A meeting with glaciologist M. Jackson on a feminist approach to glaciers research and the implications of glaciers in human and non-human bodies in the context of climate change. Moderated by Amanda Piña.
Dr. M. Jackson is a geographer, glaciologist, TED Fellow, and National Geographic Society Explorer. M. earned a doctorate from the University of Oregon where she examined how climate change transformed people and glacier communities in Iceland. M. is the recipient of many grants and awards, including three U.S. Fulbright grants and a U.S. Fulbright Ambassadorship. M currently serves as an Arctic Expert for the National Geographic Society, holds a Masters of Science degree from the University of Montana, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia. She’s worked for over a decade in the Arctic chronicling climate change and communities, guiding backcountry trips and exploring glacial systems. Her 2015 memoir While Glaciers Slept: Being Human in a Time of Climate Change weaves together the parallel stories of what happens when the climates of a family and a planet change. Her 2019 book, The Secret Lives of Glaciers, explores the profound impacts of glacier change on the human and physical geography of Iceland. She is currently at work on her first novel. M travels extensively giving public talks and lectures on climate change and women in science.
Glaciar La Paloma is located on the summit of the hill of the same name, about 30 km northeast of Santiago de Chile, and its highest altitude is 4,910 meters above sea level. It is one of the largest in the Central Andes of Chile. Like most of the Andean glaciers, it was formed during the last ice age; the coldest climatic conditions favored the accumulation and later compaction of snow, generating this glacier. In the past, it covered a large part of what today is the Yerba Loca Valley. Today this giant is retired and confined to the top of the mountain. The accentuated retreat of the glacier (marking the trend of the other Andean glaciers) has become very evident in recent years, especially in those with low precipitation in the central zone.