Latest Research News and Events
Bering Land Bridge wasn't such a dry place
February 21, 2025
Poking holes in the sea floor that used to be part of the Bering Land Bridge, researchers have found that large swaths of it were floodplains pocked with bogs and ponds that may have restricted passage of animals like the woolly rhino and short-faced bear.
Poll finds Alaskans trust their university for energy information
February 17, 2025
A recent poll of Alaskans found that the University of Alaska is the most trusted organization for the public on the topic of energy supply.
First rocket campaign of 2025 concludes at Poker Flat range
February 13, 2025
Two NASA aurora research rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range earlier this month provided good data for learning more about the fastest observable variations of the solar wind-driven light displays.
The threat within an Alaska mountain
February 07, 2025
Mount Churchill stands in a white corner of the Alaska map, deceptive in its cold, windblown silence. At least twice in the last few thousand years, the peak's ice-covered caldera has spewed ash that reached as far as Ireland and piled up to force northern animals out of the territory.
Thirty years of writing about Alaska science
January 30, 2025
When I was drinking coffee with a cab-driving-author friend of the same vintage last week, he said of my occupation: "It's the best job in Alaska."
Dangerous cold across the land
January 23, 2025
During this time when peak cold often arrives in the northern hemisphere, Alaska today celebrates the king-of-the-cold's birthday.
January 10, 2025
Today is the official national day of mourning for Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States. He died Dec. 29, 2024, at age 100. Carter protected almost half of the land area (43 percent) of this giant state, with multiple new national conservation units, including parks, wildlife refuges and monuments.
January 06, 2025
Fifty-three years ago, an Army helicopter pilot flying over a tundra plateau saw a group of caribou. Thinking something looked weird, he circled for a closer look. The animals, dozens of them, were dead.
Ancient beavers, sea floor bumps, thick air
December 20, 2024
It's time to start emptying the notebook following the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, where more than 25,000 scientists shared their work during five days.
More familiar news of the North
December 13, 2024
I am once again elbow to elbow with thousands of scientists, at a meeting I first attended 25 years ago.