As I started hiking a ridgetop during the July 4th weekend, a friend told me to look for the mushroom rock ahead. At first, I thought I may have heard her wrong. But a few hours later I saw the rock she was talking about. It appeared to be a granite tor, but looked […]
A scientist recently wondered which animal travels farthest across the landscape in one year. In doing his research, he found a few Alaska creatures near the top of the list. Kyle Joly is a biologist with the National Park Service in Fairbanks. He works for both Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve […]
Three new research tools will help scientists and the public better understand the effects of climate change on freshwater fish. A stream classification tool, a searchable database of research papers, and a salmon life cycle model, funded by agencies and public dollars, will all be accessible online. “Freshwater aquatic ecosystem data are relatively scarce […]
It has been a rainy week in middle Alaska. Blah. But perhaps I judge liquid precipitation a bit harshly. Rain is, after all, the free distribution of a substance more valuable than gold. And, even in the Southeast’s Little Port Walter — where residents endure 80 days each year with precipitation amounts greater than […]