The massive 2015 flooding of the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska had immediate impacts, including closure of the Dalton Highway for several days, but it also contributed to longer-term ground subsidence in the permafrost-rich region. That’s the finding by assistant professor Simon Zwieback at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute in a study published […]
A few weeks ago, Sarah Gravem lowered a “ravenous, terrifying predator” from her boat down to the ocean floor off Sitka. Then she released it. In a slow-motion drama, sea urchins fled as a pizza-size sunflower sea star oozed toward them. Gravem explained: “I release one right in the middle and watch everybody freak out. […]
A dog can tell you a lot about the outdoors. When a Lab vacuums the ground with her nose and her tail spins like a helicopter blade, you know a grouse is about to fly. When the dog stops like a dragonfly, then runs off sniffing an invisible path, a snowshoe hare has crossed your […]
Top Department of Defense civilian and military leaders visited the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute in late August and learned about the numerous ways the institute’s facilities and researchers support the nation’s defense in the Arctic. Undersecretary of Defense Heidi Shyu visited on Aug. 24, and Air Force Lt. Gen. David Nahom, commander of […]