Yellowstone Field Expeditions, 1961-1984, Undated

Among Schaefer’s most successful ventures via the ASRC was the Yellowstone Field Expeditions. In 1960, Schaefer met with National Park Service members in Wyoming’s Grand Tetons to discuss the possibility of leading scientific studies in Yellowstone National Park. Specifically, he was interested in the behavior of supercooled clouds that form in the area of Old Faithful. Clouds and condensation nuclei were still a fascination of Schaefer’s long after his G.E. days, and he foresaw many different kinds of scientists—including cloud physicists—gathering at Yellowstone once a year to devote themselves to conducting experiments, making observations, and comparing outcomes.

January 1961 saw the first Yellowstone Field Research Expedition (YFRE) come and go with great success. Schaefer took care to invite scientists who likely knew each other by reputation but had not had the chance to meet, thereby cementing new professional relationships as well as friendships. He also tried to invite scientists of all ages and backgrounds so that new professionals would benefit from the experience of those who were more seasoned, and scientists from assorted specialties could share their expertise all around. Generally, the expeditions began shortly after the new year and lasted four weeks. Participants could stay all month or come for a portion of it.

As founder of the program, Schaefer nearly always stayed the entire time, with the exception of the last couple of years when he left early to see if the remainder of the expedition would run smoothly without him. While the program ran efficiently in terms of the participants involved, atmospheric conditions had changed since Yellowstone officials began allowing snowmobiles in the park in 1965. The effect on the environment was detrimental to the scientists’ studies, and drastic changes in the administration of the park added to the YFRE woes. The last expedition occurred in 1971 despite Schaefer’s original intentions to continue the program. He shifted studies to Northern Arizona and Southern Utah in the summertime for purposes of analyzing air pollution and land use, but that program lasted just two years.

This subseries contains administrative papers dealing with the operation of the YFRE as well as Schaefer’s own notes, calculations, and photographs of his work at the Yellowstone National Park. Although there is a separate subseries for ASRC reports and publications, those pertaining specifically to the Field Expeditions are included in this subseries. Please note that there are two photo albums in this subseries that are housed in a separate, oversized box.