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September 30, 2009

Students conduct research at the "icy edge" of climate change in the Peruvian Andes

By Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@ucsc.edu

High in the Peruvian Andes, undergraduate Galen Licht was slipping and sliding on the surface of a glacier. Using ground-penetrating radar to measure the depth of the ice as part of a climate-change research expedition, he was having the time of his life.

It was a perfect job for Licht, who had yearned for an opportunity to work on the front lines of climate change since his first quarter at UCSC.

"I learned more in two weeks than I would've learned in an entire quarter, hands down," said Licht, an experienced ice climber who was unfazed by working at elevations of 15,000 feet.

Climate change isn't an abstract issue in the Andes, where receding glaciers threaten the water supplies that sustain indigenous Andean communities as well as urbanites in coastal Lima. Already, extreme weather events are wreaking havoc on subsistence farming.

Jeffrey Bury, an assistant professor of environmental studies, has conducted fieldwork in Peru for 12 consecutive years, most recently as part of an interdisciplinary, multi-university team documenting the effects of climate change in the Andes. This summer, he added two UCSC undergraduates and a recent graduate to his research group.

"We're helping train students to be the next generation of scientific researchers," said Bury. "They're learning about climate change in the Andes from both natural and social-science perspectives."

Before they headed into the mountains for two weeks of fieldwork, team members attended an international conference in Lima on Andean climate change. For Licht, it was his first high-level scientific meeting. "I felt like a sponge, absorbing information," he said. "I felt really lucky to be there."

After the conference, and a two-day delay caused by riots that shut down the national transportation system, the team traveled to the regional capital of Huaraz and then into remote mountain villages. Undergraduate Laurel Hunt said the sight of her first glacier was a stunning experience.

"The beauty of the landscape was unforgettable," said Hunt. "After all we'd learned during the conference, seeing how much the glacier had receded was really emotional. I was thinking about how, if I ever have children, I might have to explain that there used to be snow in this area. I felt privileged to be seeing it."

Bury's ongoing research project involves interviewing residents of mountain communities to hear how changes in water availability are affecting their livelihoods, while hydrologists and glaciologists from Ohio State University and McGill University are focusing on measuring and documenting glacier recession and hydrological changes. "People are extraordinarily vulnerable to the changes that are taking place," said Bury. "Everyone living along the icy edge of the snow and ice is being impacted right now."

For Hunt, an environmental studies major considering a career in law or environmental policy, seeing Bury and other researchers in action was eye-opening. "Jeff does this every year, and he's developed relationships with the people he's working with in the communities he visits," she said. "Before I went, I didn't know how essential those relationships are and how much dedication it takes. I definitely realized how demanding research is--time-wise, physically, and emotionally."

The physical demands of the trip were extraordinary, noted Bury, an experienced high-altitude mountaineer. The team camped often at 15,000-foot elevations, where the bulk of the work took place: interviews, collecting water samples, installing weather-monitoring equipment, and assessing the glaciers.

"The work is fairly challenging, and the elevations are hard," said Bury. "It's dirty, and almost everyone gets sick at least once. It's expeditionary camping. At times, we looked like a Victorian expedition, because we use mules to haul our equipment."

One of Licht's most taxing--and satisfying--days was spent helping a graduate student from Ohio State University extract core samples from a lakebed at 15,000 feet. The exhausting, daylong procedure involved repeatedly hoisting an 80-pound weight that hammered the extractor into the earth. "We didn't get back to camp until 10 at night, but it was really fun and exciting," recalled Licht. "He was happy because he saw glacial-floor sediment in the sample, so it was nice to know we got something."

Licht spent a year working on related projects in preparation for the trip. He used geographic information systems (GIS) technology to generate a digital elevation model of the region that Bury used in the field. The National Science Foundation provided funds for the trip through its Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program.

Sara Reid, who graduated in 2008 with a double major in anthropology and environmental studies, credits the experience with motivating her to apply to graduate schools this fall. Reid, who is fluent in Spanish, extended her trip by two weeks to help Bury conduct interviews.

"I've wanted to get this field experience since I was in school," said Reid, who attended two trainings and observed one interview by graduate student Adam French before heading into the field on her own. "People were so surprised to see this girl from California at the door," recalled Reid. The 45-minute survey often stretched to an hour or more as her interview subjects invited her in, offering her food and hospitality. Those conversations brought the reality of climate change home to Reid.

"They would point to the barren mountainside and tell me that 15 years ago it was white with snow," she said. "They'd point and show me where their grandfather said there had been snow. The physical changes they're seeing are just astounding. It's happening so rapidly."

As a social scientist, Reid saw the interconnectedness of the data she gathered and the information being compiled by physical scientists. "We were constantly talking informally about water availability and crops, water flows and the wellbeing of residents," she said. "These are people who are already living on the margins of livable areas. Agriculture at high elevations isn't easy. The weather is really harsh, and it gets really cold."

As climate change threatens water resources, residents will be challenged, and so will elected officials and policymakers. "Adapting to those changes and providing support is going to be really important to addressing their vulnerability," said Reid.

If students returned with an appreciation for the interdisciplinary nature of climate change work, and fired up to make a contribution, the trip achieved its goals, concluded Bury.

"We’re not just documenting the end of the world or sending notes on the catastrophe," said Bury. "We're trying to help."

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