GI Press Releases
FAIRBANKS, Alaska—Okmok Volcano in the Aleutian Islands began erupting at 11:43 a.m. Saturday, just five hours after seismologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory began detecting earthquakes. Okmok is located on Umnak Island near Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands. 
Team teachers with scientific experts and you’ll get a recipe that will fuel future scientists. With the Science Teacher Education Program, Alaska teachers receive intensive training in the earth sciences, as well as lesson development ideas during two STEP Summer Institutes hosted by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska—The aurora isn’t visible during the summer months in Fairbanks—that is, until now! Scientists from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are providing daily aurora shows and information to the public at Pioneer Park until Sept. 1, 2008.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska— The BEAR is awake. The Alaska Space Grant Program’s Balloon Experiment And Research Program, or BEAR, has launched its first balloon from Poker Flat Research Range. The launch marked the culmination of more than five months of work by researchers with Space Grant and the Arctic Amateur Radio Club, which formed the program in December.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska—The University of Alaska Fairbanks is revitalizing the West Ridge area of campus with an ambitious green space project. The university will celebrate the dedication of West Ridge Plaza on Monday, May 19, 2008, from 1 to 2 p.m.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska—During the mid-1970s, Glenn Shaw of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks stumbled upon the notion of Arctic haze after collecting aerosol samples from Barrow, Alaska. At that time, many believed the Arctic to contain relatively pure air due to its remote locale and minimal population. However, the concept was rocked once Shaw’s data indicated there was a murky cloud of pollution that hovered above the Arctic during winter and spring. Now, more than 30 years later, the grey-blue hue of Arctic haze is a well-known phenomenon of the north. It’s a mixture of industrial pollution and it does not originate in the Arctic, but migrates there aboard air currents that pass over the Far East and Eurasia.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska—To honor the memory of long-time employee and supporter of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, family of the late Daniel Carey Crevensten have asked that interested individuals make a donation in Crevensten’s name to the Geophysical Institute Associates Endowment Fund—a fund Crevensten himself helped establish.
One of the best-kept secrets on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus is located in Room 204 of the Akasofu Building. There, the Alaska Satellite Facility’s User Services office, Map Office, and GeoData Center have merged to occupy one space.
Whether it’s monitoring the migration of marine mammals in the Beaufort Sea, or mapping summer wildfires that flare up in Alaska’s Interior, opportunities abound for unmanned aircraft in the Arctic. An ideal tool for many projects, unmanned aircraft systems can fly as long as 40 hours at a time, often in less than ideal conditions. Stakeholders from a variety of agencies, universities and associations will converge in Fairbanks Oct. 16-17, 2007 to discuss UAS technology, potential projects, and methods for collaboration at the Arctic Unmanned Aircraft Stakeholders Meeting at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge.
Fairbanks, Alaska—Stargazers, aurora enthusiasts, and more can peruse a variety of products and information, or climb into a portable planetarium to witness a star show at the upcoming Western Alliance Conference of Planetarium Associations Sept. 19-22, 2007. More than 70 planetarium
directors, staff and vendors from the western United States will visit the Interior to show off their wares at the Westmark Hotel, and to take part in a number of tours and lectures at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
