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AOCS Agricultural Microscopy Division
Newsletter November 2007

Let Us Share the Light
Patricia Ramsey

Name Change

When I was Chair of the Division I felt that we could open up & grow with a name change. Agricultural Microscopy seemed to fit the bill. I'm thrilled that the new officers, Marge McCutcheon & Neil Vary chose to carry the ball & see this through.

I sent the newsletter to several past members & had these comments. One past member was elated to see the change. Another was not happy. However, I mentioned that we will always have the same camaraderie & down-to-earth qualities. A name change cannot take those away. We will become more appealing to all microscopists. Then, we will open ourselves up to more new members. After our discussion we came to an understanding about why this is very necessary.

Mendenhall Glacier

I promised more about our trip to Alaska last year. I'm featuring the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. Juneau is the state capital. This glacier was named after Thomas Corwin Mendenhall (1841-1924) by President Harrison. Mendenhall was Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard & Geodetic Survey. Also, he helped survey the international boundary between Canada & Alaska. John Muir first named the glacier Auke Glacier in 1879 after the Aak'w Kwaan of the Tlingit Indians.

Glaciers are formed because of climate conditions. In Southeast Alaska, Maritime climate & coastal mountains create favorable conditions of glaciation. Moist air flows toward the mountains. The mild summer conditions cause winter snow accumulation to exceed summer snow melt.

In the mid 1700s this glacier reached its maximum advance. Then the summer melt began to exceed the annual total snow accumulation. At this rate it will take the glacier several centuries to completely disappear.

The ice is blue because it absorbs all colors of the light spectrum except blue which it transmits. Glacier ice may also appear white because some ice is highly fractured with pockets that indiscriminately scatter the visible light spectrum.

All of the above information was from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center Web Site.

The picture you see is of the Mendenhall Glacier & Lake.

Also in this newsletter:

In Focus, by Marge McCutcheon, Chair

Division Profile, by Catherine Watkins

Division Representative Meeting, by Neil Vary

Preview of Agricultural Microscopy Division Technical Sessions Planned for the 99th AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo, by Neil Vary

AOCS Agricultural Microscopy Laboratory Proficiency Program Series, by Gary Ideus, Program provider

Microscopy Websites

Agricultural Microscopy Division web page
AOCS, 2710 S. Boulder, Urbana, IL 61802-6996 USA