Planet Walk puts Things in Perspective
It is a pleasant day for a walk in middle Alaska, with blue sky overhead, sandhill cranes croaking above the University of Alaska Fairbanks farm, and the sharp scent of…
Thermometers at Work Everywhere in Alaska
Every Alaskan owns at least one version of a sensitive scientific instrument: the thermometer. But what is it measuring? Because hot and cold are relative terms, sometimes our senses can’t…
Atmospheric Rivers Sometimes Soak Alaska
Photo: An atmospheric river that transported immense amounts of water vapor from the tropics to Southcentral Alaska in November 2018. NOAA image Nome, August 2019: More than 2 inches of…
Mummy Squirrel Tells of a Different Alaska
Image: This mummified ground squirrel, curled up at lower right in its nesting material, lived in Alaska about 20,000 years ago. Photo by Ben Gaglioti One fall day in…
When Biologists Stocked Alaska with Wolves
Alaska had been a state for one year in 1960 when its Department of Fish and Game conducted a wolf-planting experiment on Coronation Island in Southeast Alaska. At the…
Northern Wheatears now on Remarkable Journey
Photo: A northern wheatear flies near Wales, Alaska, with a geolocator device on its back. Photo by Heiko Schmaljohann Birds that spent their summer next to muskoxen are now leaving…
Icelandic Glaciologist Feels a Weighty Responsibility
Video: Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, also known as Tolly, a glaciologist and university professor from Iceland, recommends people watch Swedish high-school student Greta Thunberg’s presentation. Youtube Icelanders will soon install…
Extreme Melting where Glacier meets Ocean
Image: The terminus of LeConte Glacier lies in an ocean bay about 25 miles east of Petersburg in Southeast Alaska. Photo by Roman Motyka LeConte Glacier near Petersburg is…
Dragons of Summer Now on the Hunt
Image: A sedge darner dragonfly rests on a leaf. The dragonfly’s compound eyes are each made up of thousands of light- and motion-sensitive units. Photo-Ned Rozell The Piper Super…
