[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]You can see Russia from the island of Little Diomede, Alaska, located in the middle of the Bering Strait less than three miles from the Russian island of Big Diomede. Club member and retired geophysicist, Rowland French presented a slideshow and travelogue of a 2007 feasibility study in which he participated. The purpose of the study was to find out if a breakwater could be constructed along the shore of the village.
Diomede Village has a population of 126, 90% of which is native. The island village is difficult to reach because of a treacherous coastline. Fisheries are the only industry on which the population survives. Locals eat anything that can be harvested from the icy waters and land, including the eggs of birds that nest on the island. All other supplies, from heating fuel to toilet paper, are flown in from Nome.
Rowland also participated in a study at Hooper Bay where the Alaskan Tundra juts out into the Bering Sea. The town, with a population of around 1,100, is a metropolis compared to Diomede Village. Yup’ik Eskimos make up 93% of the town’s residents. Hooper Bay lies on the Kuskokwim Delta atop permafrost and, as a consequence, has no water system. Townspeople use honey buckets to gather human waste which they deposit in the town’s sewage dump. Houses in Hooper Bay do not have running water and all residents make use of the local, shared “wash-a-teria” for daily bathing. There are no cars; snowmobiles and 4-wheelers are the only mode of transportation. The town runs on diesel generators.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Dr. Rowland French has spent more than 35 years performing geophysical investigations in support of geotechnical, environmental, and groundwater projects in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and western Canada. That work has involved numerous techniques including seismic refraction, electrical, electromagnetic, downhole and surface wave seismic. His efforts have included development and enhancement of those techniques.
Rowland worked for 25 years with Northwest Geophysical Associates, Inc. (NGA), as president the last 5 years. In 2011 NGA was sold to Zonge International where he continued, serving many of the same clients. In December of 2014 he retired from Zonge International.
Following retirement from Zonge, Rowland continues to consult on near-surface applications of Geophysics as RBF Geophysics, LLC. Much of his current (2015) work has been for Shannon & Wilson where he is on staff as a consulting geophysicist.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]