Ice and Fire

adaptation: managed retreat

In the closing episode of the Permafrost Thaw season, we hear stories of landscape change that have long-sustained and been observed by Native people in Alaska's Kus

usteq

In this episode, we learn the Yup'ik term for climate change-induced catastrophic land collapse, which occurs due to permafrost thaw, erosion, and flooding: Usteq.

the carbon cycle and us

In this episode, we breathe and feel our human connection to the short carbon cycle. Long-sequestered carbon stores from deep underground -- as oil reservoirs or within f

woolly mammoth bones

In episode four we learn about carbon stored within woolly mammoth bones and ancient plants, long held within the walls of the the Cold Regions Research and Engineering L

microbes reawaken

In episode three of Ice and Fire, we hear about a microbial reawakening of microscopic life that was frozen into permafrost, often for thousands of years. These small lif

layers

In episode two we drill into the soil profile to learn about soil layers in northern landscapes. This shows us how deep permafrost is, and the impacts to people as the so

impermanently frozen soil

As global temperatures increase due to anthropogenic climate change, a myriad of impacts result for people and the planet. In this podcast, we share the ramifications of

fire and ice

In the last episode of the season, we dissect Robert Frost's 1920 poem, Fire and Ice, over a tent poetry session. This involves grappling with climate anxiety, and r

glacier thread

In the last full episode of the season, we travel to the Greenland ice sheet and hear from a researcher who collects data at the face of tidewater glaciers, studying the

acoustic refuge

In episode five we hear what makes tidewater glacier habitat an acoustic refuge, and why glaciers are important to other species in the ecosystem. We also discuss One Hea

roping up

In mini-episode four, we listen to part of the glacier travel story shared in the book Do Glaciers Listen?  for a second time. Frank Olive from the University of Alaska F

glacier walkers

In episode three we hear from Judy Ramos in Lingít Aaní. She tells us about the history of glacier travel in the region, and about the Spirit of the Glacier. topics and

ablation stake

In episode two of the Ice and Fire podcast, we are atop the Kennicott Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park with Dr. Eric Petersen and his field team. topics and p

flyover

​In this introductory episode of season one of the Ice and Fire podcast, hear from your host, Theresa Soley, as she shares her unexpected interest in glacial ice. topics