Junior SeaKeepers 24-25 Webinar 8: Dr. Bruce Molnia - Climate Change and Alaskan Glacier Evolution

Overview

On Tuesday, March 25th, 2025, The International SeaKeepers Society hosted the eighth Junior SeaKeepers Program webinar for 2024-25 cohort students. For this virtual talk, we were thrilled to have Dr. Bruce Molnia, Research Geologist, Climate Scientist, and former employee of the US Geological Survey (USGS) and several prestigious Universities, to discuss his work with climate change and glacier evolution analyses through repeat photography throughout Alaska.

Bruce Molnia, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey Scientist Emeritus, serves as Senior Science Advisor for National Civil Applications. His research interests focus on the cryosphere, especially understanding temperate glacier response to changing climate. Bruce, the namesake for Molnia Bluff, a bedrock feature in Antarctica’s Dry Valleys, has authored or co-authored more than 550 journal articles, abstracts, reports, maps, and books, including Alaska, the 550+ page ‘chapter’ of the Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World (https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1386k/). Dr. Molnia has collaborated with SeaKeepers DISCOVERY Program on an 11-day expedition in Prince William Sound aboard DISCOVERY Vessel Jillian Glenn doing repeat photography of Alaska's evolving glaciers in the summer of 2022. With the help of the SeaKeepers DISCOVERY Program, Dr. Molnia was able to reach these remote regions that may otherwise allude climate scientists in order to create a more comprehensive database of the change occurring in Alaska's glacial regions due to global climate change.

By attending webinars led by partner research scientists, our Junior SeaKeepers have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the diversity of work that exists in the marine conservation realm. Additionally, students get direct access to accomplished professionals and can see the advancements in the field that are the result of research happening every day all over the world. Dr. Molnia's research was a great addition to our webinar series, as it highlighted the challenges associated with climate research and environmental monitoring in response to rapid global climate change. Through speaking with Dr. Molnia about his research and personal history, we hope that our JSKs were able to collect some inspiration for both their research projects and their professional futures moving forward.