SHI LECTURE TO EXPLORE SOUTHEAST ALASKA’S ICE AGE HISTORY
University at Buffalo geologist to present latest discoveries in glacial science, climate change research
10-4-24
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will host a lecture next week as part of its fall series, spotlighting leaders and researchers in Indigenous knowledge, science, art and cultural innovation.
The lecture will feature Jason Briner, Ph.D., a professor of geology at the University at Buffalo, who will present his talk, “Waking Up from the Last Ice Age.”
Briner’s lecture will explore how glaciers and ice sheets have shaped Southeast Alaska’s landscape over millennia. He will discuss how the most recent ice age dramatically altered sea levels, triggered cataclysmic volcanic eruptions and caused shifts in animal populations as the region’s islands were covered and uncovered by ice. The talk will include new research findings from Briner’s team of geologists and biologists, in partnership with the Tongass Forest Service, and preview ongoing studies aimed at understanding how the region’s climate has fluctuated between colder and warmer periods since the last ice age.
Briner has conducted more than 40 research expeditions above the Arctic Circle, focusing on the impact of climate change on glaciers in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Norway. He has published more than 150 papers on ice sheet dynamics and is recognized for his contributions to understanding how glaciers and ice sheets respond to climate change.
The lecture is scheduled for noon, Tuesday, Oct. 8, in Shuká Hít within the Walter Soboleff Building, 105 Heritage Way, in Juneau. The event will be livestreamed and posted on SHI’s YouTube channel.
Note: Dylan Robinson’s Oct. 24 lecture and Willie Hensley and Emil Notti’s Nov. 7 lecture have been canceled. SHI staff are working to fill these slots.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.
Caption: Jason Briner. Photo courtesy of the State University of New York at Buffalo.