A slew of new instruments is helping shed some light on whether this storm is producing only the usual downed limbs and trees, blowing trash cans and power outages — or if it has the potential for more serious damage.
"USGS"
Taku Glacier, once the Juneau Icefield’s last advancing glacier, is now in retreat
A soon-to-be-published scientific paper says climate change has taken its toll on the now-shrinking Taku Glacier from the Juneau Icefield.
As sea ice changes in a warming Arctic, new challenges for polar bear research
“There’s probably going to be a greater amount of uncertainty with some of the information that we’re able to provide, because it’s simply not going to be as precise as it used to be,” said wildlife biologist Todd Atwood.
Juneau icefield researchers resurrect ‘Gorgon Spire’ — a name nearly lost in obscurity
An unnamed peak in the Juneau Icefield may get a cool-sounding name dreamed up a half-century ago — but then nearly forgotten.
Anchorage earthquake put new mapping tool to the test
The Anchorage earthquake was one of the first big tests of a new computer model aimed at quickly estimating how significant landslides and other ground failures will be following an earthquake.
Cash from Congress will boost Alaska-based system that protects planes from volcanic ash
A $12 million budget boost from Congress will help modernize the instruments that protect transcontinental jet planes from threats posed by volcanic ash.
Scientist resigns in tussle over release of National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska data
The magazine Mother Jones reports that a top scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey resigned late last year to protest what he saw as a threat to the agency’s scientific integrity just before the Geological Survey released a major assessment of how much oil and gas it believes is in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
New oil estimate for NPR-A: It’s ‘HUGE’
The government press release actually says it in all caps: “HUGE.” The new USGS mean estimate of 8.7 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil is far more than was last calculated in 2010.
How certain is that big oil discovery? Would you bet the farm on it or just a six-pack?
There’s a lot of excitement building about three big oil discoveries on Alaska’s North Slope. Caelus, Armstrong and ConocoPhillips all recently announced they’ve found huge new oil fields. But what does it take to prove an oil discovery?
USGS overhauling inaccurate, outdated Alaska maps
Alaska relies on topographic maps that are over 50 years old. These maps, some of which were hand-drawn, are rife with inaccuracies. Rivers flow upstream, mountains are out of place and some features are missing altogether. This year, Alaska hopes to take a big leap forward by completing new maps for over half of the state.