Alaska's Arctic
Mammoths and Microblades: Digging up Ancient Culture in Interior Alaska
On a small hill surrounded by boggy muskeg in the Tanana River Valley, prehistoric skin scrapers made of schist, polished slate tools and glass beads were uncovered in the last week. ... Full story
Is a Sleeping Climate Giant Stirring in the Arctic?
Flying low and slow above the wild, pristine terrain of Alaska's North Slope in a specially instrumented NASA plane, research scientist Charles Miller of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., surveys the endless whiteness of tundra and frozen permafrost below. ... Full story
Measuring Glacier Wastage
Every summer, Alaska’s glaciers melt and send vast quantities of water gushing through silty gray rivers, past towns and villages and finally into the sea. Some glaciers calve directly into the ocean, instantly losing car-sized chunks of ice and wowing boats full of tourists. ... Full story
Begich Solicits Alaskans on Changing Arctic, Disaster Preparedness
In an ongoing effort to reach out to Alaskans and be sure their voices are reflected in a national Arctic strategy, U.S. Senator Mark Begich today held a listening session with experts to discuss preparedness and mitigation efforts for climate change, coastal erosion, flooding, and sea level rise as a result of a warming Arctic. ... Full story
The Art of Ice Coring
The trick to getting a good ice core is to drill straight down into the sea ice, continually clear the slush gurgling up from the ocean, correctly reassemble the core fragments on the tray, take its temperature every couple of inches before it melts or cools, and saw it into hockey-puck-sized chunks without dropping them in the snow. ... Full story
Begich Provision to Spur Arctic Deepwater Port Development Clears the Senate
The Senate, by a bipartisan vote of 83-14, approved the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 (WRDA) on Wednesday, a major bill that authorizes ports, navigation and flood control projects and includes an important provision inserted into the bill by U.S. Sen. Mark Begich to help Alaska develop its remote harbors. ... Full story
Barrow: Spring is in the Air and in the Ice
On the 5-mile snowmachine ride up to Point Barrow, we saw several fresh polar bear tracks the size of dinner plates, a pile of whalebones from last year, and a 3-foot-wide crack in the sea ice that could swallow a sled. ... Full story
Alaska Science Forum: Measuring the Winds of Space
On a clear, cold night two winters ago in Fort Yukon, Carl Andersen watched a rocket he helped design pierce the upper atmosphere. He and three other scientists shot pictures as the rocket ejected bright puffs of chemicals in an inverted V formation more than 60 miles up. ... Full story
Arctic Nearly Free of Summer Sea Ice During First Half of 21st Century
For scientists studying summer sea ice in the Arctic, it’s not a question of “if” there will be nearly ice-free summers, but “when.” And two scientists say that “when” is sooner than many thought — before 2050 and possibly within the next decade or two. ... Full story
The Year Without Summer
An April snowstorm whirling outside my window today seems to be announcing the postponement of spring. As I sit here watching the show, it makes me think back to the shortest summer ever. ... Full story
Interior Department Issues Report to Obama on Arctic
A report put out by an interagency working group headed up by Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes was released on Thursday. ... Full story
Alaska Science Forum: Hybrid Grizzly-Polar Bear a Curiosity
When he heard the news of a grizzly-polar bear hybrid shot in Canada’s Arctic, Tom Seaton thought back to an unusual polar bear hide he’d once seen at Nelson Walker’s home in Kotzebue. ... Full story
