Latest Research News and Events
Number of Alaska glaciers is everchanging
April 18, 2024
A glaciologist once wrote that the number of glaciers in Alaska "is estimated at (greater than) 100,000." That fuzzy number, perhaps written in passive voice for a reason, might be correct. But it depends upon how you count.
Waiting for the sun at Poker Flat
April 12, 2024
Under a bluebird sky and above a resilient winter snowpack, two sounding rockets point upward, ready to blast through the thickness of our atmosphere to gain a better look at the sun.
Dinosaur study challenges Bergmann's rule
April 05, 2024
A new study led by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Reading calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates.
Siberian tiger takes final rest at museum
April 05, 2024
It's a safe bet that Aren Gunderson's Toyota Tundra is the only one in Fairbanks that has had its bed filled with a Siberian tiger.
Long winter bike ride aided by naps
March 29, 2024
If you could have read that frost-covered fat-biker's mind as he rolled toward McGrath, Alaska, "as if Velcroed to the snow," you might have suspected he was a scientist.
Ice experts aid U.S. military in Arctic Ocean exercise
March 23, 2024
Finding a good spot for the U.S. military's biennial Operation Ice Camp falls to people at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.
Boreal owls perform by daylight
March 21, 2024
On these March nights, a male boreal owl has been singing from a wooden owl box near our home. The late biologist Dave Klein attached the nest box to a black spruce tree north of the University of Alaska Fairbanks ski trails many years ago.
Marine scientist rows across the Atlantic
March 14, 2024
None of the four members of the Salty Science team had any rowing experience. But they had enthusiasm.
March 07, 2024
Denali, North America's highest peak at 20,310 feet above sea level, always seemed abnormally high to Peter Haeussler.
Wet overflow a winter hazard in Alaska
March 01, 2024
While following a snowmachine trail recently, my dog and I came to a low spot that looked like a swimming pool filled with ice water. The air temperature was about 5 degrees F.