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The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy travels in the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska, in this July 2011 photograph. The Beaufort Sea is one area of emissions research by atmospheric sciences professor Nicole Mölders. Credit: NASA/Kathryn Hansen

Emissions research tracks effects of increased Arctic shipping

April 15, 2021

The March blockage of the Suez Canal by a grounded massive cargo ship and the ensuing backlog of more than 300 other vessels brought attention...

This 2016 image is a composite of two different Hubble observations. The auroras were photographed during a series of Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph far-ultraviolet-light observations taking place as NASA's Juno spacecraft approaches and enters into orbit around Jupiter. Credits: NASA

New research reveals secret to Jupiter’s curious aurora activity

April 9, 2021

Auroral displays continue to intrigue scientists, whether the bright lights shine over Earth or over another planet. The lights hold clues to the...

The SeaHunter unmanned aerial aircraft took several thousand high-resolution photographs of the new Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway in the Northwest Territories, Canada, such as this photo of the ITH crossing Zed Creek. Photo courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

ACUASI completes remote sensing map of Canada’s first highway to the Arctic

April 7, 2021

Members of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) recently completed a high resolution map of the Inuvik...

The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program site in Gakona, Alaska.

National Science Foundation funds creation of research observatory at Gakona

April 6, 2021

A five-year, $9.3 million National Science Foundation grant will allow the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute to establish a...

Ice fog blankets Fairbanks. Debbie Dean file photo, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Research targets chemical compound discovered in Fairbanks winter air

April 2, 2021

Research underway at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and two other universities into Fairbanks wintertime air pollution...

Damage along the coast of Port Valdez from a tsunami associated with the magnitude 9.2 earthquake of March 27, 1964, in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Tsunami awareness a priority nearly 60 years after last major Alaska event

March 25, 2021

It has been more than half a century since a major tsunami washed itself upon Alaska. The magnitude 9.2 earthquake of March 27, 1964, in Prince...

Cathy Cahill, director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, with UAF’s Griffon Aerospace Outlaw SeaHunter UAS at a conference. Photo courtesy Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration.

UAF’s unmanned aircraft and research highlighted for Alaska Senate

March 19, 2021

Leaders at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks delivered strong support of Alaska as an aerospace state in remarks...

Glaciers such as the Yakutat in Southeast Alaska, shown here, have been melting since the end of the Little Ice Age, influencing earthquakes in the region. Photo by Sam Herreid.

Melting glaciers contribute to Alaska earthquakes

March 18, 2021

In 1958, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake triggered a rockslide into Southeast Alaska’s Lituya Bay, creating a tsunami that ran 1,700 feet up a...

Thick wildfire smoke fills the sky along Chena Hot Springs Road in Fairbanks on Aug. 6, 2009. Photo by Rod Boyce.

Research aims to help Alaskans, visitors avoid wildfire smoke

March 17, 2021

Alaskans have become all too familiar with the choking wildfire smoke that has filled many summer days in recent years. Each time, they are left...

Mount Redoubt, 108 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, erupts on March 31, 2009. Photo credit by R. G. McGimsey, Alaska Volcano Observatory/U.S. Geological Survey

Study of Redoubt and other volcanoes improves unrest detection

March 11, 2021

Volcanologists do what they can to provide the public enough warning about impending eruptions, but volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable...

Laura Conner. Photo courtesy of the Geophysical Institute.

Laura Conner selected as science education Fulbright Specialist

March 3, 2021

Laura Conner, a research associate professor of science education in the Geophysical Institute and the College of Natural Sciences and...

The Alaska Earthquake Center and the University of Alaska Anchorage recently finished installing several new monitors in Southcentral Alaska. Photo by Yue Zhao, University of Alaska Anchorage

New ground-motion sensors will help Southcentral Alaska prepare for major earthquakes

March 1, 2021

New strong-motion sensors installed recently in the Eagle River and Matanuska Valley regions will provide insight into the magnitude 5.3 quake on...

The Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest near Fairbanks, Alaska, covers an area north of the Tanana River and south of the Parks Highway. Researchers took field measurements in the forest to test their new method of inferring permafrost thaw depth from such images. Image by Veronika Döpper

Scientists use forest color to gauge permafrost depth

March 1, 2021

Scientists regularly use remote sensing drones and satellites to record how climate change affects permafrost thaw rates — methods that work well...

A time-lapse photograph captures the Super Soaker launches on Jan. 25-26, 2018. Photo by Zayn Roohi courtesy of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and Poker Flat Research Range.

Rocket launches reveal water vapor effect in upper atmosphere

February 26, 2021

Results of a 2018 multirocket launch at Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks will help scientists better understand the impact of more...

UAF announces 2021 Science for Alaska Lecture Series lineup

January 29, 2021

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute will host a series of free virtual public talks on topics that include measuring the...

UAF’s Cahill appointed to FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee

January 8, 2021

The Federal Aviation Administration has named University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist Catherine Cahill as one of 12 new members of its Drone...

The Islands of Four Mountains lie near the center of the Aleutian Islands’ arc. This map also shows the position and approximate areas of known calderas along the arc. Graphic courtesy John Power, USGS.

Cluster of Alaska islands could be single giant volcano

December 3, 2020

A small group of volcanic islands in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands might be part of a single, undiscovered giant volcano, say scientists presenting...

House fires caused by ruptured gas lines in Kenai following the 2016 magnitude 7.1 Iniskin earthquake. Photo courtesy Kenai Fire Department.

Alaska Earthquake Center receives USGS funding

November 23, 2020

The U.S. Geological Survey recently awarded the Alaska Earthquake Center a $2.85M one-year award to operate and strengthen Alaska’s earthquake...