Two rockets rise from Poker Flat Research Range in this composite photograph taken the night of Jan. 25-26, 2015. The aurora is visible across the sky. The 2020 rocket launch window opens Jan. 26. Photo by J. Adkins, NASA.

Space Week features rocket launch window and NASA experts

January 22, 2020
An unofficial Space Week, filled with space science events, rocket launch preparations and presentations by NASA guests, will blast off in...
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At Nome Creek, Alaska ground temperatures rose immediately after a 2003 wildfire. New research from Sergey Marchenko shows wildfires, which affect terrestrial carbon storage, result in significant changes in permafrost zones. Photo by Sergey Marchenko.

Wildfires may send permafrost protections up in smoke

January 8, 2020
Across much of Alaska, permafrost is thawing. In most locations of interior and south Alaska, what permafrost exists is protected by the...
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Louise Farquharson works on the tundra at Kougarok, Alaska. The site is one of 28 field locations that show evidence of extensive permafrost thawing zones previously unrecognized. This could have dramatic implications for subsequent carbon release. Photo by Vladimir Romanovsky

The Arctic’s grand reveal

December 12, 2019
“This green line looks like the death of permafrost — it’s flatlining,” Louise Farquharson said to an audience of a few dozen scientists. Her...
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An unmanned aerial vehicle at Oliktok Point, Alaska used to map Arctic sea ice in 2018. Oliktok Point is the proposed site for a permanent High Arctic research center, discussed at a NSF-funded workshop on the UAF campus in October. Photo by ACUASI.

Permanent Arctic research facility under discussion

November 15, 2019
The logistics of doing research in the Arctic are challenging and complex. Travelling hundreds of miles through tundra, sometimes in temperatures...
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An ocean view of McBride Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Photo by Joanna Young.

International climate report holds special value for Alaska

October 28, 2019
Authors of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, delivered a stunning alarm bell for our planet's oceans...
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The Ayars family of Dillingham, Alaska. Photo courtesy Chelsea Ayars.

“Infrasound angels” recognized by Wilson Alaska Technical Center

October 14, 2019
Much of scientific work depends on quiet supporters; people working reliably in the background to make sure the operation runs smoothly. This...
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The city of Valdez shown in the Alaska Tsunami Hazard Map Tool. The tool is a web-based map portal that displays potential tsunami hazard zones for settlements across Alaska. From the Alaska Earthquake Center.

New tsunami map tool empowers Alaskans to plan for the worst

September 17, 2019
September is national preparedness month and, for many Alaskans, that means thinking about tsunamis. With the most earthquakes and the longest...
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Asteroid impact: An artist’s interpretation of the asteroid impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. The asteroid in the artwork appears much larger than the six-mile rock that scientists hypothesize actually struck the Earth 66 million years ago. Image by NASA/Don Davis.

The first day of the dinosaur extinction

September 9, 2019
When the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs slammed into the planet 66 million years ago, the impact set wildfires, triggered tsunamis and...
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The Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, visible as a pink band rising from the lower left to upper right of this photograph, appears with the Milky Way over Childs Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Image courtesy of Krista Trinder and NASA

It’s not aurora, it’s STEVE

September 4, 2019
Aurora-watchers gazing at spectacular displays over the Labor Day weekend may have been seeing more than the northern lights. They may have been...
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Michael West, GI research professor and director of the Alaska Earthquake Center, will receive the 2019 Emil Usibell Distinguished Service Award.

UAF announces 2019 Usibelli Award recipients

August 29, 2019
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has announced the winners of the 2019 Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching, Service and Research Awards. The...
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Peter Webley is one of 54 academic inventors honored as Senior Members of the National Academy of inventors for Spring 2019. UAF photo by JR Ancheta

Peter Webley honored by the National Academy of Inventors

August 16, 2019
Peter Webley’s passion for innovation, mentoring and outreach has earned him recognition from a national organization. The National Academy of...
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Heart of the World: New Book about GI Researcher

August 5, 2019
Alaska’s wild expanse of mountains, taiga and tundra is immense. The landscape is larger than life and has a pull, it calls to those akin to it...
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The Skyfront Perimeter UAV taking off from the Alyeska trans-Alaska pipeline right of way near Fox. UAF photo by Sean Tevebaugh

Unmanned aircraft flies first U.S. beyond-line-of-sight mission

August 1, 2019
A team led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks has completed the country’s first FAA-approved true beyond-visual-line-of-sight domestic flight...
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Geophysical Institute important to Alaska

July 22, 2019
This article was originally published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks was...
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Ilulissat, known as “the city of icebergs” sits adjacent to Greenland’s Ilulissat Glacier, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Such outlet glaciers lead ice sheet loss in Greenland. New research shows that if this loss continues at its current rate, it could result in an ice-free Greenland.

New research shows an iceless Greenland may be in the future

June 19, 2019
New research shows an iceless Greenland may be in the future. If worldwide greenhouse gas emissions remain on their current trajectory, Greenland...
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A rendering of ice in the Olympic Mountains, Washington made with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model. The model is a valuable tool for scientists to simulate ice behavior and has been used in 100 publications as of May 2019. Image by Andy Aschwanden.

Ice sheet model reaches 100th publication benchmark

June 14, 2019
Ice sheet behavior is complex, to say the least. To understand it, scientists must first understand dozens of physical processes in the ice...
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In this aerial image, thermokarst lakes are seen on June 21, 2017 in Alaska, United States.

Hot summers causing arctic sinkholes as permafrost thaws rapidly: study

June 11, 2019
Arctic sinkholes are appearing across the Canadian High Arctic as permafrost -- ice expected to be frozen year-round -- thaws and collapses due...
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The Kennicott Glacier flows out of the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska. A new review of glacier research found that glaciers worldwide will lose up to 36% of their mass by 2100, resulting in almost 10 inches of sea level rise. Photo by Regine Hock.

Melting small glaciers could add 10 inches to sea levels

May 22, 2019
A new review of glacier research data paints a picture of a future planet with a lot less ice and a lot more water. Glaciers worldwide are...
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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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