Skip to main content
Visitors on a tour view the iconic blue satellite dish on the roof of the Elvey Building, home of the Geophysical Institute. GI/UAF photo by Bryan Whitten

Geophysical Institute and Poker Flat Research Range announce summer tours

Geophysical Institute
April 29, 2025
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is offering free public tours to showcase some of its science facilities. Two different...
Read more  
A mid-latitude system swirls in the Gulf of Alaska on Nov. 12, 2019. These systems tend to form within the Aleutian Low, which is a semi-permanent breeding ground for some of Earth’s strongest storms. Photo courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Vibrations so small you can’t feel them hold Alaska climate secrets

Geophysical Institute
April 22, 2025
Tiny Gulf of Alaska ocean wave vibrations unnoticeable by humans reach as far north as the state’s Arctic coastline. These and other very low...
Read more  
UAF doctoral student Kaytan Kelkar in Denali National Park in March for work on continuing permafrost research. Kelkar rode a sled towed by a National Park Service dog team. Photo courtesy of Kaytan Kelkar

In Alaska, getting to a research site can be a bit different

Geophysical Institute
April 21, 2025
You go where the science is. In Alaska, that can mean traveling by dog team. “I had never done that, and it was definitely more difficult than I...
Read more  
Lee Ann Munk samples the surface at a closed-basin brine in Argentina in 2023. Photo courtesy of Lee Ann Munk

UAF research provides a roadmap for soaring global lithium demand

Geophysical Institute
April 15, 2025
New work by a University of Alaska Fairbanks professor fills some gaps in knowledge about Earth’s resources of lithium, a critical element...
Read more  
 Laguna Caliente, in one of Poás volcano’s three craters, is one of the world’s most acidic natural lakes. Photo courtesy of ACUASI

UAF drones enter the hot zone to make volcano research safer

Geophysical Institute
April 11, 2025
The four-propeller drone sitting briefly on a rocky and dusty surface in Central America in early March had an impressive diameter of nearly 7 ½...
Read more  
The image shows the ice extent — defined as the total area in which the ice concentration is at least 15% — at its 2025 maximum, which occurred on March 22. NASA illustration by Trent L. Schindler

Alaska climate report: Record low maximum Arctic sea ice

Geophysical Institute
April 9, 2025
Winter’s sea ice extent in the Arctic set a new record low as it peaked March 22, according to the Alaska Climate Research Center’s monthly...
Read more  
Recent retreat of McBride Glacier in Alaska has led to exposure of 5.25 miles of coastline, shown in green in this false color Sentinel-2 satellite image. Image courtesy of Jan Kavan

New assessment shows gain of coastline from receding glaciers

Geophysical Institute
April 8, 2025
New research gives a detailed look at the extent to which receding glaciers in Alaska and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere are creating new...
Read more  
The third of three sounding rockets launches from Poker Flat Research Range at 1:33 a.m. March 29, 2025. Two other rockets in the same science mission launched from Poker Flat on March 25. UAF photo by Eric Marshall

Launch of third NASA rocket completes complex aurora mission

Geophysical Institute
April 1, 2025
The third and final NASA sounding rocket in a mission to better understand how the aurora affects the upper atmosphere launched at 1:33 a.m...
Read more  
Graduate student researcher Austin Smith looks through one of three UAF cameras set up as part of the AWESOME mission. Orange enclosures on yellow tripods house cameras of Clemson University, which is a partner in the UAF-led AWESOME mission. Photo by Cameron Westerlund

UAF students play key role in the AWESOME rocket mission

Geophysical Institute
March 27, 2025
Participating in a NASA sounding rocket mission in their geographic backyard is an extraordinary opportunity for student researchers at the...
Read more