Press Releases

All GI press releases are displayed here. You may select a group from the list on the left to view a more targeted selection of press releases.

Willow rose hosts insect drama within

From the more-you-look-the-more-you-see file, I present the willow rose. The willow rose is lovely, green and unexpected, its whirled petals gracing the top of Alaska willows lik

Rain curses, graces Alaska landscape

Rain. At this point in the brief Alaska summer, you may not be its greatest fan, especially if you live in Eagle, where rain has twice within a month eaten your road connection to the rest of North

Jet streams, wet weather, and floods

In 1967 the Chena River spilled over its banks and flooded Fairbanks. For more than a week, the city core was underwater, and the town became a lake more than five miles wide. The flood forced thou

Dry wood is good wood

A friend says that among his most satisfying moments are those he stands contemplating his pile of firewood. He inhales the sweetness of birch, the tang of aspen and the sharp bite of spruce while

The largest black spruce in Alaska

Forester Tom Malone once guided me on a trek to see Alaska’s largest black spruce tree. It was a short adventure. The 71-foot tree is a two-minute walk from my office. The

A friend remembers Ted Stevens' advocacy for Alaska science

When Syun-Ichi Akasofu first approached Ted Stevens, the Japanese-American leader of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute was desperate — the institute's rocket ra

Is that caterpillar looking at me?

On a recent expedition to Alaska’s Quartz Lake, four-year-old visitor to Alaska Garrett Ast plucked a caterpillar from a twig. As Garrett held it in his palm, the caterpillar reared up and &

Cellphones as citizen-science tools

“Found Sea Otters Dead at 3851 Homer Spit Road . . . Right in front of oyster facility.” Verena Gill was thrilled when this message appeared on her iPhone on a recent

Summer's over for northern sea ice

On or within a few days of September 15, sea ice experts will make the call declaring that sea ice floating on northern oceans is covering its least amount of ocean surface in 2010. The great north

Autumn waters north of Barrow heavy with whales

Attracted by some of the smallest creatures in Alaska, dozens of the state’s largest gathered last week off Point Barrow. Bowhead whales in groups of almost 100 were group

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