A sled dog stands alert on a snowy porch in early April in Two Rivers, just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, watching a pair of moose among birch and spruce trees in the forest beyond. Sunlight filters through the trees onto the snow-covered ground as the moose partially hide in the woods.

Alaska climate report: April brought sharp weather swings

May 18, 2026
April was a month of meteorological change in Alaska, as expected each year. What stood out this time, however, was the wide range of conditions...
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A NASA sounding rocket carrying the FOXSI-5 mission lifts off from Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks at 11:23 a.m. Thursday, May 14, 2026. A bright plume of flame and smoke rises from the launch pad as the rocket climbs above a dense forest of spruce and leafless birch trees.

Mission to study solar flares launches from Poker Flat

May 15, 2026
A NASA sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range at 11:23 a.m. Thursday in a continuing mission that uses X-rays to study the sun...
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Waiting to fail

May 6, 2026
Research about 2025 Alaska landslide and tsunami warns that more are coming
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A wide aerial view shows the landslide scar, descending from a steep mountainside into the fjord near a glacier terminus. Gray rock and debris cut through the center of the mountain, reaching the water below, where floating ice and sediment spread across the fjord.

Study of 2025 Alaska landslide and tsunami contains warnings

May 6, 2026
Scientists studying the massive August 2025 landslide and tsunami in Southeast Alaska warn that the likelihood of similar large-scale events has...
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Three bundled researchers work at a snow-covered permafrost coring site in a boreal forest near Fairbanks under a bright, low winter sun. From left, Louise Farquharson of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and Shannon Hibbard and Jennifer Kielhofer, both of the Desert Research Institute, operate coring equipment beside a dug trench, with shovels, packs and field gear spread across the snow in the Goldstream Creek area on March 23, 2026.
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Reading the permafrost

May 4, 2026
Scientists want to understand how people can adapt to, and plan for, a warming Arctic.
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Three bundled researchers work at a snow-covered permafrost coring site in a boreal forest near Fairbanks under a bright, low winter sun. They are operating coring equipment beside a dug trench, with shovels, packs and field gear spread across the snow in the Goldstream Creek area on April 13, 2026.

Coring for permafrost insights in the Goldstream Valley

May 4, 2026
GOLDSTREAM CREEK, Fairbanks — Drilling for a permafrost core on this late-March day first required creation of a workspace. At this site low in...
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The payload section of the FOXSI-5 mission rests on a wheeled support frame inside the payload assembly building at Poker Flat Research Range. The cylindrical instrument, wrapped partly in gold thermal insulation, is surrounded by equipment crates and technicians preparing it for flight.

Poker Flat to launch rocket to image solar flares

April 30, 2026
The fifth flight of a NASA-led mission using X-rays to learn more about the sun is scheduled for a daytime launch from Poker Flat Research Range...
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A round outdoor thermometer mounted on a snow-covered tree reads about minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit in a quiet, snow-blanketed forest of tall trees. Long blue shadows stretch across the deep snow under a clear sky. The image shows extreme cold conditions at a home in Two Rivers, Alaska.

Alaska climate report: March 2026 saw dangerous weather

April 21, 2026
March brought a series of dangerous and disruptive weather events across Alaska. Severe cold combined with powerful storms to affect communities...
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Cover of the book “Journey Through the Heliosphere." The design features a dark background with a bright, symmetrical, mandala-like illustration in warm colors (orange, red, and yellow) representing the sun and solar system processes.

UAF, NASA create fact-filled coloring book about the sun

April 20, 2026
A new sun-based and science-focused coloring book produced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in collaboration with NASA is now available. The...
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About

Since it was established by an Act of Congress in 1946, scientists at the Geophysical Institute have studied geophysical processes from the center of the Earth to the surface of the sun and beyond, turning data and observations into information useful for state, Arctic and national priorities.

Contact info

The GI is located on the West Ridge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

2156 Koyukuk Drive
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775

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