New research shows that three sites spread along an approximately 620-mile portion of today’s Denali Fault in Alaska were once a smaller united geologic feature indicative of the final joining of two land masses. That feature was then torn apart by millions of years of tectonic activity.
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Big stretch on the Denali Fault

December 19, 2024
New research shows that three sites spread along an approximately 620-mile portion of today’s Denali Fault in Alaska were once a smaller united...
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The northern lights adorn the sky over the UAF Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station early Sunday morning, April 21, 2024. UAF photo by Eric Engman

First results from 2021 rocket launch shed light on aurora’s birth

December 19, 2024
Newly published results from a 2021 experiment led by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist have begun to reveal the particle-level...
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Associate professor Sean Regan holds a copy of the December edition of Geology, which features his latest research in its cover photo. Photo by Bryan Whitten

Denali Fault tore apart ancient joining of two landmasses

December 19, 2024
New research shows that three sites spread along an approximately 620-mile portion of today’s Denali Fault were once a smaller united geologic...
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Setting up the UAF Research booth. Photo by Rod Boyce

What a week in D.C. for AGU24

December 18, 2024
Nearly 90 University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute researchers — faculty, students and staff — made just over 100 oral and poster...
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The ionosphere and aurora wrap around Earth, as seen from the International Space Station. Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA-funded project looks for answers about aurora’s energy

December 3, 2024
Most electrons that create the aurora have a moderate amount of energy, but scientists want to know more about how electrons on either side on...
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A photograph made during fieldwork along the Yukon River in central Alaska in 2023 shows the four-toed track. Photo courtesy of Anthony Fiorillo

Fossil tracks push range of large bird northward

November 4, 2024
Scientists from Fairbanks, New Mexico and Japan have discovered the first reported fossilized tracks of a large four-toed bird that inhabited...
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Research assistant professor Florian Hofmann of the UAF Geophysical Institute’s Geochronology Lab works on the lab’s argon mass spectrometer. Photo by JR Ancheta

UAF aims to make Alaska a critical minerals hub

November 1, 2024
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has a new research unit that aims to make Alaska a global leader in research and development of critical...
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Clusters of “fairy circles” in Western Australia have been found to seep hydrogen gas. The image was acquired by the Landsat 9 satellite on June 27, 2023. Landsat 9 is a partnership between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory

UAF workshop will look at Alaska’s geologic hydrogen

October 25, 2024
Reshaping Alaska’s energy future with geologic hydrogen is the subject of a three-day workshop next week hosted by the University of Alaska...
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Smoke from nearby wildfires creates a haze on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Troth Yeddha’ Campus in June 2022. UAF photo by Eric Engman

Method rapidly determines surface air quality during Alaska wildfires

October 23, 2024
A method of quickly determining surface air quality during Alaska’s sometimes intense wildfire season will benefit urban and rural communities...
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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS passes by the sun (blocked by center circle) on Oct. 10, 2024, in this image from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory. The observatory launched in December 1995 as a joint mission of NASA and the European Space Agency. Image courtesy of the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory

UAF to offer comet viewing — if the weather cooperates

October 11, 2024
The University of Alaska Fairbanks invites the public to view a celestial visitor that hasn’t traveled near Earth in at least 80,000 years. Comet...
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Kevin Galloway, left, and Mike Steinhauer of the Geophysical Institute’s Research Computing Systems unit attach cabling in August 2024 for the final and largest GPU node to be installed. Photo by LJ Evans

UAF’s high-performance computing resources just got a lot smarter

October 3, 2024
University of Alaska Fairbanks staff upgraded the university’s most powerful high-performance computer this summer to significantly increase its...
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Kyra Bornong. Photo courtesy of Kyra Bornong

2024 UAF Geophysical Institute Schaible Fellowship winners announced

September 17, 2024
Students in geology and space physics are the recipients of 2024 Geophysical Institute Schaible Fellowships. Kyra Bornong of Minnesota and Zack...
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Ice fog over Fairbanks as seen from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Debby Dean photo

New research has implications for Fairbanks winter air quality improvement

September 4, 2024
Work led by University of Alaska Fairbanks and Georgia Institute of Technology researchers shows that the effort to improve Fairbanks' wintertime...
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The Mirror Lake offramp on the Glenn Highway near Chugiak, Alaska, shows damage after the Nov. 30, 2018, earthquake. Photo courtesy of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

UAF scientist’s method could give months’ warning of major earthquakes

August 29, 2024
The public could have days or months of warning about a major earthquake through identification of prior low-level tectonic unrest over large...
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Several participants in the Alaska Defense Forum visited the hangar of the UAF Geophysical Institute’s Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Tour groups visited several of the university’s research facilities. Photo by Brittany Smart

UAF sponsoring Alaska Defense Forum to assist with nation’s security needs

August 27, 2024
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is a title sponsor this year of the Alaska Defense Forum, underway this week through Wednesday at the Westmark...
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Elementary school students digging in the ‘Permafrost Exploration Sled’ while at the BARC Science & Culture Fair in August 2024. Photo by Serina Wesen

SALVO team connects with rural students in Utqiaġvik

August 20, 2024
The Snow Albedo Evolution, or SALVO, field campaign's third — and final — phase was completed this spring. The field campaign was conducted by...
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A field engineer of the Wilson Alaska Technical Center at the UAF Geophysical Institute services a portable infrasound monitoring station near Palmer Station, Antarctica. Photo courtesy of the Wilson Alaska Technical Center.

UAF receives funding to enhance nuclear proliferation detection

August 19, 2024
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has been named to a group of 12 universities tasked by the federal government with improving and expanding the...
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The graphic shows the propagation paths of specularly reflected (SR) and magnetospherically reflected (MR) whistler waves. The Earth-ionosphere boundary at about 55 miles is not drawn to scale. Illustration adapted from the research paper

UAF scientists discover phenomenon impacting Earth’s radiation belts

August 16, 2024
Two University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists have discovered a new type of “whistler,” an electromagnetic wave that carries a substantial amount...
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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.

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University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775

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