Background Articles

First Nations groups in the Yukon Territory and Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration are advancing discussions about whether hatcheries could help stem a steep crash in salmon populations on the Yukon River.

Across Canada, an estimated seven million birds and counting have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza during a devastating global outbreak that shows no signs of winding down. Now, as millions more migrate north, scientists warn it’s yet another opportunity for this virus to spread and evolve.

Large, high-fat copepods — distantly related to shrimp and crab — are dwindling and loosing fat with the lack of sea ice from global warming.

With Arctic permafrost thaw rapidly outpacing projections, researchers are racing to understand the impacts of an increasingly unstable future.

The State of Alaska recently received $38 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to ease the burden of climate change. The money was made available through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program. These funds are aimed at helping communities better rebound from presidentially declared disasters, but Salazar says the state will be allowed to allocate the new funds for preventative measures.

Drivers in much of Alaska including Anchorage will have until May 15 to remove studded tires; those in southern areas will have until May 1.

In March, Ingrid Weisse, her husband and two young sons were aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 889, headed home from Portland, Ore. to Hawaii, when the Boeing 737 began buffeting so fiercely that it felt as if the plane would shake itself apart. The reason for this is clear-air turbulence, As global temperatures increase due to rising levels of greenhouse emissions such as carbon dioxide, the jet stream is experiencing more wind shear.

The relocation between from Newtok to Mertavik has taken time and community members stay patient as local, state, and federal agencies figure out the complex funding and logistical hurdles.

Taking care of Hawaii's unique natural environment takes time, people and money. Now Hawaii wants tourists to help pay for it.

Coordinating teams to collect and sort marine debris, plus shipping it to a landfill or recycling center is an expensive logistical nightmare as Alaska waters increase with marine debris.

"Siku" means sea ice in the Siberian Yup'ik language. But about a hundred other Yup'ik words describe different types of sea ice, including icebergs, floating pressure ice ridges, solid ice safe for travel — and "pequ," "an unsuitable area in ice field where the current causes ice to heave up or break up," Vera Metcalf said.

Story telling provides a powerful tool in a changing climate. Epen Hobson has been experiencing the land and ocean through the perspective of an Inuit photographer and hunter. A recipient of the Arctic Resilient Communities Fellowship he shares, "We're an oral people, we tell stories, we teach by telling stories," The effects of climate change are concrete and dramatic for the Arctic communities such as Utqiagvik, and Hopson is hungry to see infrastructure and policy solutions to address them.

In 2016 Renato Alberti, who had overseen the structure for 35 years, noticed a vertical crack in one of the outer walls. Alberti, now age 67, filled the gap with repair foam, but the crack reopened after only a few days. Alberti thought something unusual must be happening. Perhaps the mountain was becoming unstable.

All the birds were gone. Now there is full life in the bird cliffs again. The researchers believe they have found the explanation for the mystery.

Researchers will be stepping up their efforts to track chronic wasting disease in Saskatchewan's north.

The Copper River Basin in Alaska has experienced less reliable snow and ice conditions in recent years, impacting winter activities such as trapping, hunting, and gathering firewood. This study, based on nine oral interviews with local residents, reveals that crossing rivers has become more treacherous and difficult, with significant changes in ice conditions observed since the 1970s. Decreased snowpacks and increased shrub growth have also posed obstacles for accessing winter trails, requiring individuals to cut through forests. These changes, combined with socio-economic and technological factors, have affected the way people engage in winter activities in the Copper River Basin. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of climate change's impact on winter activities in Alaska and the Circumpolar North.

Engineers struggled to keep snow geese away from Montana’s deadly Superfund site, but ecologists have a new plan.

Wednesday was the annual test of Alaska’s tsunami warning system — but Homer, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Sitka and Unalaska didn't hear it at all.

About 800 people have had to leave their homes due to the risk of avalanches in East Iceland.

The region of Catalonia, northeastern Spain, is in its worst drought since measurements began. The sheep reservoir supplies water to the city of Barcelona.