On Dec. 21 at 1:02 a.m. Alaska time, this big round head of a planet will tip back, pause, then slowly nod toward the sun. That breathless moment of stillness is the northern hemisphere’s winter solstice. Solstice is a combination of a few Latin words, meaning “sun stands still.” That is somewhat true from this […]
The Seattle-based Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, the nation’s sole heavy icebreaker, is making its way north for the ship’s first winter Arctic deployment since 1982. When Polar Star’s annual resupply mission at McMurdo Station in Antarctica was cancelled due to COVID safety precautions at the station, Coast Guard leaders seized the opportunity to coordinate […]
Not long ago, John Wright of Fairbanks heard a thump against a window above his deck. He pulled on his coat and walked out to investigate. He was surprised to see a lovely pine grosbeak down on the deck. Standing above it was a northern shrike — a predatory songbird with a black eye-mask that […]
The American blue economy, which are resources and services provided by the oceans, contributed about $373 billion to the economy in 2018, and fisheries play a large role in that. Climate change, however, threatens commercial and recreational fisheries; changes in water temperature can affect the environments where fish, shellfish, and other marine species live, and cause them […]