Since 2007 the National Park Service Glacier Bay Field Station in Juneau has conducted systematic aerial survey to acquire high-resolution airborne digital photographs over the Johns Hopkins Inlet using survey methods that were developed by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory for surveying harbor seals in glacial fjords throughout Alaska (Jansen et al. 2006).

Airborne digital photos of seals and ice were acquired during June and August to correspond with the harbor seal pupping and molting season, respectively. The aerial digital imagery provides a permanent record of seal distribution and also captures important information regarding ice conditions and characteristics in Johns Hopkins Inlet.

Examples of 4 cm optical images of Harbor seals resting on glacial ice in Johns Hopkins Inlet: the images highlight the varied ice conditions and seal distributions