Riley the Wolf of Denali Passes Away Riley the wolf has died. She lived in the wild until almost the age of 11, which biologists call a remarkable feat. Wolves are lucky to live to 6. The female wolf, former leader of the once-mighty Riley Creek pack in Denali National Park, drowned [...]
Remarkable groove slides gold into Alaska By Ned Rozell Nate Becker lives with his family on a quiet stretch of the Yukon River as it flows into Alaska. On a recent ski trip, I visited the Beckers’ home along with two geologist friends. Nate had a question for them. “Why are all [...]
What We Learned from Mt. Redoubt's Eruption 30 Years Ago By Ned Rozell On December 15, 1989, a pilot who had flown a 747 passenger jet all the way from Amsterdam was looking forward to landing in Anchorage. There, he would take a short break before continuing to Tokyo. Descending over Southcentral Alaska, he and [...]
Fish Tapeworms Found Near Fairbanks Alaska Pond By Ned Rozell A few times each week, someone carries something dead or alive through the doors of the UA Museum of the North, hoping an expert can identify it. A couple weeks ago, a woman arrived with a small jar of what appeared to be white worms. [...]
Yet another reason not to buy farmed (fake) salmon "1,400 times more antibiotics..." "But Nova Austral's pristine image crashed in June with the first reports that it had doctored the number of salmon that had died at its farms" Another farmed salmon company in Chile has been caught lying. Besides the chemicals is has to [...]
Monitoring a mystery bird in Yakutat, Alaska By Ned Rozell YAKUTAT — On sandy barrier islands between mountains and the sea, two different birds that look alike lay their eggs side-by-side. Biologists here are learning more about the less-common, more mysterious one. Arctic terns and Aleutian terns gather together on ocean spits to scratch out [...]
Changing Climate Forcing Ducks North to Alaska By Ned Rozell Every spring, millions of ducks touch down on Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, a spread of muskeg and dark water the size of Maryland. These days, more ruddy ducks seem to be among them. Recent sightings of this handsome, rust-colored bird — the males with [...]
Detecting Alaska's Next Earthquake in Realtime By Beth Grassi Across Alaska and a sliver of western Canada, 280 seismic stations silently do their jobs. Hidden in dark holes drilled into rock in boreal forest, northern tundra and mountaintops, the instruments wait patiently for the next tremor. The EarthScope Transportable Array of seismic monitors is now [...]
The dashed line of the Arctic Circle By Ned Rozell A friend and I just camped out at the Arctic Circle, about 200 miles north of where we live in Fairbanks. A dashed line on the map went right through our campsite. That line, the Arctic Circle, traces the northern hairline of the globe, at [...]
Caribou on the Run at Fortymile River By Ned Rozell Floating down the Fortymile River, we heard the roar of a rapid just ahead. At the same time, we noticed the caribou, about 50 of them, clustered on a cliffside near the water. It was too late to pull over. I aimed the canoe for [...]
