Place History: Seward, Alaska
When looking at this landscape of Resurrection Bay, what part of it catches your attention? Is it the enticing teal-colored waters? Possibly the colossal mountain range in the distance? Or even the incongruence of what appears to be warm climate vegetation among cold snow-capped mountains? It goes without saying that this largest fjord on the Alaskan Coast of the Kenai Peninsula is both beautiful and complex in geological and ecological diversity.
Resurrection Bay derived its name in a very ironic way. Dating back to a man named Alexander Baranov, who was on an exploratory voyage in April 1792. He was forced to take a detour and seek shelter into the bay since a dangerous north pacific storm was quickly approaching. The wild storm then settled on Easter Sunday, therefore resulting in the bay and nearby river being given the name of ‘Resurrection’, a title that has carried on since that time.
“Dear Lord, please help me survive this storm. God willing, this shall not be the night I die. You have blessed me with so much on my travels as I have established trading posts across Saint Paul’s Harbour, Crook Inlet and Prince William Sound. I one day would like to return to my home in Russia to share of my successes with family. Please steer me to safe haven”.
The city of Seward is placed on the edge of Resurrection Bay containing a small population, which was shaped by glaciers thousands of years ago. Aside from traveling to Seward, the only way to access the bay is by boat or plane, which is frequently referred to as the ‘gateway to the Kenai Fjords’ and is similar to the gulf of Alaska coast which runs for hundreds of miles. Seward is the place to visit during the Alaskan summer season. Heavily reliant upon the tourism and recreation industries, anglers aspire to ‘hook into’ salmon, halibut and rock fish. “Wildlife watchers are frequently rewarded with sightings of humpbacks and killer whales, harbor and dall’s porpoises, stellar sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters. Black bears and mountain goats occasionally appear on the shores or on the slopes above. Bird watchers from around the globe flock to the bay each year for a chance to see more than 100 species of seabirds and shorebirds, a dozen species of raptors and more than 50 species of songbirds”
It was 2012, when I visited Seward, Alaska. I couldn't wait to board 'The Star of the Northwest 'whale watching cruise line. I was overwhelmed thinking about the memories that were going to be made on this trip. I wasn't disappointed in the least. I observed a pod of humpback whales circling in the water, blowing air bubbles to confuse and later capture a mouthful of fish and krill. Puffins swam by almost smiling at me through their colorful beak. The sounds of the barking seals basking on the rock cliffs made me wonder, "How could an animal so large climb the steep rocky edge?"
Key to this ecological setting is indeed the water itself. There are impressive drop offs from the shore line of the bay with depths in the center of the bay that exceed 160 fathoms, essentially over 960 feet. With water temperatures that remain fairly stable through the months of January (38.9 degrees Fahrenheit) to May (45.9 degrees Fahrenheit) it is not surprising that during the winter, Resurrection Bay is ‘ice free’. This allows for smoother navigation of this roughly 2-3 mile wide head which connects to a series of straits, islands, and expanses of open water. Depicted in the picture above, are waters of a deep green color, magically created by the richness within. In April as the days of sunlight lengthen, the waters experience a powerful bloom of "phytoplankton" or plant plankton community. The existence of so much plankton colorfully displays a great mixing of this highly oxygenated water. Importantly, it is the plankton that links these sea creatures together as they come to this area to feed.
While Alexander Baranov eventually died in 1819, his son, Andre' followed in his father's footsteps by returning to the areas where his father sought 'safe haven'. This land became a place that Andre' called 'the land of beasts' for the variety in species that he observed on both land and in the water.
The diversity and adaptability of Kenai Fjord’s animals is phenomenal. In addition to the incredible number of bird species that have been documented in this region, whether on land or in the waters, mammals also dominate this Alaskan wilderness. The brown bear, beaver, coyote, snowshoe hare, lynx, moose, little brown bat, northern bog lemming, porcupine, red squirrel, short-tailed weasel, gray wolf and wolverine are just a few of the land mammals that can be found roaming this terrain. Just as abundant, the waters and coastline along Kenai Fjords National Park are inhabited by mammals on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s threatened or endangered species list: humpback whale, sei whale, gray whale, and Steller sea lion.
Recognizing that the Kenai Fjords National Park was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), a section of the act describes that it would be managed for the following purposes,
“To maintain unimpaired the scenic and environmental integrity of the Harding Icefield, its outflowing glaciers, and coastal fjords and islands in their natural state; and to protect seals, sea lions, other marine mammals, and marine and other birds and to maintain their hauling and breeding areas in their natural state, free of human activity which is disruptive to their natural processes. In a manner consistent with the foregoing, the Secretary is authorized to develop access to the Harding Icefield and to allow use of mechanized equipment on the icefield for recreation.”
During my stay in Seward as we explored the open waters, I couldn't help but think, even at my young age of 13 of what a magnificent place God created. As the captain spoke about the glacier we would view in the distance, he mentioned that in 10 years it may not be visible from the waters edge any more. At that time, I did not understand what he was referring to.
Majestically towering above all land and life forms are the Kenai Mountains. They provide Alaska with the iconic snow-capped peaks which are often picturesque photographs of a historical portrayal of geological activity. Of specific interest to geologists is the fact that the Pacific plate is slipping under the North American Plate and moving at a rate of 2 inches per year. This subduction is dragging the Kenai Mountains into the sea, making Resurrection Bay one of the most tectonically active areas on Earth. The Kenai Mountains extend 192 km (120 miles) Northeast from the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula to the Chugach Mountains and have an average elevation from 3,000-5,000 feet.
Adjacent to Resurrection Bay is Bear Glacier Lagoon which is located in the Kenai Fjord’s National Park. Bear Glacier is the longest glacier in the park, measuring 13 miles long, along with its iceberg filled lagoon. Several hundred years ago, this glacier laid down a large enough terminal moraine that it cut off its own travel to the tide water's edge. Terminal moraines are created at the face of every glacier where the ice is melting. A dark stripe in this massive glacier’s interior shows rock and debris that has been picked up by its downhill journey under the weight of ice and the irrefutable force of gravity. Glaciers that end on land, such as Bear Glacier, become thinner over time if less snow falls, or if temperatures rise. They become thicker if snowfall increases and/or temperatures decrease. Overall, glaciers are sensitive to changes in regional and global climate. Cited in an online article in Environment, December 9, 2019:
[Drastic melting was also reported at Kenai Fjords National Park, which former President Barack Obama once visited to call attention to climate change. There, Bear Glacier, a popular tourist spot, retreated by nearly a kilometer in just 11 months, according to August measurements by the National Park Service.” “It’s almost like you popped it and it started to deflate,” said Nate Lewis, a Seward-based wilderness guide who takes travelers into the new lake that has formed at the foot of the shrinking glacier.]
As Andre' typically kept a journal of his expeditions, he sat down to ponder what the future held for him and his family. Could he continue to provide for his family? Would they be happy and safe? While Andre' would not have to endure the difficulties of a drastically changing ecosystem on which he depended upon, he somehow knew that mankind and the surrounding nature needed to find a better balance.
Satellite imagery enables scientist to study changing glaciers no matter how cold or inaccessible the landscape. These images provide landscape-scale repeat images of each place on the global land surface every 16 days, year after year, cloud-cover permitting. These images reveal specific data that almost all mountain glaciers in the world are retreating. Although a relatively small number of people may live by alaskan glaciers, shrinking ice on the northern land may signal bigger changes for millions of people living elsewhere because the melt water from shrinking glaciers flows to the oceans and raises sea level. According to the intergovernmental panel on climate change ( 2019) Earth’s climate has warmed 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit during the last 100 years. Not only does the warming of the Earth impact the temperature increase in the waters, but also impacts rising sea levels which lead to flooding and increasing storm damage in coastal areas worldwide. Rightly so, there are both current and future concerns for the areas surrounding Resurrection Bay, including Seward.
Half of the world’s people live in low-lying places next to the sea. Glacial melting also impacts glacier-fed streams that provide water for important ecosystems, and for human endeavors such as farming. This critically important information provides us all with an opportunity to adapt to our changing world, leading to a greater understanding of our climate system, climate change, and effects of global warming. What we do about this today, determines the types of pictures we can post tomorrow.
References
(1) https://www.alaska.org/detail/deep-green-water-color
(2) https://www.anchorage.net/discover/glaciers/seward/
(3) https://www.mountainproject.com
(4) https://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm
(5) https://www.alaska.org/detail/bear-glacier
(6) https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/bear_glacier_4web.pdf
(7) https://www.nps.gov/kefj/learn/nature/animals.htm
(8) https://www.netstate.com/states/peop/people/ak_aab.htm
(9) http://npshistory.com/publications/kefj/adhi.pdf
(10) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-alaska-glaciers/disappearing-frontier-alaskas-glaciers-retreating-at-record-pace-idUSKBN1YD2AD
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