without it. It needs at least 100 inches per year to remain a rainforest. Residents and veteran travelers in Southeast Alaska are confident that it will rain here again – soon enough. So we are fortunate, and are enjoying the sunshine and outstanding scenery while we can.
Southeast Alaska holds a good portion of the world’s temperate rainforest. We hear so much about the tropical rainforest, but the temperate rainforests are special, and vulnerable, as well. They contain less diversity but more biomass than tropical rainforests. Some of the threat is from logging. But “climate change” is a popular buzz-phrase these days and has severe implications for all aspects of our planet. How much influence do we, as intelligent beings, have? Alaska is warming faster and more than other parts of the globe, especially in winter. We are already seeing the effects of this. Bark beetle infestations are increasing because warmer winters allow more larvae to survive. Alaska’s notorious mosquitoes are spreading, sea ice is shrinking, the permafrost is melting. Warmer waters will affect the marine food chain. If temperatures continue to rise, increased evaporation and precipitation may actually cause glaciers to advance for a while; if the globe were to warm enough to melt the world’s ice reserves, sea level would rise over 300 feet. Just a few feet would dramatically affect many coastal cities worldwide, changing life as we know it and the world to which we have become accustomed.
To make a glacier, a source of moisture and temperatures that are cold enough for snow to fall and persist are needed. Over time, the snow metamorphoses into ice, builds up and moves downward as a river of ice. The Le Conte Glacier is the southernmost tidewater glacier in North America. Clear weather today enabled us to see into the mountain environment that spawns the glaciers that have sculpted this landscape and that can only exist here if it remains a temperate rainforest. A visit to the many large icebergs clogging the mouth of Le Conte fjord caused us to reflect on the future of this area and the effects of our presence on this planet.
