University of Alaska Fairbanks

Climate change may lead to larger fires, greater area burned, and more reburning across interior Alaska

Boreal forests are experiencing rapid warming, altering fire regimes and vegetation dynamics. However, projecting future fire activity remains challenging given complex interactions among climate, vegetation, and landscape features. We used the LANDIS-II forest landscape simulati...

A standardized permafrost ground temperature collection for Canada 2025

Abstract. Ground temperature is an essential variable for monitoring the thermal state of permafrost, developing models, and conducting fundamental research. However, the usability of GT data in Canada is often hampered by inconsistent file formats, a lack of metadata standardiza...

Seasonal surface melt onset and firn freeze-up across the central Wrangell and St. Elias Mountains

Abstract. High-elevation alpine firn is increasingly influenced by surface melt and meltwater retention, yet the spatial extent and timing of these processes remain poorly quantified. Here we present spatially distributed estimates of seasonal surface melt onset and firn freeze-u...

Highlights from an early base camp in Beringia 13,800 years ago: Shég’ Xdaltth’í’ and the Late Pleistocene peopling of Alaska

Human dispersal across the Bering Land Bridge (BLB) was a key event in the peopling of the Americas, but Beringia’s archaeological record remains poorly understood. In response, the Shég’ Xdaltth’í’ site in interior Alaska has been the focus of a multi-disciplinary study since 20...

Vertical distribution of pollution trapped by wintertime surface inversions in Fairbanks, Alaska, during the ALPACA experiment

Abstract. Air pollution in cold wintertime urban areas is a ubiquitous problem. Surface temperature inversions under low wind conditions and surface emissions lead to the formation of a shallow polluted surface layer (PSL). The presence of this PSL is well documented, but its hei...

Documenting the Impacts of Thermal Effluent on Downstream Ice Formation on the Chena River During a Record Cold Winter in Fairbanks, Alaska

Most Interior Alaska rivers develop seasonal ice cover through the winter, providing important ecosystem and societal services. A longstanding exception commonly occurs on the Chena River as it flows through the City of Fairbanks, primarily attributed to power-plant effluent that...

A global consistent database of plankton and detritus from in situ imaging by the Underwater Vision Profiler 5

Plankton and detritus are essential components of the Earth's oceans influencing biogeochemical cycles and carbon sequestration. Climate change impacts their composition and fluxes, and marine ecosystems as a whole. To improve our understanding of these changes, standardized obse...

The frequency of spawning and skipped migration in a central Canadian population of anadromous Arctic char inferred using acoustic telemetry

Understanding spawning frequency and migration behaviour is essential for managing iteroparous anadromous fishes such as Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Using a decade of acoustic telemetry data from southern Victoria Island, Nunavut, we examined the frequency of marine migrati...

Indigenous Knowledge and observations improve Arctic Ocean model skill and relevance

Ocean models are increasingly central to understanding and anticipating change in ocean ecosystems. Yet these tools have been developed almost entirely without the people who observe, depend on, and steward these environments. Here we describe a framework for building Arctic Ocea...

Case Study: Effectively Communicating Modeling Uncertainty to Communities Affected by Cryospheric Hazards – A Look at Interdisciplinary Collaboration Regarding Mendenhall Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in Juneau, Alaska

Cryospheric hazards are natural phenomena that are highly sensitive to climate change impacts and can have devastating impacts on surrounding communities. The rate of glacial change and loss under climate change is unprecedented and can result in more severe glacial hazards globa...

Concept for AI-Assisted Mammalian Negligible Aging

Version 0.3; Extends the original concept to AI-assisted biological maintenance and develops operational criteria for testing success. Distinguishes AI-related performance gains, sustained biological maintenance and evidence supporting organism-level negligible aging. Adds a pres...

Concept for AI-Assisted Mammalian Negligible Aging

Version 0.3; Extends the original concept to AI-assisted biological maintenance and develops operational criteria for testing success. Distinguishes AI-related performance gains, sustained biological maintenance and evidence supporting organism-level negligible aging. Adds a pres...

Modelling mineral dust emissions from proglacial valleys of the St. Elias Mountains, Canada

Abstract. Proglacial valleys of western Canada and Alaska demonstrate extensive historical and contemporary records of mineral dust emissions. These contributions remain unresolved by current dust emission modelling and unaccounted for in global emission estimates. We developed a...

Modeling the Distribution of Mountain Permafrost in Chile

Abstract. Mountain permafrost affects slope stability and hydrological processes, yet its distribution remains poorly understood in many parts of the world, including Chile. This study develops the first empirically calibrated national-scale high-resolution (30 m × 30 m) model of...

Spatial heterogeneity in post-fire permafrost evolution as revealed by satellite radar observations

Abstract. Wildfires, which have profound impacts on permafrost environments, are expected to increase in frequency and intensity as a result of climate change. This study aims to enhance our understanding of how wildfires affect permafrost by investigating multiple Arctic tundra...

Potential glacier contributions to the 2024 La Bérarde flood

Abstract. On 20–21 June 2024, an unprecedented flood of the Etançons river caused important damage to the village of La Bérarde (Écrins, France). An analysis of the event showed that the flood was caused by the combination of an intense rain-on-snow event at high altitude and the...

Searching for the elusive “A” horizon in buried paleosols

ABSTRACT Presence of an A horizon in paleosols is important for taxonomic classification, interpreting pedogenic processes, and reconstructing paleoenvironments. However, identifying the A horizon in buried contexts is challenging because of potential erosion during burial and po...

Evaluation of a 3D Crustal Velocity Model for Northern Israel Using Wavefield Simulations

ABSTRACT We evaluate a recently developed 3D crustal velocity model for northern Israel using numerical simulations of seismic wave propagation for eighteen earthquakes (3≤Mw≤4.5). Synthetic seismograms were compared with observed recordings from the Israel Seismic Network in the...