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  • On snowy ground, two helmeted men stand over fat-tired bikes laden with camping gear while snow falls around them. Behind them is a grove of willows, beyond which a few small buildings are visible.

    Up a ramp, finally off the big river

    April 10, 2026

    A few hours ago, Forest Wagner and I shoved our loaded bikes up a ramp of snow and onto Front Street. After nine days and 265 miles, we are off Alaska's largest frozen river.

  • A wide view of Columbia Glacier in Alaska shows a broad river of ice flowing between dark, rocky mountains, with snow-covered peaks in the distance and floating ice in the water at the glacier’s front. Columbia Glacier, shown here in 2016, is about 20 miles west of Valdez and has been retreating since the early 1980s after roughly 200 years of stability.

    Seismic record analysis can reveal a glacier's past

    April 10, 2026

    The history of earthquake-like signals created by the crashing of glacial ice into the ocean can reveal how a glacier has changed over time, according to research by a University of Alaska Fairbanks team.

  • A small quadcopter unmanned aircraft system hovers above an M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle on a dirt training range at Fort Hood, Texas, with trees in the background. The scene, captured Aug. 27, 2025, during Operation Return of the Condor, shows the drone positioned overhead as part of testing for drone detection and counter–small UAS tactics.

    Project will use air pressure waves to remotely detect vehicles, aircraft

    April 09, 2026

    Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have launched a three-year effort to develop a new system to remotely detect and assess ground vehicles and low-flying aircraft, including drones.

  • A scientist, Caley Gasch, tests the soil in a field in Alaska.

    Researcher digs into soils of the circumpolar North

    April 07, 2026

    A University of Alaska Fairbanks professor will dig into the importance of agricultural soils in Alaska and the circumpolar North in a webinar. The presentation by Caley Gasch, research assistant professor of soil science with the UAF Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, is part of the seminar series "Circumpolar Connections: A Dialogue on Arctic Food Systems."

  • A person in a blue helmet and an orange windbreaker rides a fat-tired bike on a ice road plowed on a river, with drifted snow to the left and a snow berm to the right. Tall evergreens line the riverbank to the left, and hills rise in the distance.

    Rolling through a blank spot on the map

    April 04, 2026

    Beneath a bulbous waxing moon, we roll along on a ribbon of packed snow. The clear river ice beneath our tires is four feet thick.

  • A person holding a ventilation hood in front of a building

    Arctic Dual Hood simplifies energy-efficient ventilation

    April 01, 2026

    A new ventilation system component developed by engineers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Cold Climate Housing Research Center is helping indoor air quality in cold climates while saving energy.

  • In a laboratory setting, a smiling man in a lab coat holds a beaker full of liquid and gas. He is directing some of the gas into the mouth of a child, while another child looks on, smiling.

    UAF's Science Potpourri offers fun activity medley

    March 30, 2026

    The annual Science Potpourri returns on Saturday, April 11. Designed to spark children's curiosity about science, the free all-ages event will take place from noon-3 p.m. in the Reichardt Building on the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Troth Yeddha’ Campus. 

  • In a snowy field studded with the tops of small spruce trees, a man wearing a hooded parka pushes a bicycle on a trail drifted in with snow. Taller spruce edge the field in the background.

    Alaska bike journey rolls along

    March 27, 2026

    It's so quiet in these spruce hills and tamarack swamps that 27 hours and 50 miles passed between when Forest Wagner and I said goodbye to one human being at Old Minto and hello to the next near Baker.

  • A person holds up a sheet of nearly transparent, tea-colored seaweed.

    Webinar focuses on Alaska's growing mariculture industry

    March 27, 2026

    In a free online presentation at noon on Wednesday, April 15, Melissa "Missy" Good with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Sea Grant will review how Alaska's mariculture industry strengthens coastal economies and food security. The webinar is hosted by the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.

  • Peter Elstner, left, and Brendan Lahr stand on a snowy ridge discussing the payload section of a two-stage NASA Black Brant IX sounding rocket, which lies partially buried in snow. A vast Arctic landscape stretches behind them, with rolling, snow-covered terrain and distant mountains under clear winter light.

    Poker Flat Research Range cleans up what comes down

    March 25, 2026

    For Poker Flat, Peter Elstner leads the rocket mission cleanup team, which is supported by several contractors and NASA. The rocket recovery program retrieves the payloads and rocket parts -- or as many as can be found.

  • New funding advances earthquake early warning for Alaska

    March 24, 2026

    Federal funding approved earlier this year will allow for the first implementation steps of the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system to begin in Alaska, though its operation is not expected for several years and is contingent on continued financial support. The system can provide several seconds to a minute or more of warning and is being used in California, Oregon and Washington.

  • A woman in a red sweater, Jessie Young-Robertson, stands in a birch forest

    Seminar explores food, fiber and more from boreal forest

    March 23, 2026

    A University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher will share how differences in the boreal forest across the global North affect the way people use it and which plants and animals live there. The presentation by Jessie Young-Robertson, research associate professor of forest ecology with the UAF Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, is part of the series "Circumpolar Connections: A Dialogue on Arctic Food Systems."

  • Researchers begin 1,600-mile journey across Alaska

    March 20, 2026

    University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers will launch a 1,600-mile snowmachine expedition along Alaska’s western and northern coasts Saturday, March 21, to exchange information about the evolving environment with communities en route.

  • Aerial view of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, showing a snow-covered coastal town bordered by sea ice. A long, narrow strip of open water called an open flaw lead cuts across the frozen ocean, separating the solid landfast ice attached to shore from the drifting pack ice farther offshore.

    New analysis shows continued loss of Arctic landfast sea ice

    March 20, 2026

    Sea ice is sticking to Alaska's northern coast for less time each year, according to 27 years of data analyzed by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists.

  • A person rides a fat-tired bicycle on a rutted snowy trail through small snow-covered evergreens. A small black dog trots next to the bike.

    Time to hit the trail westward

    March 20, 2026

    On March 21, 2026, a friend and I will roll away from my house in Fairbanks on our fat bikes. We hope to ratchet our way west to Nome.

  • Participants in a 2022 international glaciology summer school walk across the rippled, blue-white surface of Root Glacier near McCarthy, Alaska. Three small figures move along a shallow ice ridge, surrounded by sweeping glacier valleys and steep, cloud-covered mountains in the distance.

    Research provides timely views of warming's impact on Alaska glaciers

    March 18, 2026

    Alaska's glaciers respond to climate change by melting for three additional weeks with every 1 degree Celsius increase in the average summer temperature, data from satellite-mounted radars show.

  • A pair of juvenile Chinook salmon emerge from the stomach of a northern pike caught on the Deshka River in Southcentral Alaska.

    Pike eat more as water warms, threatening native species

    March 18, 2026

    Rising temperatures in a Southcentral Alaska river have led to a hungrier population of invasive northern pike, a trend that could imperil native salmon and other fish species.

  • Three people cross-country ski along a snow-covered trail through a forest of frost-coated birch and spruce trees, heading toward a large satellite dish rising above the winter landscape at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The scene captures a snowy February day during the Winter Carnival Field Day on Feb. 14, 2026, when outdoor activities offered students the chance to try cross-country skiing, ice climbing, dog sledding, sledding and ice skating.

    Alaska climate report: February marked by cold and dynamic weather

    March 16, 2026

    February provided a full Alaska winter weather experience: coastal blizzards, strong temperature swings, heavy snowfall and more deep cold in many locations.

  • Three photographs show the progression of deep snow accumulation on top of a birdhouse.

    Alaska writer buckling under pressure

    March 13, 2026

    Thirty below again this morning. OK then. Time to reach for the baseball bat and fine-tune the weather station.

  • A person holds a northern pike with gloved hands. A juvenile coho salmon is inside the pike's mouth

    Webinar discusses devastation caused by invasive northern pike

    March 06, 2026

    A free Zoom webinar from noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, will provide an overview of how northern pike became an invasive problem in part of Alaska. The webinar is hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service.

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