One year ago, in a world with the same mountains and valleys but feeling very different, we made a discovery. My wife, daughter, two neighbor kids, three dogs and I were out enjoying the freedom of crust skiing, when cold overnight temperatures freeze a melting snow pack. A hard top-layer forms allows skiing anywhere, […]
One-hundred-two years ago, a strain of influenza virus spread across the globe, eventually reaching Brevig Mission in Alaska. Five days after the flu hit the Seward Peninsula, 72 of the 80 villagers in Brevig Mission were dead. Through a series of events suited to a detective novel, researchers made a connection between Brevig Mission […]
On the cusp of Interior Alaska’s springtime, Melinda Webster will not experience it this year. She’ll miss most of summer, too. Webster will soon head north of Earth’s landmasses, to spend the next half year cradled in ice. Webster, a sea-ice specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, will in a […]
[smartslider3 slider=4] Nate Becker lives with his family on a quiet stretch of the Yukon River as it flows into Alaska. On a recent ski trip, I visited the Beckers’ home along with two geologist friends. Nate had a question for them. “Why are all the gold deposits located on the south side of […]