The Jago River flows north through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the Arctic Ocean, with its ice pack visible in the distance in the 1990s. Image by Gil Mull, Alaska DGGS.

Terrain, lack of freshwater and uneven snow will make Arctic refuge winter travel difficult, scientists warn

March 26, 2019
In their argument for oil drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, supporters invoke oil companies’ experience of...
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A microscopic image of a carbon nanotube with a magnetic nanoparticle inside. The properties of the tubes and nanoparticles led to a breakthrough that could lead to more storage in hard drives.

UAF discovery could mean breakthrough in hard drive storage

March 6, 2019
A breakthrough by a University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher could lead to computer hard drives capable of storing much more data in a smaller...
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Poker Flat Research Range will celebrate 50 years of rocket launches with an open house on March 9, 2019.

Poker Flat Research Range celebrates 50 years of rocket launches

February 22, 2019
March is the 50th anniversary of the first rocket launch from Poker Flat Research Range. Come commemorate half a century of research with us at...
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Greg Foscue of ACUASI visited manufacturer Skyfront in California in December to observe trials of the Perimeter unmanned aerial vehicle. Photo courtesy Greg Foscue

Unmanned aircraft will test medical supply deliveries

January 24, 2019
Unmanned aircraft will soon be deployed to test the feasibility of delivering emergency medical supplies across Alaska as part of a national...
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The first Girls in Icy Fjords team gathers for a photo in 2017. Photo by Erin Pettit

Application period opens for Inspiring Girls Expeditions

January 24, 2019
Applications for the 2019 Inspiring Girls Expeditions are now being taken. Start your application by Friday, Feb. 1, to join this summer's...
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The Science for Alaska Lecture Series will feature a new topic at 7 p.m. each Tuesday from Jan. 29-March 5.

27th annual Science for Alaska Lecture Series announced

January 22, 2019
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute will host free public talks about topics ranging from Fairbanks’ air quality to climate...
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Chukhung Glacier perches on a mountainside in Nepal in June 2016. Photo by David Rounce.

Asia’s glaciers are big seasonal factor in river flow

December 20, 2018
University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists presented their work at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting in Washington D.C. last week...
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Researcher offers efficient method for forecasting tsunami inundation

December 14, 2018
University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists are presenting their work at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting in Washington D.C. this week...
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Firefighters conduct a burnout operation along the trans-Alaska oil pipeline at the Aggie Creek Fire northwest of Fairbanks in 2015. Photo by Phillip Spor

Hot topic: Forecasting wildfires in Alaska

December 12, 2018
Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks soon may forecast the likelihood of Alaska wildfires more accurately, just in time for the...
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UAF researcher Vladimir Romanovsky poses near Fairbanks, Alaska in a place where permafrost has thawed, causing a surface disruption. Photo courtesy V. Romanovsky.

Study: Degrading permafrost puts Arctic infrastructure at risk by mid-century

December 11, 2018
Seventy percent of the current infrastructure in the Arctic has a high potential to be affected by thawing permafrost in the next 30 years. Even...
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Pavlof Volcano erupts on March 27, 2016. Photo courtesy of Robert Caporn.

Seismic ‘streams’ may reveal volcanic secrets

December 10, 2018
A volcano is like a stream. It might sound like a Zen proverb, but it’s a useful comparison for University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical...
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Why the 7.0 earthquake was felt differently across Anchorage

December 2, 2018
The 7.0 earthquake just north of Anchorage on Friday morning shredded the earth with 2 million tons of explosive force, and generated 650...
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This artist’s rendition illustrates what the meteorite might have looked like as it approached Earth. Illustration by Brian Monroe/NASA

Massive impact crater discovered in Greenland

November 14, 2018
An international team including a researcher from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has discovered a 31-kilometer-wide...
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One of the Alaska Satellite Facility’s antennas sits atop the Elvey Building, home of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. ASF uses its antennas to downlink data for NASA. UAF photo by JR Ancheta.

Five-year Alaska Satellite Facility contract worth $48.6 million

October 25, 2018
NASA has awarded a $48.6 million contract to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to continue operating the Alaska Satellite Facility’s synthetic...
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Seismologist John Power, with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Alaska Volcano Observatory, transfers data from the campaign broadband seismometer AU14 on the northeast flank of Mt. Augustine. A debris fan below the northeast chute is visible in the upper right of the image. Photo by Max Kaufman, AVO/UAF GI

New funding will improve Alaska volcano monitoring network

October 8, 2018
The Alaska Volcano Observatory will upgrade its volcano monitoring network throughout Alaska due to a $12 million budget increase through the U.S...
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WATC Lead Engineer Jay Helmericks explains on-campus infrasound array components to NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller.

Geophysical Institute eligible for long-term defense research funding

October 1, 2018
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has received a Defense Department designation to research topics important to national...
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The UAF Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration will use Responder aircraft such as this in some of the first missions beyond an operator’s eyesight. Photo courtesy of ACUASI.

UAF gets approval for new unmanned aircraft flights

September 25, 2018
The University of Alaska Fairbanks and its partners can now routinely fly unmanned aircraft out of their operators’ eyesight during commercial...
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Lava flows from Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano, which is being studied with help from researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Photo by Jeff Freymueller.

Kilauea Volcano provides hot research opportunities

July 3, 2018
Though Kilauea Volcano is more than 3,000 miles away, researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are helping study the ongoing eruptions...
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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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