On the upper Chena River in the heart of a cold winter, a songbird appeared on a gravel bar next to gurgling water that somehow remained unfrozen in 20-below zero air. Then the bird jumped in, disappeared underwater, and popped up a few feet upstream. The bird continued snorkeling against the current of the stream, […]
Genetic analysis of ancient DNA from a 6-week-old infant found at an Interior Alaska archaeological site has revealed a previously unknown population of ancient people in North America. The findings, published in the Jan. 3 edition of the journal Nature, represent a major shift in scientists’ theories about how humans populated North America. The researchers have […]
(Fairbanks) — Counting caribou in Alaska’s largest herds has become more effective, thanks to a pair of newly acquired digital aerial camera systems. The systems replace World War II-era black-and-white film cameras previously used since the 1970s and enabled biologists last summer to pinpoint numbers for the Porcupine, Fortymile, Central Arctic, Teshekpuk, and Western Arctic […]
NEW ORLEANS — At this gathering of thousands of scientists at a horseshoe bend in the lower Mississippi River, a few talked about a place far away they have been watching for years. “The Arctic shows no sign of returning to the reliably frozen state it was a decade ago,” said Jeremy Mathis, an oceanographer […]