Sea ice in the Bering Sea shrank to its lowest levels in recorded history in 2018, profoundly affecting northwest Alaska residents who depend on marine resources for food, cash and culture, according to a new peer-reviewed study. “This is an extreme event with immediate and long-lasting repercussions. It’s indicative of very rapid change in the […]
Forty years later, another plastic canary has come home to roost. In August, University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist Ben Jones was hiking near Drew Point on the northern coast of Alaska. He noticed pilot Jim Webster walking toward him, while flicking a little yellow Frisbee his way. That yellow plastic disc, about 7 inches round, […]
Alaska State Troopers revealed at least three accidents, one fatal, that occurred on the Sterling Highway within an hour on Thursday morning as a result of icy highway conditions. The first call came in at 6:55 am on Thursday reporting that a vehicle had rolled over near the intersection of the Sterling Highway and Longmere […]
A dead seal found on a beach near Kotzebue, Alaska. Credit: NPS/Raime Fronstin NOAA is declaring an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) for bearded, ringed, and spotted seals in the Bering and Chukchi seas. From June 1, 2018 to present there have been reports of 282 dead seals, with 119 stranded seals in 2018 and 163 in 2019. The increase […]