The University of Alaska Fairbanks will hire eight new scientists thanks to a $20-million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation.
The award, announced Tuesday, will fund a five-year, interdisciplinary project focusing on how Alaska communities adapt to environmental and social change. It’s being dubbed the Alaska Adapting to Changing Environments, or ACE program.
A total of 47 researchers will focus on three regions of the state. In Southcentral, scientists will examine the effects of land cover and precipitation changes on fisheries and tourism in the Kenai River watershed. Researchers in Northern Alaska will look at how subsistence is affected by thawing permafrost. Here in Southeast, the focus will be on glacial recession near Juneau.
UAF Vice Chancellor of Research Mark Myers and UAA biology professor Lilian Alessa will serve as co-directors.
