This aerial photo from June 2022 shows the extent of land surrounding the HAARP facility, located near Gakona, Alaska. UAF Geophysical Institute photo

Air Force completes transfer of HAARP land to UAF, Ahtna

May 9, 2025
The University of Alaska now owns the land beneath its upper atmospheric research facility near Gakona, nearly 10 years after acquiring the site...
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The train of 10 snowmachines snaked slowly across the snow-covered Arctic Ocean ice toward the small tent far ahead, a single drop of yellow paint on a textured white canvas whose edges couldn’t be seen. This place, just a few miles from the northernmost U.S. city of Utqiagvik, is a good place for the collection of University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists and technicians collecting data for the Lightweight Airborne Snow and Sea Ice Thickness Observing System, or LASSITOS, project.

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Frozen ocean, solid science

May 8, 2025
The train of 10 snowmachines snaked slowly across the snow-covered Arctic Ocean ice toward the small tent far ahead, a single drop of yellow...
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Wood and brush burn in controlled and monitored fire along the Wildfire Walk trail through the Yankovich Road Fire Site on the UAF Troth Yeddha’ campus April 14, 2025. UAF photo by Eric Engman

Alaska climate report: Wet April reduced drought talk, but wildfire risk remains

May 7, 2025
Alaska entered its legally designated wildfire season April 1, but the good news is that the month was exceptionally wet, according to the Alaska...
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Visitors on a tour view the iconic blue satellite dish on the roof of the Elvey Building, home of the Geophysical Institute. The rooftop is not a guaranteed stop on the tour. GI/UAF photo by Bryan Whitten

Geophysical Institute and Poker Flat Research Range announce summer tours

April 29, 2025
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is offering free public tours to showcase some of its science facilities. Two different...
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A mid-latitude system swirls in the Gulf of Alaska on Nov. 12, 2019. These systems tend to form within the Aleutian Low, which is a semi-permanent breeding ground for some of Earth’s strongest storms. Photo courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Vibrations so small you can’t feel them hold Alaska climate secrets

April 22, 2025
Tiny Gulf of Alaska ocean wave vibrations unnoticeable by humans reach as far north as the state’s Arctic coastline. These and other very low...
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UAF doctoral student Kaytan Kelkar in Denali National Park in March for work on continuing permafrost research. Kelkar rode a sled towed by a National Park Service dog team. Photo courtesy of Kaytan Kelkar

In Alaska, getting to a research site can be a bit different

April 21, 2025
You go where the science is. In Alaska, that can mean traveling by dog team. “I had never done that, and it was definitely more difficult than I...
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Lee Ann Munk samples the surface at a closed-basin brine in Argentina in 2023. Photo courtesy of Lee Ann Munk

UAF research provides a roadmap for soaring global lithium demand

April 15, 2025
New work by a University of Alaska Fairbanks professor fills some gaps in knowledge about Earth’s resources of lithium, a critical element...
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Into the hot zone by drone

April 11, 2025
Using unmanned aircraft to efficiently and safely measure soil gas emissions in potentially risky areas of an active volcano has great potential...
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Laguna Caliente, in one of Poás volcano’s three craters, is one of the world’s most acidic natural lakes. Photo courtesy of ACUASI

UAF drones enter the hot zone to make volcano research safer

April 11, 2025
The four-propeller drone sitting briefly on a rocky and dusty surface in Central America in early March had an impressive diameter of nearly 7 ½...
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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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