College of Natural Science & Mathematics

The great gray owl has long been thought of as a sentinel of the Alaska wilderness, keeping watch over snow-laden forests as far north as the Brooks Range, well away from human populations.

The massive 2015 flooding of the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska had immediate impacts, including closure of the Dalton Highway for several days, but it also contributed to longer-term ground subsidence in the permafrost-rich region.

The National Science Foundation will fund a $13.9 million program led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks to help multiple communities respond to coastal erosion, flooding, permafrost thaw and other hazards attributed to climate change.

The four years of funding, awarded earlier this month, is part of the foundation’s Navigating the New Arctic program.

Jeff and Jonathan learn about one of Alaska’s strangest animals in a fascinating conversation with Don Larson, Ph.D.

Welcome to our weekly podcast with longtime Anchorage Daily News garden writer and author Jeff Lowenfels and co-host Jonathan White. Think of it as a companion to Jeff’s weekly columns and his popular series of books.

Mount Edgecumbe volcano in Southeast Alaska has become the latest addition to the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s ground-based monitoring network.

An observatory team in late August installed three seismic and Global Navigation Satellite System stations on the volcano and upgraded the only existing station in the vicinity, a temporary one on nearby Crater Ridge.

Getting information about where wildfire smoke is headed in Alaska has become easy for the public, thanks to collaboration between the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Alaska Fire Service.

UAF researchers and data experts have worked with the Alaska Fire Service to add air quality information to the agency’s popular map and data website.

New research by an international team of scientists explains what’s behind a stalled trend in Arctic Ocean sea ice loss since 2007. The findings indicate that stronger declines in sea ice will occur when an atmospheric feature known as the Arctic dipole reverses itself in its recurring cycle.

The many environmental responses to the Arctic dipole are described in a paper published online today in the journal Science. The analysis helps explain how North Atlantic water influences Arctic Ocean climate, a process scientists call "Atlantification." 

 

University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists will make several trips to Greenland over two years to study how meltwater and the ocean affect glacial ice loss. 

The four-year research project, funded by a $565,000 National Science Foundation grant, will create a traveling museum exhibit about the drivers of Arctic climate change. The exhibit will appear first at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, likely in 2026.