Background Articles

Most of the 17 species of worms in Alaska seem to be exotic types that have recently settled the last Frontier with the help of humans, who gave them a lift.

Drifting icebergs can conflict with navigation routes and cause hazards for coastal communities and ships. Climate change is creating more ice shelf break-off than ever and scientists are keeping track of drifting patterns as a result.

“Dramatic”, says researcher Henrik H. Berntsen. The Norwegian Environment Agency has launched a major offensive to get rid of the invasive species. But, despite more fishing, there appear to be ever more humpback salmon arriving in Norwegian rivers. Currently, around 70,000 pink salmon have been caught in Norwegian watercourses this year.

Peatlands make up 3 percent of the earth’s landscape, yet absorb large amounts of carbon and harbor surprising biodiversity. Although peat bogs and fens are under increasing environmental threat, efforts to protect and restore these ecosystems are gathering momentum.

UAF graduate student Reyce Bogardus talks about sea ice, storms and coastal erosion at Nelson Lagoon, which is on the southernmost edge of the historical max...

Forty-two reindeer were found foraging among the skeletal remains of a herd on St. Matthew’s Island, a remote patch of Alaskan land in the Bering Sea. What makes it most puzzling is that only three years earlier, the same herd numbered 6,000 animals.

Climate change and warmer conditions have altered snow-driven extremes and previous studies predict less and slower snowmelt in the northern United States and Canada. However, mixed-phase precipitation—shifting between snow and rain—is increasing, especially in higher elevations, making it more challenging to predict future snowmelt, a dominant driver of severe flooding. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire took a closer look at previous studies, and because geographical areas respond differently to climate change, they found future snowmelt incidences could vary greatly by the late 21st century. Snowmelt could decrease over the continental U.S. and southern Canada but increase in Alaska and northern Canada resulting in larger flooding vulnerabilities and possibly causing major societal and economic consequences including costly infrastructure failures.

In recent years, polar bears in the Beaufort Sea have had to travel far outside of their traditional arctic hunting grounds which has contributed to an almost 30% decrease in their population.

According to a new study, thawing of permafrost due to climate change could expose the Arctic population to much greater concentrations of the invisible, lung cancer-causing gas Radon.

Gardeners in Alaska know that it’s hard to grow big, juicy tomatoes here. But as the climate rapidly warms in the far North, that could change. Anchorage reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) for the first time on record in 2019.

White-nose syndrome has wiped out millions of bats in North America, pushing researchers to look at alternative roosts like bat boxes. But the U.S. bat box designs may not suit Canadian bats.

When it comes to avian influenza, more commonly known as bird flu, all birds are not created equal.

One-third of the mercury going into the ocean comes from the atmosphere, a quarter comes from ocean currents, one fifth comes from river flows and one-fifth comes from coastal erosion. The speed at which permafrost is releasing toxic metal is still being studied.

In some ways, it was the Florida Man of storms – not quite knowing when to say when. Usually, thunderstorms fizzle out after they run out of rain or get cold air sucked in. But not Wednesday, when …

A small, furry rodent — the vole — is showing up throughout Utah as this year’s record amount of snow melts. Orchards, residential lawns, pastures, and golf course lawns are feeling the brunt of the vole’s activity. Voles are the world’s most prolific mammals.

About a week ago, we noticed an intruder in our front yard -- a vivid yellow, blob-like substance that appeared to be invisibly oozing across our garden mulch like the beginnings of a horror film.

A wildlife biologist says the search isn’t over. Opossum litters are usually eight or nine joeys — and can be as many as 13.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Agency for Marine and Water Management want to create a national list of invasive species, and have presented ...

Hurricanes form in the tropics, feeding on very warm ocean waters. As they track northward, they may transform to an extratropical storm with an added punch, sometimes reaching southern Greenland, Alaska, and even Arctic latitudes of the North Atlantic.

Tracking changes in permafrost can take years and sometimes decades, lags that cannot keep up with the transformations in the rapidly warming Arctic.