Published Jul 7, 2023

From June 27-July 3, students and instructors gathered at the Arctic DTU campus in Sisimiut for a field course on issues of water, hygiene, and sanitation (WASH) in Greenlandic settlements and towns.

As is the situation throughout towns and settlements Greenland, Sisimiut is connected by air and by water but not by road. Municipal infrastructure provides piped water that has been collected locally and treated for drinking to houses and to accessible communal locations. Greywater (wastewater) is directly discharged into the surroundings. Sewage and blackwater (wastewater from toilets) are piped to a disposal station and then emptied directly into the open ocean.

The Arctic WASH course began online in May to provide students a foundational understanding of WASH issues across the Arctic Circle in Canada, Norway, Alaska, and Greenland, as well as perspectives from the Andes Mountains and Sub-Saharan Africa. While many participants had a background education related to water and engineering, the Greenlandic context presented challenges that differ from southern latitudes and from other northern geographies. Such challenges include: rocky terrain, extreme cold weather, permafrost, low populations to support infrastructure, and more.

This course was the first since 2019 to occur in person, and the first Arctic WASH summer school in Sisimiut. Students will continue their projects and submit final reports at the end of August. The course was organized by the Thematic Network on Arctic WASH, Technical University of Denmark, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, University of Alberta, Dalhousie University, and University of Alaska Anchorage.

Published Jul 7, 2023 by Jenni Monet

Rick Thoman is thinking hard about the cost of climate change and the benefits of better tracking, potentially influencing Alaska’s response to extreme weather and more

Rick Thoman of Fairbanks is one of roughly 100 climate and weather experts working with the investigative International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Across two decades, the IARC has been recognized for laying bare pressing scientific problems stemming from the rapidly changing Arctic – and not just in the United States but across the Circumpolar North. 

Mr. Thoman, a retired National Weather Service forecaster and climate scientist of thirty years, joined the IARC in 2018, a career transition he jokingly refers to as his “Wal-Mart Greeter” job. In many ways, his position at the IARC’s Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) allows him to maintain the kind of public relations outreach he delivered while with the NWS, translating available weather and climate science to area tribal nations and organizations that have a real need for understanding this information.  

To this end, he has also spent a lot of time, lately, monitoring and discussing what is less seen in climate reports – a dearth of data that he says could negatively impact the practical and economic preparation for individuals and municipalities across Alaska in anticipation of a new normal: stormier, wetter weather. (Think heavier snowfalls and more flood-prone breakup seasons.) 

Published Jul 6, 2023 by Vol. 28, No

TEC said that it has early approval through the Department of Energy's Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research program for the funding of three studies and anticipates completing these studies in early 2024. One of the studies consists of partnering with PNNL on a characterization of the biological and environmental aspects of the Turnagain Arm location, in particular to enable permitting for the deployment of tidal technologies.

The second study, also with PNNL, involves the computer modeling of water speeds and turbulence. The third study, partnering with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, involves water speed measurements to confirm the water speed modeling.

The company is also seeking funding for bathymetry and geotechnical studies.

Published Jul 6, 2023 by Kate Perez

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute forecasts that auroral activity will be high next Thursday, with highly active light displays visible in parts of Canada and the U.S.

The northern lights could be visible in northern parts of 17 states if the weather is clear.

"Auroral activity will be high(+). Weather permitting, highly active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Iqaluit to Vancouver, Helena, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Bay City, Toronto, Montpelier, and Charlottetown, and visible low on the horizon from Salem, Boise, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Indianapolis and Annapolis," the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute's forecast said.