Latest Research News and Events
A rich career in a quirky place that fit
November 15, 2024
Brian Barnes did something outrageous earlier this week. The biologist drove to a movie theater. In the middle of the day. Barnes, 70, had time to catch a matinee in Fairbanks because after 38 years he recently retired from the University Alaska Fairbanks.
Geologic hydrogen may be an answer
November 09, 2024
The internal combustion engine is less than 100 years old. Same for the technologies we have developed to pull oil and gas from the ground. It's hard to imagine life without our cars and planes and buildings heated with natural gas and oil. But it really wasn't that long ago that people had none of these things. Sometimes, advances happen, and clever people change the way we live.
The numbers behind a weather forecast
November 01, 2024
A meteorologist from the National Weather Service's local office recently told a newspaper reporter that heavy, wet, snow would materialize in a few days. He said it would resemble "cement falling from the sky."
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 Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.
Weasels are cute, natural-born killers
October 25, 2024
Weighing as much as a cup of walnuts and resembling a squeaky dog toy, the short-tailed weasel is easy to underestimate.
Denali climbed, its snow sampled for plastics
October 21, 2024
Two mountaineers who are also University of Alaska Fairbanks students were successful in their attempt to reach the top of North America's highest peak in summer 2024.
Surprising genetic differences found in Iliamna Lake harbor seals
October 17, 2024
In Alaska, harbor seals thrive in the chilled water of Iliamna Lake, sliding their blubbery bodies onto floating pieces of ice for a winter rest. This group of round-eyed water dwellers has remained a mystery for years, but now, in partnership with local Indigenous communities, scientists have found surprising genetic differences in the seals.
The lion that walked through your yard
October 11, 2024
Grizzly and black bears remind humans that we are not at the top of the food chain in Alaska. Ancient Alaskans shared the grasslands with possibly an even more terrifying predator -- the American lion.
Ocean glider opens new 'tool kit' in crab tracking efforts
October 08, 2024
A remotely piloted underwater glider is showing promise as a tool to track crabs in the Bering Sea, where their numbers have plummeted. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the University of Alaska Fairbanks have tested the glider Shackleton for the past three years to locate tagged crabs.
Alaska peregrine falcon numbers drop again
October 03, 2024
Skip Ambrose has floated the upper Yukon River almost every year since Richard Nixon was President. Back then, in 1973, only 12 pairs of peregrine falcons perched at nest sites over a 180-mile stretch of river.