Research news
Calling lost chickadees in far north poplars
August 29, 2025
"Chick chick whirrr, chick whirrr." Although it was a recorded birdsong that chattered through each of the poplar stands we entered, I still occasionally caught myself believing we were hearing the real thing -- the call of the gray-headed chickadee, last heard in ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ in 2018.
Botanical garden collection showcases global diversity of currants
August 22, 2025
The Georgeson Botanical Garden in Fairbanks is home to a collection of over 80 varieties of currants. For the past three years, the garden has celebrated these fruits with the annual Far North Currant Festival, which returns Saturday, Aug. 23, from 1 to 4 p.m.
August 21, 2025
The recent landslide-generated tsunami in Tracy Inlet of Southeast ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ recalls the granddaddy of them all: the giant wave that scarred Lituya Bay in 1958.
2022 Pacific volcano eruption made a deep dive into ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥
August 20, 2025
Atmospheric waves from a massive 2022 South Pacific volcanic eruption created seismic waves that penetrated Earth to at least 5 kilometers in ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, creating an opportunity to employ an unusual method of peering into the state's deep subsurface.
If a mountain fell in the wilderness...
August 14, 2025
Camped on an island in Southeast ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ a few mornings ago, Sasha Calvey heard a commotion outside her tent.
State of the climate continues to track global change
August 14, 2025
The American Meteorological Society released its annual State of the Climate report this week, providing a comprehensive overview of global conditions in 2024. ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ scientists contributed data and analysis for the Arctic and ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ regions, as they have for years.
Tsunami-causing slide was largest in decade, earthquake center finds
August 13, 2025
Sunday's massive tsunami-causing landslide in Southeast ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ likely sent more than 100 million cubic meters of debris into an icy fjord and onto a prominent glacier in one of the largest slides in at least 10 years, according to analysis by the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Earthquake Center.
ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ climate report: Above and below normal, July had it all
August 12, 2025
Nome was a hot place to be in early July. The temperature was 20 degrees above normal at one point during that period, according to the monthly summary of the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Climate Research Center. The center, part of the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, released its July summary earlier this month.
August 08, 2025
It has been a rainy week in middle ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥. Blah. But perhaps I judge liquid precipitation a bit harshly.
Research shows early quake warning system could provide critical seconds
August 05, 2025
A proposed earthquake early warning system could have provided several ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ communities an alert of 10 seconds or more ahead of strong shaking from the magnitude 7.3 quake that occurred south of Sand Point near the tip of the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Peninsula in mid-July.
The war within the aspen leaves
August 01, 2025
On one of the friendliest platforms imaginable, a ferocious battle rages. While mowing its way through the surface of a trembling leaf, an aspen leaf miner meets one of its kind. Instead of offering a nuzzle of recognition, the tiny caterpillar tears into the other with its sickle-like mouthparts, while trying to avoid a fatal gash from the other.
UAF satellite facility to manage massive NASA data surge
July 31, 2025
Years of preparation by the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Satellite Facility will ensure that a flood of freely available data from a NASA-India satellite mission that launched Wednesday will be easy for the global public to use.
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Policy brief proposes changes to Yukon River salmon management
July 30, 2025
A group of Indigenous leaders, scientists and policy experts have proposed management actions to promote recovery of Yukon River salmon and manage their harvest more equitably.
Kachemak Bay otters' behavior seems unaffected by oyster farms
July 25, 2025
The growing Kachemak Bay mariculture industry and a booming population of local sea otters appear to have a surprisingly uneventful relationship, according to a new ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ study. The study, published recently in The Journal of Wildlife Management, focused on otters around a handful of oyster farms in the area, comparing their actions to otters that were foraging in nearby control areas without farming. During hundreds of hours of observations, otters weren't seen eating any oysters and the presence of mariculture operations didn't appear to have a notable effect on their behavior.
Sikuliaq underway on unique ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ coastal research voyage
July 25, 2025
A 2,500-mile, 16-day research cruise that began Thursday in Seward and concludes in Nome aims to advance environmental research in coastal ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ through a novel addition: public tours of the research vessel when it makes port calls.
The secrets within Hummingbird Lake
July 24, 2025
Southeast ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ is home to more than 850 species of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. When you count them up, it's more than half of all the plant species in ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, growing in just six percent of the state's area. Glacial ice smothered most of the area not too long ago. So, when did all those plants get there?
Toolik celebrates 50 years with First Friday art show
July 24, 2025
Celebrate 50 years of Arctic research from the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥' Toolik Field Station at an art show this August at Black Spruce Brewing Co.
New federal grant will support UAF doctoral students
July 21, 2025
The ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ has been awarded a $1.9 million federal grant to support 12 new Ph.D. students at the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. The program, Enhancing Marine Ecosystem Research and Graduate Education in ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, will be funded by the National Science Foundation. EMERGE ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ will support three years' worth of academic and summer stipends, as well as a cost-of-education allowance for graduate fellows starting in 2026.
Discover which plants ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ pollinators prefer in webinar
July 17, 2025
While flowers like bird vetch and white sweetclover may be pretty, they are invasive and their spread can be harmful to pollinators, according to an entomologist with the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Cooperative Extension Service.
ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ heavy with summer insects
July 17, 2025
In these days of endless sunshine and air that doesn't hurt to breathe, life is rich in the North, from the multitude of baby birds hatching at this instant to the month-old orange moose calves restocking the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ ungulate population. Less seen are the millions of insects now dancing across the tundra and floating in air.
