Anchorage Daily News

NED ROZELL

When it comes to sense of smell, dogs rule

A dog can tell you a lot about the outdoors. When a Lab vacuums the ground with her nose and her tail moves like a helicopter blade, you know a grouse is about to fly.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

NED ROZELL

Journey into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

Almost 100 years after the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is still a moonscape of ash and volcanic rock, without a tree or shrub in sight.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

NED ROZELL

Researcher spends bad night in a good box on volcano

On a wet, windy, foggy night a few summers ago, Guy Tytgat checked into the loneliest hotel in the Aleutians. His room was four feet wide and five feet tall, made of fiberglass and perched on the lip of a volcanic crater.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

NED ROZELL

Reindeer processing unit moved to Western Alaska

Like herds of northern cattle that lived on tundra plants, more than 600,000 reindeer ranged over Alaska less than a century ago. Today reindeer numbers are down to about 10,000 or so, due to their tendency to elope with caribou, be eaten by wolves and bears, and other reasons.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

NED ROZELL

Fall seems to arrive a little later in the Interior

Recently a few biologists at the Alaska Bird Observatory made an observation about our autumn. It appeared that the leaves were hanging on the trees for an extra-long time. An expert confirmed this.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

New play celebrates pioneers' love for each other and Alaska

The lore of Alaska teems with tough guys, gritty miners, mighty hunters, brash bush pilots, bullies, bandits, roughnecks, whalers, warriors, card sharps and shamans. But few of these bravos had as much long-term impact on Anchorage as the quiet, cautious, bespectacled druggist and his chic lady love

NED ROZELL

Thaw scars are widespread across the northland

One month ago, I wrote about a dramatic landscape feature in Western Alaska called the Selawik Slump. There are also many of these beacons of change in the Yukon Territory, according to Doug Davidge of Whitehorse.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

NED ROZELL

Reflections from snow about to alter Alaska

You can see it on the mountains -- a clean, platinum finish that wasn't there yesterday. It's in the forecast for here in the lowlands too. Snow. Our world is about to change.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

NED ROZELL

Drilling for permafrost on Mount Kilimanjaro

The words permafrost and equator don't seem to go together, but ground that has remained frozen for at least two summers survives in high, cold refuges scattered near the globe's midsection. A team of Alaskans is headed to Africa to try to find it.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

Senator scans Alaska history at library

Peering intently at a richly detailed 1914 fire insurance map of her hometown, Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Friday delighted in the precision, pointing out Ketchikan landmarks familiar to her childhood.

NED ROZELL

'Cold' author wins over Alaskans with his knowledge

When I met Bill Streever last year, as we chatted while standing on the thawed ground of an old permafrost research site, I was a bit jealous when he mentioned his notion to write an entire book on cold and things related to it. What a simple, super idea, I thought.

Reading the North

New books of interest to Alaskans

NED ROZELL

Selawik Slump grows unabated, threatens fishery

About five years ago, Kevin Fox was flying over the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Alaska when he noticed the upper portion of the clear-running Selawik River looked cloudy.