Konrad Steffen, 68, died Aug. 8, 2020, when he fell into a meltwater-filled crevasse on the Greenland ice sheet. The glaciologist never worked in Alaska, but Steffen’s work influenced a scientist here, his countryman Martin Truffer. Truffer was born in Switzerland, as was Steffen. Truffer, a professor who studies glaciers at the Geophysical Institute […]
Anchorage, AK — Large groups of walruses have hauled out on the barrier island near the community of Point Lay and are expected to soon occupy the beaches near Cape Lisburne, Alaska. Walruses are likely to use these haulouts through October and occupy the near-shore waters as they move between haulouts and to and […]
People in an 80-foot charter boat out of Petersburg recently saw what a biologist described as a “less-than-once-in-a-lifetime” event: a white killer whale swimming through the sea. UAF graduate student Stephanie Hayes was on the Northern Song, operated by Captain Dennis Rogers, on August 7, 2020, just offshore of the village of Kake. Hayes, […]
Right now, on the brushy tundra of northern Alaska, grizzly bears are gathering at quiet streams and rivers, attracted by the largest calorie reward they can find — spawning salmon. Until recently, scientists did not know salmon swam up some of these waterways, nor that grizzlies were fattening up on them before entering hibernation. […]