Chris Arp and Ben Jones drill into the ice of a shallow lake on Alaska’s North Slope. Photo by Guido Grosse, Alfred Wegener Institute.

Permafrost thawing below shallow Arctic lakes

June 16, 2016
New research conducted by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Wyoming and other...
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A smoke plume rises from the 2012 Dry Creek Fire, as seen from UAF’s West Ridge. Photo courtesy Geophysical Institute.

Satellites, drones can help predict path of wildfire smoke

April 26, 2016
University of Alaska Fairbanks atmospheric scientists are developing ways to help forecast air quality in areas downwind from wildfires. Nicole...
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Pavlof volcano erupts in March 2016. The photograph was taken from Coast Guard 1713, a HC-130H Hercules aircraft based at Air Station Kodiak. Photo by Petty Officer Austin Torres.

Alaska volcano researchers refine ‘hearing’ to find eruptions

April 4, 2016
Seismologists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Volcano Network have developed a refined set of methods that allows them to detect and...
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This is the first statewide, high-resolution orthoimage of Alaska at a map scale of 1:24,000. It is made from 2.5-meter SPOT 5 satellite imagery. The project was led and managed by GINA and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources as part of the Alaska Statewide Digital Mapping Initiative.

New Alaska satellite image map released

March 30, 2016
A University of Alaska Fairbanks partnership with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has made the first high-resolution satellite image...
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The Juneau Icefield forms a snow-covered expanse in the Coast Mountains north of Juneau. Photo by Joanna Young.

Study says Alaska could lose massive icefield by 2200

March 24, 2016
The massive icefield that feeds Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier may be gone by 2200 if warming trend predictions hold true, according to University...
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This high-resolution, enhanced color view of Pluto was taken on July 14, 2015. Photo by NASA.

UAF researcher gets data on Pluto’s atmosphere

March 17, 2016
Pluto has a thinner layer of atmosphere than previously thought, according to researchers who are sifting through the data gathered by NASA’s New...
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UAF facility to distribute new satellite’s imagery

March 16, 2016
NASA has announced that unprecedented, detailed radar views of Earth from a future satellite will be distributed by the Alaska Satellite Facility...
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Fannie Akpik, of Barrow, demonstrates the Inupiat Northern Lights Dance. Photo courtesy of Cultural Connections.

Aurora explored in film by scientists and Inupiat elders

March 1, 2016
When the northern lights are bright and strong, the ancestors are happy, according to Inupiaq elders highlighted in a new documentary by the...
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Nikolaevsk students learn about real-time earthquake data while visiting the Alaska Earthquake Center. Photo courtesy of EarthScope National Office.

Kenai students visit quake center 10 days after big temblor

February 15, 2016
High school students from the village of Nikolaevsk visited the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute on Feb. 3, just 10 days...
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An Aeryon Scout carries the methane gas detection payload during a test flight.

BP donates methane-detecting drone technology

February 9, 2016
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and BP have developed a way to detect methane gas using aerial drones. The technology...
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The trunk and terminus of Jakobshavn Isbræ discharge into Ilulissat Fjord. While this outlet glacier and many others have experienced rapid acceleration during the past two decades, most of the ice sheet interior has decelerated during the past 9,000 years. Photo by Timothy Bartholomaus.

Map shows faster past ice movement in Greenland’s interior

February 4, 2016
A University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher has helped create the first map that shows how the Greenland Ice Sheet has moved over time. The map...
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A tent sits in camp on the edge of the Jakobshavn Isbræ in Greenland. Photo by Martin Truffer.

Greenland model could help estimate sea level rise

February 1, 2016
University of Alaska Fairbanks mathematicians and glaciologists have taken a first step toward understanding how glacier ice flowing off...
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Cathy Cahill is the new director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft. Photo by Todd Paris.

Cahill to lead university’s unmanned aircraft center

January 13, 2016
University of Alaska Fairbanks atmospheric chemistry professor Catherine Cahill is the new director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft...
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Vladimir Romanovsky in front of huge ice wedges in permafrost on an Arctic riverbank. Photo by Sergey Davydov.

North Slope permafrost thawing sooner than expected

December 10, 2015
New projections of permafrost change in northern Alaska suggest far-reaching effects will come sooner than expected, scientists reported this...
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Mark Conde, a space physicist at UAF’s Geophysical Institute, stands next to the scanning Doppler imager. Conde thought up the device, which is heading to Antarctica. Photo courtesy of Mark Conde.

Arctic scientist to map space weather from Antarctica

November 16, 2015
A University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist is sending two devices to Antarctica to measure winds and temperatures in space more than 100 miles...
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Project aims to increase number of women in geophysics

October 9, 2015
The University of Alaska Fairbanks will begin a study designed to encourage high school-age girls to consider geophysics and technology science...
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Engineering majors (L to R) Jesse Frey, Morgan Johnson, and Patrick Wade hold the cubesat they designed and built as part of their work with the Alaska Space Grant program. The miniature satellite is scheduled to be launched into space Oct. 8, 2015, from Vandenberg AFB, CA. UAF photo by Todd Paris.

UAF students track launch of satellite they built

October 8, 2015
A small research satellite designed and built by University of Alaska Fairbanks students is among 13 launched early Thursday morning from...
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The Susitna Glacier. UAF photo by Regina Hock.

Half of Alaska’s glaciers could be gone by 2100

September 27, 2015
A new study predicts that Alaska’s glaciers will lose 30 to 60 percent of their volume and contribute half an inch to 1 inch to global sea level...
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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

We acknowledge the Alaska Native nations upon whose ancestral lands our campuses reside. In Fairbanks, our Troth Yeddha' Campus is located on the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River.

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