GI Press Releases
The September leaves of boreal trees in Gail Priday’s backyard swirled in a mass of orange against the gray sky.
The image is now captured in Priday’s oil painting, called “Backyard,” which will be one of the many artworks featured in “Views of the Boreal Forest,” a First Friday art show. 
With 365,000,000 acres, Alaska’s variable terrain creates distinct climate regions, curious weather conditions and unique local concerns. Whether it is extreme weather events due to diminished sea ice impacting northwest communities or compromised air quality from cruise ships sailing through Southeast, Alaska’s atmospheric conditions are ripe for investigation. In a two-day workshop, more than 50 scientists from Alaska and the Lower 48 will converge at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute Elvey Auditorium to discuss such issues at the Alaska Weather Symposium, March 12-13, 2013.
Despite the stark contrasts in terrain that surround middle schools throughout the state, the schools have one thing in common – access to an active, exciting cryosphere. The world of ice and snow is the arena in which 20 middle school teachers from across the state will explore in a three-day professional development workshop involving expertise from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Feb. 28 to March 2, 2013. Geophysical Institute professor Matthew Sturm is the scientific advisor for CryoConn, a workshop designed to provide secondary school teachers with outdoor activities, lesson ideas and materials that can be incorporated into their classrooms. The goal is to teach teachers, so they can better their science instruction and encourage young people to pursue science, technology, engineering and math for future study and careers.
Conditions at Poker Flat Research Range weren’t indicative of a possible launch on the evening of Feb. 6, 2013. The skies were cloudy and the aurora wasn’t out, but then, a camera stationed downrange at Kaktovik, Alaska showed some promising aurora. From there, everything lined up to create the perfect conditions for the VISIONS sounding rocket to launch. At 11:21 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, the four-stage rocket began its 16-minute flight into the upper reaches of the atmosphere where it flew through an auroral substorm before impacting in the Arctic Ocean.
Unmanned aircraft systems couple innovative design and construction to assist business, science and the military. They can even help ensure public safety. Alaska offers a vast landscape in which unmanned aircraft can work. Whether it’s monitoring the state’s wildlife, gathering data on precious resources or assisting with rescue efforts, these aircraft are proving themselves a crucial component of living and operating in the Far North.
Nearly 100 stakeholders from across Alaska and the U.S. will converge for three full days in Anchorage, Alaska to discuss recent developments in the UAS field, identify opportunities to use these tools and discuss public policies affecting unmanned aircraft. The Alaska UAS Interest Group annual meeting runs from Sept. 25-27, 2012 at the Embassy Suites Anchorage.
After years of tracking earthquake behavior, scientists have discovered there are two unique types of quakes – the fast and the slow. Most quakes are deemed “fast,” as they’re explosive bursts of energy. The “slow” quakes, on the other hand, take longer to unfold, and build intensity incrementally. Often those slowpoke quakes can kick-start the faster rumbles, which make them even more interesting to examine for scientists.
“Aurora Sensations,” a film created using time-lapse photography of Alaska auroras set to ambient music, will be featured as part of the First Friday event at Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in downtown Fairbanks on September 7, 2012. The showings will be continuous from 5 to 8 p.m. in the center’s theatre. Admission is free.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Alaska Satellite Facility will break ground Aug. 1 on a project to install a new antenna dish on UAF’s West Ridge. The project, when complete, will also result in improvements to the nearby cross-country ski facilities.
When a small team of glaciologists and mathematicians at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute developed the Parallel Ice Sheet Model in 2003, they had no idea that the software program would rise to international prominence.
More than two-dozen middle- and high-school students will take part in a unique blend of science and Alaska Native culture in the Troth Yeddha’ Summer Culture Camp June 18-22, 2012 at Effie Kokrine Charter School in Fairbanks.
