Background Articles

Researchers in southwestern Alaska are closely monitoring the Mulchatna caribou herd using advanced technology to determine whether disease or nutrition is behind the herd’s failure to recover. The study comes amid efforts to understand a dramatic population decline that has led to a subsistence hunting closure.

Rising Arctic temperatures are causing centuries-old graves on Svalbard to deteriorate, with collapsing coffins exposing skeletal remains to the elements.

Rainy sloppy conditions in Trondheim underscored the importance of the climate work. But the warm wet weather barely dampened the enthusiasm of the Norwegian crowd.

Shrinking sea ice along northern Labrador is forcing Inuit communities to adapt by blending traditional knowledge with modern technology to address the climate crisis.

The mountain lion was the first reported sighting of the species in Southeast Alaska since 1998.

What a virtually snowless winter and early spring means for flower beds, car and ski trail maintenance, recreators, snowplowers and pooper scoopers in Anchorage.

In recent years, researchers have documented salmon surviving in North Slope rivers, bowhead whales expanding their foraging grounds and humpbacks moving into the Arctic.

The decision worried some local scientists and experts who say the data was vital for people to be able to monitor air quality and their government’s progress in improving public health.

Vehicles accumulate dirt, which has minerals, and minerals are hard to come by in the environment during winter. Salt could certainly be one of the minerals they seek as sodium is a driver of appetite, but it is possible it could be another type of mineral they’re after—hard to say for sure without getting a profile of the dirt.

Bethel and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta experienced one of the mildest winters on record, with Bethel marking its sixth warmest winter in 101 years amid unusually low snowpack.

Scant snow is giving way to shaggy brown grass normally not seen until spring breakup, raising concerns now that conditions are increasingly ripe for a fast-moving fire at a time of year usually deep in the grip of winter.

A Yukon government survey reveals significantly above average snowpack levels in parts of the territory, particularly in the Klondike region, signaling a potential for increased flood risk.

A new study from Kodiak’s NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center links ocean acidification to a significant decline in red king crab populations in the Bering Sea, challenging the view that warming is the primary stressor.

New research indicates that the increasing penetration of warm Atlantic waters is accelerating sea ice loss in the Siberian Arctic, with significant implications for the region’s ecosystem and climate.

Warm Atlantic waters are rapidly reshaping the Siberian Arctic, sparking an era of unprecedented sea ice loss—something that will have ongoing implications for the region’s ecosystem and climate, says new research.

Anchorage is on track to finish February with the least snowfall on record as mild temperatures prevail without measurable snow. Chief Meteorologist Melissa Frey explains the unusual winter pattern with far less snowfall than expected.

An OU scientist explains how powerful Arctic cyclones are breaking up thin sea ice in rapid bursts, a phenomenon that challenges existing climate models.

A new study finds that mountain glaciers are melting at more than twice the rate observed in the early 2000s, with over 6.5 trillion tonnes of ice lost since 2000 and record losses in 2023.

Research from the University of Alaska Fairbanks indicates that early snowmelt, driven by climate change, could lead to more extreme wildfire seasons in Alaska, with the southern regions experiencing earlier fire starts than usual.

A mass marine heat wave, known as 'the Blob', decimated the food supply for common murres, leading to an estimated 4 million bird deaths, according to biologist Heather Renner.