The Crystal Serenity is carrying 980 passengers on a 32-day journey from Anchorage to New York City. The cruise ship is the largest ever to navigate the Northwest Passage, a voyage of many other firsts for Crystal Cruises, according to captain Birger Vorland.
Oceans
NASA keeps watch of shrinking Arctic ice
“A lot of ice experts, including myself, thought we were headed for a record year minimum,” said Hajo Eicken, a professor at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Nome greets massive Serenity with drums, dance, festivity
Despite rainy weather, the luxury cruise liner Crystal Serenity arrived in Nome on schedule, Sunday morning. About a thousand people poured out of the floating hotel and emptied into the town of Nome for a full day of scheduled activities and events, including the formal commemoration held at the Nome Mini Convention Center.
Alaska group works to let locals test shellfish for toxins
Alaska SeaGrant officials are working on a tester for paralytic shellfish poisoning, an illness that can cause tingling in the lips, tongue, fingers and toes and eventual breathing problems. Officials say testing currently costs $125 per test and has a time delay, as samples need to be sent in to the state.
Plankton population and the power of pink salmon
Although plankton might seem like an ecological afterthought, biological oceanographer Sonia Batten disagrees. She calls them the most important organisms in the ocean.
Is the Arctic ready for the Crystal Serenity?
The luxury liner Crystal Serenity is on its way from Seward to New York City through the Northwest Passage. It’s the largest cruise ship to navigate the route, which hugs the coasts of Alaska, Canada and Greenland. And it’s attracted international attention, with many wondering if it’s a sign of what’s to come as the…
Preserving the history of Alaska’s canned seafood
A historian is researching the past of Alaska’s canneries and a Petersburg woman has volunteered her collection of canned salmon labels.
Amid Industry Downturn, Global Shipping Sees Record-Low Growth
The global shipping industry is suffering a huge downturn, thanks in part to China’s sagging economy. “This is likely to be one of the worst years ever in terms of losses,” says an industry expert.
Researchers developing cheaper, faster monitoring method for paralytic shellfish poisoning
Researchers are developing a field test kit that would make it easier to monitor for paralytic shellfish poisoning. Project partners include NOAA researchers from the Lower 48 as well as community testers based on Kodiak Island and in the Alaska Peninsula.
Catastrophic floods in Louisiana have caused massive housing crisis
An estimated 40,000 houses have been damaged by flooding that some people have compared to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some 86,000 people have applied for federal disaster aid.