Background Articles

Heat waves like the one that engulfed parts of parts of the South and Midwest and killed more than a dozen people are becoming more common.

Voles breed like crazy. They can have three or four litters of six to eight kits each summer. Babies are born hairless, but are weaned and on their own in less than three weeks. Females are ready to breed at 30 days.

Scientists say that rising global temperatures are causing collapsing mountains as ancient permafrost begins to thaw.

Kiwi crews exposed to radiation at Mururoa Atoll hold concerns for subsequent generations.

Scientists say worsening heat waves have a clear link to climate change. This year, a seasonal El Niño pattern will also be adding fuel to the fire.

Beluga whales in Cook Inlet have been in a long period of decline, about two percent a year. But a new population count points to a reversal. The latest numbers have led researchers to declare the population stable for the first time in decades.

A long-running television show, "Alaska Weather" unique to Alaska that provides detailed weather, aviation and marine forecasts across the state will stop airing at the end of June. Especially in rural communities where many residents rely on the show for weather and safety information that's vital to coordinating flights and planning subsistence hunts or commercial fishing trips.

A research project found that the Bering Strait is at least a meter deeper on the Alaska side than previously believed, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. The project evaluated new and old bathymetric surveys, applying modern technology to the latter to more accurately pinpoint locations.

As the Fairbanks North Star Borough continues to tweak plans to improve air quality in its nonattainment zone, its wood stove change-out program continues to grow.