As Arctic temperatures continue to rise, migratory barnacle geese have responded by speeding up their 3,000-kilometer migration in order to reach their destination more quickly with fewer stops along the way, according to new evidence reported in Current Biology on July 19. Unfortunately, the birds’ earlier arrival isn’t making as much of a difference as one might […]
Pacific cod support a large commercial fishery in the Gulf of Alaska. In 2017, NOAA Fisheries scientists at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center who monitor this fish stock reported a steep loss in adult fish. This followed a three-year marine heatwave, known as the ‘Warm Blob,’ which occurred from 2014 to 2016. Such losses have challenged the fishery, prompting […]
Though it resembles a peaceful rose swirling in the darkness of the cosmos, NGC 3256 is actually the site of a violent clash. This distorted galaxy is the relic of a collision between two spiral galaxies, estimated to have occured 500 millions years ago. Today it is still reeling in the aftermath of this event. […]
Atmospheric scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have launched an effort to better understand urban air quality problems in northern cities. During the next few years, Bill Simpson and Jingqiu Mao of UAF’s Geophysical Institute hope to join international researchers on a large-scale field study to understand the chemistry behind air pollutants in Arctic […]