Projects and Publications
Undergraduate
Collecting meltwater discharge at Emmons Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park
Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park, WA
Field titrations of glacial meltwater
In 2015 I began studying subglacial environments on Mount Rainier, WA. I compared discharge, sediment concentration, and anions within the meltwater around the mountain, focusing on South Tahoma, Nisqually, Emmons, Winthrop and Carbon glaciers. These data provided insight about subglacial channels and hydrothermal activity in the volcano.
Poster Presentations:
Benson, V., Todd, C. (2017), Identifying influences on glacial meltwater hydrochemistry using laboratory simulations of subglacial chemical erosion, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 6, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-307707.
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Benson, V., Todd, C. (2016), Investigation of subglacial environments at Mount Rainier, Washington using suspended sediment concentrations and hydrochemical analysis, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-284009.
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Benson, V., Todd, C. (2015), A suspended sediment and geochemical analysis of glacial meltwater on Mount Rainier, WA, Undergraduate presentation, Pacific Lutheran University, November 2015, Vancouver, WA.
Graduate
As of fall, 2022 my work focuses on proglacial lakes in Alaska. I am also involved in analyzing glacial termini using multi-beam sonar.
Mendenhall Lake extent 1984-2019, AK (Rick et al., 2022)