In a gorgeous warm May this year, we have not yet sniffed the bitter scent of flaming spruce. When we do, some of us will think back to a year that still haunts us. In summer 2004, a Vermont-sized patch of Alaska burned in wildfires. That hazy summer was the most extreme fire year in […]
Some of the weather conditions that led to the destructive McKinley and Swan Lake fires in 2019 could be a mainstay of Southcentral Alaska summers in the future, according to a recent article by a team of scientists with the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Twenty-three researchers — 13 of them core members of […]
A new project will make it possible for scientists to better track a suite of phenomena in Alaska ranging from earthquakes to wildfires to sea ice. The five-year, $6.9 million project funded by the National Science Foundation will enhance measurements of Arctic change across western and northern Alaska. It’s led by the Alaska Earthquake Center, […]
As boreal forest wildfires increase in severity and frequency, new patterns of post-fire recovery are emerging. Research led by Jill Johnstone and colleagues at the U.S. National Science Foundation-supported Bonanza Creek Long-term Ecological Research site found that recent wildfires led to changes in tree species dominance that are persisting through post-fire succession in Alaska’s boreal forests. Boreal black […]