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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Catherine Cahill

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...
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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...
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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...
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The red dots show locations of 45 USArray stations which greatly increase the ability to track earthquakes, permafrost changes, sea ice extent, aurora events and the weather across western and northern Alaska. Map courtesy of AEC.

Sensors will sustain Alaska earthquake and weather data

November 12, 2020
A new project will make it possible for scientists to better track a suite of phenomena in Alaska ranging from earthquakes to wildfires to sea...
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An artist’s rendering of the new virtual ‘ShAKe’ exhibit at the UA Museum of the North. Illustration by Roger Topp.

UA museum launches ‘shAKe,’ its first virtual exhibit

October 14, 2020
The headline across the top of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner front page, bold and in all caps, said “FAIRBANKS HIT BY ITS WORST EARTHQUAKE.”...
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UAF researchers and partner institutions will use computer modeling to study the impact of climate change on Alaska’s rapidly melting Malaspina Glacier, pictured here. Researchers say the loss of the ice may create a new bay in southeastern Alaska. UAF photo by Martin Truffer.

Study to investigate melting Malaspina Glacier, potential new bay

September 18, 2020
The rapidly melting Malaspina Glacier in southeastern Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park could create a new ocean bay, one feature in what...
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Jeff Rothman trains Mindy Lagonegro, nursing supervisor for the Fairbanks Correctional Center, on how to use the UV disinfection unit built by the Geophysical Institute’s Electronics and Machine shops. UAF Photo by JR Ancheta.

New GI-designed device sanitizes masks for first responders

August 20, 2020
Ultraviolet light stops many pathogens in their tracks, a fact known for decades. Jeff Rothman has an old light box with a bank of long-wave UV...
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Jessica Larsen, UAF professor of volcanology, was appointed as the associate director of the GI in July.

Jessica Larsen named GI associate director

August 17, 2020
The Geophysical Institute appointed Jessica Larsen as the new associate director this July. Larsen, a professor of volcanology, joined the GI...
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UAF Professor Uma Bhatt has recently been elected as an American Meteorological Society Fellow

Uma Bhatt elected American Meteorological Society Fellow

August 10, 2020
The American Meteorological Society announced UAF Professor Uma Bhatt has been elected as an AMS Fellow. Presentation of Bhatt’s award will take...
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The aurora crosses the sky near Poker Flat Research Range. Recent discoveries made by researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the U.S. Geological Survey allowed researchers to record aurora using seismometers, the primary tool to monitor earth movement. Photo by Aaron Lojewski.

Scientists record aurora using earth-monitoring tools in Alaska

July 28, 2020
Earthquakes, with origins deep underground, and the aurora, at the limits of our atmosphere, seem like phenomena worlds apart. The reality is...
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The Elvey building on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, home to the Geophysical Institute. GI photo by LJ Evans.

GI hosts free outdoor walking tour

July 15, 2020
Looking for something to do outside while you socially distance? Since inside tours of the Geophysical Institute are temporarily suspended due to...
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Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski featured GI scientists Mike West and David Fee on her podcast. Photo from the office of Lisa Murkowski.

GI's Mike West, David Fee discuss tsunami on Sen. Murkowski’s podcast

June 18, 2020
Senator Lisa Murkowski, chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, last week recorded the sixth episode of her new...
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An eruption launches magma in area with surface fracturing in Iceland’s Bárdarbunga volcanic system on Sept. 14, 2014. A paper published in May may help anticipate similar volcanic eruptions. Photo by Jeffrey Alan Karson, Syracuse University.

New method may help anticipate large volcanic eruptions

May 18, 2020
Volcanic eruptions are not easy to anticipate. Now, a new paper proposes a way to provide early clues by evaluating magma movement far beneath...
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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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