Some scientists see clues in hurricanes and far north sea ice
The frequency and power of hurricanes far away makes some wonder if shrinking northern sea ice is “setting up bizarre weather patterns that are happening more often.”
This month, an Alaska scientist will switch on an artificial aurora
People travel north from all over for a chance to see the aurora borealis or northern lights. Soon, Chris Fallen will make his own.
North Korea’s nuclear bomb test lit up seismometers in Alaska
More than 400 instruments planted around Alaska have registered North Korean tests, which are of scientific interest to earthquake researchers in the state.
Seeking clues by slicing 20,000-year-old mammoth tusks
Slicing a 6-foot, 100-pound woolly mammoth tusk lengthwise tends to be a delicate and difficult task for the Alaska scientists at UAF.
Polar bears may have survived previous warm periods
Evidence suggests polar bears were around 125,000 years ago, when the planet was warm enough that hippos lived where London is now, and little, if any sea ice existed.
A trek across 850 miles of Alaska ends — fittingly — with a final bear encounter
And so it ended: Ninety-six days of summer 2017 sleeping in the home of black and grizzly bears. No unpleasant encounters.
Reflections from the last miles of a trans-Alaska trek
The final few footsteps of a hike along the length of the trans-Alaska pipeline are filled with reflections on a summer of songbirds and steel.
With the waning miles of a trans-Alaska trek come changes visible — and invisible
Tundra plant biomass has boomed in the 20 years between Ned Rozell's two trans-Alaska pipeline hikes. But without researchers, he wouldn't have spotted the trend by himself.
Crossing from boreal forest to tundra at Atigun Pass is like entering another world
Goodbye red squirrels, moose flies and hot summer nights. Hello to a place where year-round temperatures are too cold to allow most trees to grow.
On an Alaska adventure, a good dog can make all the difference
I have had several human partners on this walk along the trans-Alaska pipeline. But only Cora has been there for every step.
On a long hike in the Arctic, you learn to savor each bug-free moment
An insect biologist once said that extreme cold and biting flies maintain the circumpolar north’s low human population. I agree.
Light-filled days (and nights) bring the far north wilderness to life
It's high summer and life is abundant along the path of the trans-Alaska pipeline.