Background Articles

The Inuit are famous for their ability to survive extreme conditions, having inhabited the Arctic for millennia. But as the ice recedes, this hard-earned knowledge is being lost.

The temporary repairs would consume about 60% of the town’s annual budget for contract work on roads, a Girdwood official said.

There were no bugs buzzing around the lights in the parking lot.

Nunavut communities have seen a five-year high of water advisories in 2021, without counting Iqaluit’s ongoing water emergency. As of Friday, about a month before the year’s end, 14 water advisories had been issued in seven communities outside of the capital city this year, more than tripling the four advisories issued in 2017.

Until recently, glaciers sprawling over three separate archipelagos in Russia’s High Arctic have remained more protected and intact than the faster-melting glaciers in subarctic Alaska and similar locations. But now, the melt of those Russian Arctic glaciers is speeding up too, according to a new study by German and Russian scientists.

“Our past research in western Alaska has shown that while we have not detected the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, up to 70 per cent of the other avian influenza viruses isolated in this area were found to contain genetic material from Eurasia, providing evidence for high levels of intercontinental viral exchange,” said Andy Ramey, a scientist with the USGS and lead author of the recent report. “This is because Asian and North American migratory flyways overlap in western Alaska.”

In Yakutia, just a few meters separate summer from winter. There are places here where you can always build a snowman or taste fresh snowflakes.

Fair organizers say they’re concerned about the spread of bird flu.

ICCT researcher Elise Georgeff has been investigating hydrogen as a potential replacement fuel. First, her team calculated how many ships could cross the Pacific Ocean using the existing hydrogen technology. "About 43% could be powered by using hydrogen fuel cells," Georgeff said.Unalaska and Adak islands in the Aleutians are in perfect locations to become pit stops in a trans-Pacific green corridor. Most of the international ships crossing from west to east follow the same path, and those two communities are right in the middle: about halfway through one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Climate change and global fuel shortages are combining to make energy prices unusually high in rural Alaska. Seeking relief from high energy prices and unreliable supplies are fueling transitioning to renewable energy. ANTHC is developing alternative energy projects in Ambler and has reknewable energy projects in more then 80 communities across the State.

The swallow that makes the biggest dent in insect populations in these parts is the cliff swallow. These birds can nest in colonies of several thousand given the right conditions. The largest group of swallows I’m personally aware of is on the middle Porcupine River, where the cliffs of impressive Howling Dog Canyon host at least 4,000 swallows.

The state’s environmental commissioner is pushing back on EPA’s position that the state should address power-plant emissions.

New research shows that amplified global warming in the Canadian High Arctic drove a profound shift in the structure of a river network carved into a permafrost landscape in only 60 years. Researchers combined air photographs from 1959 with field observations and state-of-the-art Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data they collected in 2019 to understand how the Axel Heiberg Island landscape has evolved over a 60-year period

Alaska fishermen face challenges as the Bering Sea crab harvest resumes, with environmental and economic upheaval threatening the future of the industry. Scientists are questioning whether full recovery is possible in a warming world for these ailing crab populations that have supported some of the world’s most lucrative fisheries.

Avian flu and avian pox are causing serious ailments and mortality in bird populations, with the viruses being transmitted through direct contact, ingestion, and inhalation, while pesticides and toxic run-off from mining activities also contribute to avian disability and mortality.

The need to diversify America's sources of graphite for electric vehicle batteries is driving the exploration of graphite mining projects in the United States, but concerns about the potential environmental impact and disruption to Indigenous communities remain.

Researchers from the University of Oklahoma are using Unangax knowledge and oral traditions to solve the mystery of ancient bear bones found on Unalaska and Amaknak Islands in Alaska, with the possibility that the bones were transported by sea from a neighboring island.

The Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho is leading efforts to protect vulnerable community members from wildfire smoke indoors by distributing free portable air purifiers and providing education on indoor air quality. A nearby paper mill is a local source of emissions. But now, wildfire smoke is the main pollutant the reservation faces, a near-constant each summer.

Residents of Grindavik have evacuated the town as the threat of a volcanic eruption looms over Iceland.

Researchers looked inside the stomachs of 34 spotted seals that were collected in Gambell and Shishmaref in 2012 and 2020. Of those, 33 contained microplastics.