Mèlange, Glaciers & Bears, Oh My!

That pretty much sums up recent field work along the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska, USA, where I spent 16 days in July with UT Austin colleague Mark Helper and former UT M.S. student Kory Kirchner.  Our aim was a reconnaissance study of the Chugach accretionary complex, both along Turnagain Arm near Anchorage and along the southern Kenai Peninsula across Kachemak Bay from the town of Homer.  The Chugach represents one of the longest along-strike exposures of a shallow accretionary wedge in the world and coastal and glacially polished exposures of cherts, greywackes, basalts and ultramafic rocks are superb. Check out the photos and captions below for some of the highlights!