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  • Two arcticola dunlin walk across a patch of lingering snow near a road in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, in June 2021. The small shorebirds have mottled brown backs, pale faces and black bellies, and are shown in profile against a soft, snowy background.

    Alaska shorebird suffering from troubled Asia winter grounds

    May 22, 2026

    The population of a plump northern Alaska shorebird weighing just over 2 ounces has been declining for decades. Reversing that decline will require additional conservation efforts at some of the birds' East Asia wintering grounds, according to new research.

  • A man with glasses and a mustache stands in front of a green chalkboard with scrawled diagrams.

    Mind-bending science for this science layman

    May 22, 2026

    In my daily "science class," I am always the student hoping for a passing grade from the scientist whose work I'm writing about.

  • A grain silo is next to a group of red-painted agriculture processing buildings

    2026 crop science conference set at UAF in June

    May 21, 2026

    The 2026 Western Society of Crop Science annual conference will be held in Fairbanks on June 23-24. The conference will take place at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It will bring together plant science students, faculty and researchers from public and private institutions across a broad geographic region of North America.

  • A group of students walk across a bridge at Toolik Field Station with their reflections in the pond below them.

    UAF Toolik Field Station open for Visitor's Day

    May 19, 2026

    Toolik Field Station will host a Visitor's Day on Saturday, June 6, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Study: Tiny rodent-like mammals outlasted Arctic dinosaurs

    May 19, 2026

    More than 70 million years ago, the Arctic was a lively place for some of Earth's ancient mammals. Today, their fossil teeth are offering clues about where they came from and how they outlived the dinosaurs.

  • Alaska climate report: April brought sharp weather swings

    May 18, 2026

    April was a month of meteorological change in Alaska, as expected each year. What stood out this time, however, was the wide range of conditions during those changes.

  • A black and white dog sniffs the ground near a red-capped Amanita muscaria mushroom with white spots growing amongst fireweed, horsetail and dwarf dogwoods, with a smaller immature Amanita emerging beside it.

    Time Capsule: The world according to a dog's nose

    May 16, 2026

    When a Lab vacuums the ground with her nose and her tail moves like a helicopter blade, you know a grouse is about to fly. When the dog stops like a dragonfly, then runs off sniffing an invisible path, a snowshoe hare has crossed your trail.

  • A NASA sounding rocket carrying the FOXSI-5 mission lifts off from Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks at 11:23 a.m. Thursday, May 14, 2026. A bright plume of flame and smoke rises from the launch pad as the rocket climbs above a dense forest of spruce and leafless birch trees. The FOXSI-5 mission is part of a continuing NASA-led program to study the sun.

    Mission to study solar flares launches from Poker Flat

    May 15, 2026

    A NASA sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range at 11:23 a.m. Thursday in a continuing mission that uses X-rays to study the sun.

  • Tunnels left by root maggots are shown on fresh turnips

    Webinar will discuss ways to control root maggots in gardens

    May 08, 2026

    Root maggots, the larvae of a small fly that feed on crops such as turnips, broccoli and cabbage, are a difficult pest for many home gardeners in Alaska. University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers at the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station have been researching the species, timing and damage these maggots cause. A free webinar will go over some of their findings and discuss options for controlling these pests.

  • A wide aerial view of Tracy Arm in Southeast Alaska shows the scar from the Aug. 10, 2025, landslide descending from a steep mountainside into the fjord near a glacier terminus. Gray rock and debris cut through the center of the mountain, reaching the water below, where floating ice and sediment spread across the fjord. The glacier terminus is visible at lower right, with snow-covered peaks rising above the surrounding mountains. Along the far side of the fjord, a pale trimline marks where the tsunami stripped vegetation from the slopes. The photograph was taken from across the fjord during a U.S. Geological Survey flight on Aug. 13, 2025.

    Study of 2025 Alaska landslide and tsunami contains warnings

    May 06, 2026

    Scientists studying the massive August 2025 landslide and tsunami in Southeast Alaska warn that the likelihood of similar large-scale events has increased substantially across the North as glaciers retreat and permafrost degrades.

  • Visitors walk among UAF-branded blue and gold tents set up along a campus pathway during the Arctic Research Open House on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in May 2025, with the Elvey Building and a satellite dish visible in the background under a sunny sky.

    UAF to host free Arctic Research Open House May 14

    May 05, 2026

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks will host its annual Arctic Research Open House from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, May 14, on the West Ridge of the Troth Yeddha' Campus in Fairbanks.

  • Three bundled researchers work at a snow-covered permafrost coring site in a boreal forest near Fairbanks under a bright, low winter sun. From left, Louise Farquharson of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and Shannon Hibbard and Jennifer Kielhofer, both of the Desert Research Institute, operate coring equipment beside a dug trench, with shovels, packs and field gear spread across the snow in the Goldstream Creek area on April 13, 2026.

    Coring for permafrost insights in the Goldstream Valley

    May 04, 2026

    Drilling for a permafrost core in the Goldstream Valley of Fairbanks on this late-March day first required creation of a workspace. The project is one of many efforts to understand how people can adapt to, and plan for, a warming Arctic.

  • A trail of brown bear tracks, with toes pointing toward the photographer, dimples the gray sand between cobbles on a beach. In the background, the sun sets over the surf and a mountain range. A man walks along the beach horizon under the mountains.

    Meeting deadlines and interesting people

    May 01, 2026

    The deadline has been my quietly relentless muse for the last 30 years. She used to give me headaches. But then I met her so many times that the headaches stopped.

  • The payload section of the FOXSI-5 mission rests on a wheeled support frame inside the payload assembly building at Poker Flat Research Range on April 13, 2026. The cylindrical instrument, wrapped partly in gold thermal insulation, is surrounded by equipment crates and technicians preparing it for flight. The NASA sounding rocket carrying the payload is scheduled to launch in early May.

    Poker Flat to launch rocket to image solar flares

    April 30, 2026

    The fifth flight of a NASA-led mission using X-rays to learn more about the sun is scheduled for a daytime launch from Poker Flat Research Range during the first two weeks of May.

  • A bicyclist rides a snowmachine trail as it winds through wind-sculpted snowdrifts on a frozen river on a sunny day. On the left, deciduous trees rise above a cutbank. On the right, farther away, a rocky bluff topped with spruce trees towers above the river. In the distance, a line of mixed forest marks a far bank.

    Bishop Rock's oversized effect on breakup

    April 24, 2026

    A few weeks ago, as my friend Forest and I rode our bikes on the vast white sheet of the frozen Yukon River downstream of Galena, the river forced us into a 90-degree hard left. There, the channel suddenly necked down from being almost a mile wide to just a quarter mile.

  • A woman, Georgia Houde, stands in front of a woodshed half-full of firewood.

    Webinar to discuss ways to reduce firewood drying time

    April 22, 2026

    It can take significant time and effort to turn an Interior Alaska spruce or birch tree into dry firewood, but a recent study demonstrates ways to shorten and improve the efficiency of the process. Georgia Houde will discuss the findings of the study conducted by University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers Jessie Young-Robertson and Matt Robertson in a free webinar from noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29.

  • A round outdoor thermometer mounted on a snow-covered tree reads about minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit in a quiet, snow-blanketed forest of tall birch and spruce trees. Long blue shadows stretch across the deep snow under a clear sky. The image shows extreme cold conditions at a home in Two Rivers, Alaska, on March 11, 2026.

    Alaska climate report: March 2026 saw dangerous weather

    April 21, 2026

    March brought a series of dangerous and disruptive weather events across Alaska. Severe cold combined with powerful storms to affect communities statewide, according to the monthly summary from the Alaska Climate Research Center.

  • A composite image made of photos of Jim Vinyard standing in a field holding a baby goat and Amy Good wearing a wetsuit and standing on a boat, arms outstretched.

    Seminar explores Alaska's agriculture and mariculture connections

    April 21, 2026

    A discussion between a University of Alaska Fairbanks mariculture specialist and a UAF livestock nutritionist will dive into how the mariculture industry can support Alaska agriculture.

  • Cover of a science-themed coloring book titled “Journey Through the Heliosphere: The Sun–Earth System in Color,” featuring a detailed, symmetrical illustration of the sun in warm reds, oranges, and yellows against a dark background, with NASA and UAF logos at the top. The image shows the cover of a new sun-based, science-focused coloring book produced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in collaboration with NASA.

    UAF, NASA produced fact-filled coloring book about the sun

    April 20, 2026

    A new sun-based and science-focused coloring book produced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in collaboration with NASA is now available.

  • A person rides a bicycle down a straight snowmachine trail across an open plain of snow, with a thin line of spruce trees on the horizon. Tripod trail markers poke out of the snow to the right of the trail.

    Biking trail ends at the western coast

    April 17, 2026

    Winter finally ran out on us. After 515 miles and more than three weeks of pedaling and pushing our fat bikes, we decided to fly home to Fairbanks.

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