Background Articles

The air quality index, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency metric for air pollution, exceeded a staggering 400 at times in Syracuse, New York City and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. A level of 50 or under is considered good; anything over 300 is considered “hazardous,” when even healthy people are advised to curtail outdoor physical activity.

The Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by the 2030s, even if we do a good job of reducing emissions between now and then.

Lingering snow and cloudy days resulted in temperatures about 3.5 degrees below the statewide average from March through May.

Following a thaw slump, the water becomes cloudy and full of sediment, potentially suffocating the eggs of spawning sheefish. Scientists are concerned that permafrost thaw could lead to declines in the sheefish population, a staple food for many Alaskans.

A study by the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp and the CDC found that COVID vaccination was 92% effective in preventing hospitalizations and extremely effective at preventing symptomatic cases among the mostly Yupik residents of the region, with booster shots restoring protection against symptomatic cases.

When most people consider the arctic, or high-altitude mountain landscapes, they think of endless snow, ice and bare rock. But pastel-coloured flowers, sometimes just a few millimetres wide, bloom in these dramatic places too. The miniature flowers not only weather some of the toughest habitats on Earth, but can also help engineer the landscape for other species.

As Alaskan permafrost warms, hibernating arctic ground squirrels generate less heat, causing females to emerge from hibernation up to 10 days before their male counterparts – a mismatch that could have large, cascading ecological impacts. While reduced thermogenesis due to warming temperatures could allow the squirrels to conserve energy and, thus, increase winter survival, a shortened hibernation season could also increase the exposure of the animals to hungry predators, altering mortality rates, particularly for earlier emerging female squirrels. The phenological mismatch between the sexes may also disrupt reproductive rates. And over longer time scales, continued warming in the Arctic may lead to changes in male squirrel seasonal behaviors, say the authors.

Homer police confirmed the Wednesday capture of the “wanted fugitive and somewhat local celebrity," otherwise known as an invasive species.

Tromsø IL thought the municipality would reuse the deck. Now they will probably have to pay over a million kroner to have it removed.

The risk of wildfires is biggest locally in Skåne, Gotland and eastern parts of southern and central Sweden.Inland in the far north of Norrland is also ...

Researchers found the global decline in water storage was equivalent to 17 Lake Meads — the largest reservoir in the U.S.

The Icelandic puffin population has shrunk by 70% in the last thirty years. The Managing Director of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF) has stated that this is bad news for the ecosystem and for companies within the tourist sector, who have marketed the puffin as a kind of national symbol. Decline much worse than […]

Governments should consider vaccinating poultry against bird flu, which has killed hundreds of millions of birds and infected mammals worldwide, to prevent the virus from turning into a new pandemic, the head of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said.

Rare tropical permafrost near Mauna Kea's summit is diminishing, with frozen soil patches showing signs of shrinking over time, according to researchers, who suggest there is no lasting way to prevent it from melting.

The Bering Sea region is front and center for federal fisheries researchers after the 2019 heatwave produced extreme change in the marine ecosystem.

Scientists think a traumatized orca initiated the assault on boats after a "critical moment of agony" and that the behavior is spreading among the population through social learning.

The bill, which got unanimous approval, seeks to help Alaska earn money by allowing its tree-covered tracts to continue absorbing carbon dioxide.

When you see a wild bird such as a duck or seagull, think bird flu. Because it’s actually more likely than not they’re infected with the virus. And many species of wild birds are asymptomatic, meaning that they don’t show any symptoms.

But the data illustrates a circumstance both unseen and commonplace in Alaska’s biggest city: In April, unhoused people were found dead on a sidewalk, in a ditch, in a sleeping bag tucked in the corner of a parking lot, along the state’s busiest highway.

The threat to many species of wild birds and backyard poultry flocks is the same or greater than it was last year, said Dr. Bob Gerlach.