| Public Land Name: | Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve | | Position Title: | Geohazards Specialist (Guest Scientist) | | Position ID Number: | 200 | | Location: | Gustavus, AK | | Position Description: | An incipient landslide on the steep shore Tidal Inlet, Glacier Bay, threatens to fail catastrophically into the inlet, creating a giant wave that could threaten human safety. The park is responding to this threat via a multi-pronged effort to better understand the nature and relative magnitude of the threat while simultaneously educating the visiting public. The park seeks a GeoCorps geoscientist with skills in remote imagery and geospatial analysis to 1) survey past aerial imagery of the area (back to the 1920s) in order to document the past behavior and potential future activity of the slide, and 2) develop a detailed protocol for ground/aerial-based photographic monitoring of the slide beginning as early as summer 2009. Most work will be in the office, sorting through archived aerial photography contact sheets from different years, digitizing them as necessary, and digitally comparing them to analyze slide movement. The park will endeavor to place the participant in the field at the site so that he/she gains an on-the-ground perspective of the issue. One of the two primary products from this residency will be a report detailing the findings from an analysis of existing historic remote imagery of the Tidal Inlet landslide. The objective of the analysis will be to describe (quantitatively, if possible) the movement of the slide across time up to the present, along with a professional evaluation of whether/how that information might be used to predict future slide behavior. The second primary product will be a detailed field and analytical protocol for photographically (ground and/or aerial) monitoring slide behavior starting from the present and extending into the future. Prior to starting this position a government security background clearance will be required. This position is offered through the Geological Society of America's GeoCorps America Program in partnership with the National Park Service’s Geoscientists-in-the-Parks Program. | | Qualifications: | The applicant should have completed at least three years toward an undergraduate degree in the geosciences or earth sciences. Graduates, faculty, or retired scientists are also welcome to apply. Previous geo-hazard experience, particularly evaluating landslides and/or tsunamis, is desirable. Also important are technical geospatial skills including gathering, querying, rectifying/georeferencing, and analyzing remote imagery (aerial photography and satellite imagery), and documenting temporal changes. Necessary computer hardware and software will be provided. Organizational skills and attention to detail are crucial. The applicant should possess solid writing skills, and should be able to work independently with minimal supervision. Applicant must have a valid driver’s license. | | Position Dates: | March 1 – May 1; 8 weeks | | Payment: | $3,000 (8 weeks); housing provided; travel allowance available | | Housing Available: | The park will provide housing at no cost to the participant. Housing is near the park headquarters area in Bartlett Cove, on the coast of Glacier Bay. Housing is private in a quiet area, within walking distance to the office, at the edge of the rainforest just above the shore. Bartlett Cove offers both intimate and long views of the ocean and adjacent forested lowlands and beach habitats of lower Glacier Bay, as well as stunning perspectives of the 15,000' Fairweather Range. | Physical/Natural
Environment: | Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a 3.2-million acre glacier-crowned maritime wilderness in northern Southeast Alaska. Completely covered by glacial ice just 250 years ago, Glacier Bay is now a spectacular 60-mile long fjord system featuring still-retreating active tidewater glaciers, a dynamic northern temperate rainforest, and an incredibly productive marine environment. Home to coastal brown bears, endangered humpback whales, bald eagles, and a huge diversity of marine life, Glacier Bay's theme of ongoing dynamism and change is manifest across its pristine terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Everything about the park is large in scale, from its 1,200 miles of rugged coastline, to the peaks of the Fairweather Range towering 15,000 feet above the remote Pacific Ocean just 15 miles away. Glacier Bay has a long and storied history of scientific research, much of it driven by the park's fascinating geological story and associated biological accommodation. For more information, please visit the park's website at http://www.nps.gov/glba/. | | Work Environment: | The office environment at park headquarters is comfortable, quiet, spacious, and well-appointed with the necessary tools to accomplish the task described above. The newly-remodeled Resources building is situated just above the beach in Bartlett Cove, with great views across the intertidal zone and protected marine waters to the nearby forested shoreline. Members of the Resource Management team are knowledgeable, experienced, friendly, and mutually supportive. | | # of current Applicants: | 7 |
If you have questions about the application and selection process, please contact Anny Jones. If you have questions about any aspect of the position — description, qualifications, housing, dates — please contact the primary or secondary contact below:
| | PRIMARY CONTACT INFORMATION | | Contact Name: | Lewis Sharman | | Title: | Ecologist | | Street Address: | Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, P.O. Box 21, #1 National Park Rd. | | City/State/Zip: | Gustavus, AK 99826 | | Phone: | (907)697-2623 | | Email: | Lewis_Sharman@nps.gov | | Website: | http://www.nps.gov/glba/ |
| | SECONDARY CONTACT INFORMATION | | Contact Name: | Craig Smith | | Title: | Chief of Resources Management | | Street Address: | Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, P.O. Box 21, #1 National Park Rd. | | City/State/Zip: | Gustavus, AK 99826 | | Phone: | (907)697-2640 | | Email: | Craig_Smith@nps.gov | | Website: | http://www.nps.gov/glba/ |
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