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 [...]
The Beauty of Alaska's St. Matthew IslandBy Ned RozellST. 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 wedge of [...]
Pound for pound, Alaska mosquitoes pack punch By Ned Rozell, In mid-June, while standing deep within the northern boreal forest, it’s possible to feel a sensation similar to one felt in mid-December at the same spot. It’s a sting to exposed skin, delivered in December by bitter air and in June by [...]
Raven roosts shrouded in mystery March 30, 2023 / Ned Rozell Last week, while getting ready to climb into a bunk, I heard the yell of a raven outside. And then another, and a few more. I pulled on my boots. Outside, a steady stream of black bodies glided overhead, many of [...]
Journey into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes By Ned Rozell One hundred years after the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is still a moonscape of ash and volcanic rock, without a tree or shrub in sight. The valley, located on the Alaska Peninsula where the Aleutians [...]
Alaska Caribou Cams Give Insight Into Secret Lives Caribou wearing cameras around their necks have filmed a secret world of mushroom nibbling, desperate head-shaking during bug episodes, and nuzzling of wet newborns seconds after they fall to the tundra. The caribou cams gave biologists who teamed up from several agencies a new [...]
Black-capped Chickadees Survive By Shivering in Alaska December 24, 2020 / Ned Rozell During the darkest days of Alaska’s winter, black-capped chickadees stuff themselves with enough seeds and frozen insects to survive 18-hour nights. Where the chickadees spend those long nights was a mystery until a biologist tracked them. Susan Sharbaugh spent [...]
Alaska bears alert scientists to secret salmon streams Right now, on the brushy tundra of northern Alaska, grizzly bears are gathering at quiet streams and rivers, attracted by the largest calorie reward they can find — spawning salmon. Until recently, scientists did not know salmon swam up some of these waterways, [...]
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 [...]
