Published Aug 23, 2023

JoMarie Alba joined the UAS Admissions team in June as Student Retention Specialist. This position supports the University of Alaska system Alaska Native Success Initiative (ANSI) and the UAS priority of attracting and retaining Alaska Native students, and community engagement.

UAS takes pride in having the distinction of Minority Serving Institution (MSI) and Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution (NASNTI) status, having twenty-two percent (22%) Alaska Native student enrollment.

In this role, Alba engages with students, counselors, advisors, and communities with a focus on Alaska Native student success.

She meets with students to provide access to resources for academic success, and develops culturally relevant coaching strategies, engaging Elders and other members of the Alaska Native community in supportive and meaningful ways.

Published Aug 23, 2023 by Mike O'Neill

In a new study published today (August 23) in the journal Science Advances, a team of researchers from MBARI, NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of New Hampshire, and the Field Museum confirmed that deep-sea octopus migrate to the Octopus Garden to mate and nest. The Octopus Garden is one of a handful of known deep-sea octopus nurseries. At this nursery, warmth from deep-sea thermal springs accelerates the development of octopus eggs. Scientists believe the shorter brooding period increases a hatchling octopus’ odds for survival. The Octopus Garden is the largest known aggregation of octopus on the planet—researchers counted more than 6,000 octopus in a portion of the site and expect there may be 20,000 or more at this nursery.

“Thanks to MBARI’s advanced marine technology and our partnership with other local researchers, we were able to observe the Octopus Garden in tremendous detail, which helped us discover why so many deep-sea octopus gather there. These findings can help us understand and protect other unique deep-sea habitats from climate impacts and other threats,” said MBARI Senior Scientist Jim Barry, lead author of the new study.

“The deep sea is one of the most challenging environments on Earth, yet animals have evolved clever ways to cope with frigid temperatures, perpetual darkness, and extreme pressure. Very long brooding periods increase the likelihood that a mother’s eggs won’t survive. By nesting at hydrothermal springs, octopus moms give their offspring a leg up,” said Barry.

Published Aug 23, 2023 by Adrian Peterson

Around the world, July was listed as the warmest month on record. “By the global standard this just smashed the previous records,” said Rick Thoman, an Alaska climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

With temperatures higher than normal, from Antarctica to the North Pole, the last frontier did not escape the impacts of the world wide heat. “Some places in the western Northwest Territories saw temperatures as high as a hundred degrees at the same latitude as Fairbanks,” explained Thoman.

While Fairbanks was able to avoid triple digit temperatures, the neighboring communities still saw record highs. Just off of the Alaska Highway in Northway, about 260 miles east of Fairbanks, the record high of 88°F was seen once again. It was also the warmest July on record for the interior, but it wasn’t the warmest month. “In most places, June of 2004 was a little bit warmer,” said Thoman.

Those long term trends are significant for climate data and observed patterns and trends. “That’s what’s really going to be driving things like permafrost thawing, things like insect activity in the boreal forest,” Thoman said.