Alaska is expected to face sea level rise, erosion, increased temperatures, loss of snowpack, and melting ice. Ice thickness and duration are indicators of climate variability and change, but data is limited in Alaska. The ALISON project was designed to support observation and data collection on lake ice and snow in the state. This project is one of the case studies in the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators, developed to aid educators in communicating how climate change will affect the environment and how people can become “climate stewards.”

The ALISON project is made possible through the support of a National Science Foundation grant, the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the University of Alaska Natural Resources Fund. ALISON leaders provide equipment to volunteer teams. Participants measure ice thickness, snow depth, snow density, and snow/ice surface temperature, and record observations on environmental conditions (e.g., wind, precipitation), typically once a week. The data collected is then sent to the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute; these data sets can be used to document ecosystem changes and may facilitate predictions of what could happen in the future.