Science

A combination of factors — record lightning strikes, dry conditions and extreme heat — led to the worst fire season in recent memory.

The enormous amount of data collected is being used to study ocean acidification that can harm and kill certain marine life.

When ice knocked instruments that measure river levels offline, USGS hydrology experts leaped into action.

Communities and conservation groups have raised concerns about the project. Researchers said they won’t move forward with field testing until it’s deemed safe.

There are still likely to be pulses of ice passing through the river there, but the first stage of breakup was somewhat benign.

There is a high potential for snow-jam or icemelt flooding, but recent cold nights have allowed for a relatively consistent melt so far.

During the short Arctic summer, mosquitoes form massive swarms. But Alaska mosquitoes are less dangerous than those in other places.

With an annual runoff of 650 million acre-feet, Alaska has about one-third the total of the country’s water.

After a polar bear damaged George Divoky’s cabin on Cooper Island, he returned to patch up the spot he’s used to monitor bird populations for nearly 50 years.

From moose to owls, a number of creatures struggled through a winter with above normal snowpack. How will they fare going forward?

Permafrost loss, flooding and giant underground landslides known as “frozen debris lobes” are three of the biggest concerns.

The cause of the quakes under Mount Edgecumbe, near Sitka, are not known but don’t necessarily indicate volcanic activity, scientists say.

Knut Kielland with UAF’s Department of Biology and Wildlife is trying to understand the ecology of the boreal-forest cats.

Science writer Ned Rozell joins a UAF ecologist on a mission to track the movement of the boreal-forest cats.

This week’s especially good aurora forecast could bring an array of colors, including deep reds and pinks.

A research expedition involving American, Canadian and Russian scientists is trying to understand salmon booms and busts in the “black box’” of the high seas.

The journey, undertaken in 1885, was compared to the Lewis and Clark expedition of 80 years before.

Nearly 50 scientists from the U.S. and Europe descended on Fairbanks recently to study the sources of air pollution and how the contaminants interact in the city’s cold and dark climate.

Southeast Alaska often gets washed by the dramatic weather events that often lead to flooding. But scientists are gaining data in hopes to make them more predictable.

Studies indicate that women are less susceptible to fatigue, burn fat more efficiently and likely pace themselves better than men.

The songbirds with the mating call of “quick, three beers” can travel up to 7,000 miles each way from Alaska to South America and back again.

Most insects either develop freeze-avoiding techniques or prep their bodies to tolerate the cold. Some do both.

At the blustery Howard Pass weather station, a recent reading indicated a wind chill of 91 degrees below zero.