Moose Not Easy To See On Big Alaska River

Moose not easy to see on big Alaska river By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]L[/fusion_dropcap]OWER TANANA RIVER — On a day like this 121 years ago, a hungry U.S. Army explorer passed here at the mouth of Fish Creek, where clear water collides with the cloudy Tanana. Henry Allen did not stop to fish. He had food, [...]

Fire breaks down and builds up Alaska boreal forest

Fire breaks down and builds up Alaska boreal forest By Ned Rozell I once wrote about how fire had ravaged more than 10 percent of Interior Alaska during two smoky summers. A wildlife biologist called me out for choosing an inadequate verb. Tom Paragi chooses words that are more positive when he looks at a [...]

Yukon River breaking up smoothly this year

Yukon River breaking up smoothly this year By Ned Rozell: [fusion_dropcap]C[/fusion_dropcap]IRCLE — As the pilot of a chartered Cessna 206 curved in for a landing above the Yukon River, his passengers squinted at white river ice that clung to the south bank near town. Chocolate brown open water filled river channels both upstream and downstream [...]

Calling frogs signal the change of season

Calling frogs signal the change of season By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]N[/fusion_dropcap]EAR BALLAINE LAKE — Over the blat of engines and hum of tires on nearby Farmers Loop, Mark Spangler hears the chuckles of the animal he is studying. Male wood frogs in a one-acre pond on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks are [...]

Coyotes are everywhere, even in Alaska

Coyotes are everywhere, even in Alaska By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]L[/fusion_dropcap]ast Friday, an email popped up in all the mailboxes of people with the Geophysical Institute: Someone saw what might have been a wolf on the trails north of the UAF campus. "Please be cautious if skiing in the area." A few people responded, saying they [...]

Many Signs of Alaska’s Climate Change

Many Signs of Alaska's Climate Change By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]I[/fusion_dropcap]n anticipation of an arctic science conference happening next month in Fairbanks, an editor asked me to write a column on climate change in the north. I told her climate stability would be the bigger story, since basswood trees used to grow in Fairbanks and redwoods [...]

Ice Worms: Enigmas of the North

Ice Worms: Enigmas of the North By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]R[/fusion_dropcap]ecent research on the ice worm has shone some light on the tiny creature that appears when the sun sets on warmish glaciers. Few people have seen ice worms, but they are not mythical. Wispy and less than one inch long, ice worms live on glaciers, [...]

Alaska Polar Bears Walking a Treadmill of Ice

Alaska Polar Bears Walking a Treadmill of Ice By Ned Rozell Stronger winds and thinner ice are forcing Alaska polar bears to work harder to remain in Alaska, according to scientists who have studied increased movements of both sea ice and bears. "There's an energetic cost to stay in Alaska," said David Douglas of the [...]

The Beauty of Alaska’s St. Matthew Island

The Beauty of Alaska's St. Matthew Island By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]S[/fusion_dropcap]T. MATTHEW ISLAND — I'm resting on a mattress of tundra plants that are growing more than 200 miles from the nearest Alaska village. While I have snuck away here to my own private ridgetop, eight other people, all scientists, are somewhere on this 30-mile-long [...]

Measuring the highest peaks in the Brooks Range of Alaska

[fusion_dropcap]U.[/fusion_dropcap]S. Geological Survey topographic maps give you a choice on the height of Mount Isto. Depending on what map scale you choose, the mountain in the Brooks Range is either higher or lower than 9,000 feet. Using a new combination of techniques, an Alaska researcher has crowned Mt. Isto the highest peak in America's arctic, [...]