Published Aug 3, 2023 by Scienmag

he public can follow a team of scientists aboard the research vessel Sikuliaq as they spend the month of August studying conditions that existed on the Bering Land Bridge during the last ice age.

The project, led by University of Alaska Fairbanks geology professor Sarah Fowell, will collect samples from beneath the sea floor to learn about the vegetation and climate of the region about 25,000 years ago.

The project team will share updates during their journey via several digital and social media channels. There will also be opportunities to learn more about the project directly from the research team.

Published Aug 3, 2023 by https://fm.kuac.org/people/tim-ellis-2

Near-real time satellite data provided by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is helping state and federal agencies fight wildfires ignited by last week’s thunderstorms.

Thunderstorms packing some 42,000 lightning strikes have ignited dozens of wildfires over the past 10 days that’ve burned some 47,000 acres around the state, and forced evacuations in at least two communities. And the agencies fighting all those fires over such a large area require a lot of information to help get resources where they’re needed, as quickly as possible.

Melania Stroebel, an Alaska Fire Service Geographic Information System specialist, says that maps also improve safety by enabling firefighting agencies to reduce the number of spotter planes they dispatch to risky areas around wildfires.

Stroebel says the AFS and state Forestry and Fire Protection Division have in recent years been relying more on maps and other digital products generated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. The fire agencies then use those products for online resources like multi-layered maps that show lightning strikes, fire location and size, and even wildfire-smoke plumes.

Published Aug 2, 2023

High concentrations of harmful algae called Alexandrium catenella have been detected by a research vessel in the region’s waters near St. Lawrence Island, Wales and Little Diomede over the last week.

The samples that revealed a bloom were collected by an instrument aboard the Sikuliaq, a research vessel owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The ship was on a cruise led by scientists studying plankton at the ice edge in the Chukchi Sea. They were sailing back to Nome when water samples started turning up high concentrations of Alexandrium. Those samples were being monitored remotely by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts who detected last year’s unprecedented bloom while on an Alexandrium-focused cruise aboard the Norseman II.

The Sikuliaq is now in the Port of Nome for dockside operations ahead of its next cruise. That means it won’t produce any samples from July 30 through August 6. And when the vessel leaves again, it will continue to take opportunistic water samples, but it won’t be chasing the algal bloom. The next team of researchers to board the ship will be collecting cores on the seafloor. They’ll be heading to the southern Bering Sea.

Published Aug 2, 2023 by alaskabusiness

Streamlined regulations are now in place for the next generation of nuclear reactors, which could power Alaska as early as 2027

SB177 also streamlines the requirements for studies, now spread across six state departments, relying instead on work being done by UAF and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power.

“Accelerating deployment of advanced nuclear energy technologies will be a key to unlock both greater quality of life and greater competitive economic advantage for Alaskans, and that translates to greater security for our nation as we enter a new frontier of global competition,” says Steve Aumeier, senior advisor of strategic programs at Idaho National Laboratory. “Once again, with leadership of Governor Dunleavy, the Alaska Legislature, and key business and academic stakeholders, Alaska is paving way.”



Published Aug 2, 2023 by Caleb Jones

The University of Alaska Fairbanks announced on Monday that coach PD Melgoza has joined the hockey team as an assistant coach.

Melgoza once served as a coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Despite prior ties to UAA, Melgoza shared that he believes Fairbanks is home to the better program.

“Once Largen called me and offered me the job, it was a no brainer,” Melgoza said.

Along with his time in Anchorage, Melgoza brings with him six years of coaching experience. He most recently coached with the Waterloo Blackhawks in the USHL.



Published Aug 2, 2023 by Claire Stremple

Tuckerman Babcock resigned from his post as a member of the University of Alaska Board of Regents on Wednesday, after two months in the role and before his confirmation by the state Legislature.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy appointed Babcock, his former chief of staff and a longstanding Republican figure, to the board that guides policy and appoints the president of the state’s university system on June 1, after legislators rejected Bethany Marcum for the position in May.

In his resignation, addressed to the governor, Babcock thanked him and said he was humbled and honored by his appointment.

“I simply find myself unable to devote the full time and attention to the Board that you, my fellow Regents and the University certainly deserve,” Babcock wrote in the short letter, which he emailed Wednesday morning.

Published Aug 2, 2023 by https://www.kyuk.org/people/emily-schwing

Back in 2013, a team from the University of Alaska Fairbanks reported finding thousands of tracks from at least two dinosaur species somewhere along the Yukon River between the villages of Ruby and Kaltag. It’s unclear if anyone has been back since, and it’s also unclear what the people who live along the river know about them, which is a question Fiorillo also wants to answer.

“These communities may actually have something just because they're up and down that river. And those people see stuff, and they've had to have seen stuff, and maybe they have an explanation. What does that mean to them?” Fiorillo said. “And so if these communities have those stories, and if they're willing to share them, I would love to hear them.”

Fiorillo is joined by Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, a paleontologist with Japan’s Hokkaido University. Paul McCarthy, a paleopedologist, or expert in ancient soils, from the University of Alaska Fairbanks is also on the team.

The rocky outcrops the team will target are from the Cretaceous Period and are up to 100 million years old. They also hold fossilized plant material, small clues that can help the team piece together the story of the dinosaurs that once roamed the Interior. The expedition will cover up to 250 miles of the middle Yukon over the next three weeks.

Published Aug 2, 2023 by The Center Square Staff

“An earthquake, a labor strike at a major port, a pandemic – and we would see our store shelves empty out in short order. Rather than an academic discussion about interesting ideas, the report includes specific, workable strategies that list responsible entities, any required statutory or regulatory changes, proposed timelines and action steps, and metrics to be used to measure progress and success.”

The task force recommended creating an Alaska Department of Agriculture, which would cost more than $20 million, according to the report. It also called for $3 million for forgivable loan programs to improve access to capital for food producers.

Another $43 million is needed to increase research capacity and programs through the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, according to the report.

Other suggested action steps for expanding agriculture included extending leases on state-owned land and encouraging tax exemptions for farmland.