Science

Finding a genus home for Alaska's dinosaurs

A re-analysis of dinosaur skulls from northern Alaska suggests they belong to a genus Edmontosaurus, and not to the genus recently proposed by scientists in 2015.
Tags: Science, Alaska

A landslide is imminent and so is its tsunami

A remote area visited by tourists and cruises, and home to fishing villages, is about to be visited by a devastating tsunami.A wall of rock exposed by a receding glacier is about crash into the waters below.Glaciers hold such areas together — and when they're gone, bad stuff can be left behind. The Barry Glacier gives its name to Alaska's Barry Arm Fjord, and a new forecasts trouble ahead.Thanks to global warming, the glacier has been retreating, so far removing two-thirds of its support for ...
Tags: Science, Climate Change, Environment, Water, Alaska, Geology, Innovation, Greenland, Barry, Glacier, Prince William Sound, Anchorage, Whittier, Department of Natural Resources, Hoover Dam, Lituya Bay

Looming Landslide in Alaska Could Trigger Enormous Tsunami at Any Moment, Scientists Warn

The collapse of an unstable mountain slope in Alaska could trigger a catastrophic tsunami in Harriman Fjord. A retreating glacier is producing this precarious situation, highlighting yet another type of hazard caused by climate change. Read more...
Tags: Science, Climate Change, Alaska, Tsunamis, Glaciers, Landslides, Barry Arm, Retreating Glaciers

Measuring methane from space

A group of researchers from Alaska and Germany is reporting for the first time on remote sensing methods that can observe thousands of lakes and thus allow more precise estimates of methane emissions. The study, in which several researchers from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences were involved, is published in the journal Nature Climate Change. According to the results, the total emissions estimated so far must be revised downwards.
Tags: Science, Germany, Alaska, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Nature Climate Change According

Arctic Edmontosaurus lives again -- a new look at the 'caribou of the Cretaceous'

Published in PLOS ONE today, a study by an international team from the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas and Hokkaido University in Japan further explores the proliferation of the most commonly occurring duck-billed dinosaur of the ancient Arctic as the genus Edmontosaurus. The findings reinforce that the hadrosaurs -- dubbed 'caribou of the Cretaceous' -- had a geographical distribution of approximately 60 degrees of latitude, spanning the North American West from Alaska to Colorado.
Tags: Japan, Science, Alaska, Dallas, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Hokkaido University

Glacier detachments: A new hazard in a warming world?

On the evening of 5 August 2013, a startling event occurred deep in the remote interior of the United States' largest national park. A half-kilometer-long tongue of Alaska's Flat Creek glacier suddenly broke off, unleashing a torrent of ice and rock that rushed 11 kilometers down a rugged mountain valley into the wilderness encompassed by Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Tags: Science, United States, Alaska, Wrangell St Elias National Park

Disappearing Alaskan sea ice is significant for Arctic marine ecosystem

A new study shows that plant materials originating in Arctic sea ice are significantly incorporated into marine food webs that are used for subsistence in local communities of the greater Bering Strait region. The research has the potential to demonstrate the importance of sea ice ecosystems as a source of food in Arctic waters in Alaska and beyond.
Tags: Science, Alaska, Arctic, Bering Strait, Arctic sea

Cocaine Hippos, A New Mexico Raptor, and One Weird Cat: Best Gizmodo Stories of the Week

We’re heading into the last week of March, though it may not seem that way since 2020 feels like it’s lasted a few decades at this point. A worldwide pandemic will do that. Here’s to hoping that on April Fool’s Day, we’ll all wake up to find this has just been an elaborate, communal dream sequence put in motion by…Read more...
Tags: Science Fiction, Science, Voting, Air Pollution, Drones, Alaska, Dinosaurs, Sci Fi, Westworld, New Mexico, Best of the week, Raptor, Pandemic, Hippos, Best Of Gizmodo, Coronavirus

Alaska Automated Its Weather Stations and Created a Snow Data Disaster

Twice a day at National Weather Service Offices nationwide, personnel release weather balloons to measure atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed. In Nome, Alaska, Bob TenEyck or his partner would do that at 3 a.m., a few hours after measuring the snow depth and snowfall. For 112 years, these snow…Read more...
Tags: National Weather Service, Science, Snow, Data, Alaska, Climate Science, Nome Alaska, Bob TenEyck

Above-average February temperatures set over 1,000 new records in US alone

After delivering waves of springlike temperatures across the globe and even toppling a few daily highs, February 2020 ranked globally as the second warmest on record, which date back to 1880.The month's global land and ocean surface temperature departure from average measured 1.17 degrees Celsius (2.11 F) above the 20th century average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climate Report. This falls less than a tenth of a degree from February 2016&#...
Tags: Asia, Science, Australia, France, Russia, US, Spain, Canada, Alaska, United Kingdom, Antarctica, Noaa, El Nino, Pacific Ocean, Accuweather, Caribbean

ICYMI: COVID-19 fears dominate, snow graces an iconic race and stormy weather rattles Egypt

COVID-19 has been the topic on everyone's minds recently, and this week, the potentially deadly illness reached new levels of severity as cases continue to be confirmed across the globe. Meanwhile, New York took action against further spread of COVID-19, and experts weighed in on whether the warmer weather of spring and summer will have any impact on slowing down the virus. Here's a recap of the news you may have missed.WHO upgrades COVID-19 outbreak to pandemic levelsAs if the mounting ...
Tags: New York, Science, Saudi Arabia, China, Syria, United States, Egypt, Alaska, Associated Press, Jordan, Andrew Cuomo, Accuweather, Valencia, Henry, World Health Organization WHO, Mark Thiessen

‘Didn’t quite make it’: Data glitch forces Astra to miss out on $2M DARPA Launch Challenge prize

The once-stealthy California company known as Astra came within 53 seconds of sending up a rocket to try winning a $2 million prize in the DARPA Launch Challenge today, but ended up scrubbing the launch. If Astra's "One of Three" rocket had successfully launched its payloads to orbit from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska's Kodiak Island, it would have won DARPA's first-stage prize — and it could have been in the running for the $10 million grand prize with a second orbital lau...
Tags: Science, California, Alaska, Darpa, Astra, Kodiak Island, Pacific Spaceport

This year's warm winter could set a record 141 years in the making

A runner makes her way along a path near the Charles River in the Charles River Esplanade park, in Boston, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, during unseasonably warm weather. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Following the warmest January in recorded history, February's expected above-normal global land/ocean surface temperatures could result in the warmest meteorological winter in 141 years of record-keeping.Meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which began on Dec. 1, 2019, and will end Feb. 29, ...
Tags: Asia, Europe, Science, Boston, Canada, Atlantic, United States, Alaska, Arctic, Great Lakes, North America, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Accuweather, Arctic Circle, Anderson

Spring is coming earlier in US this year than it has since 1896

This geostationary operational environmental satellite image (GOES) East image was captured on March 20, 2019, at 8 a.m. ET prior to the equinox. (Photo courtesy NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)) Those hoping for an early spring this year will get their wish.The vernal equinox will take place on March 19 throughout the entire United States including Alaska and Hawaii, almost 18 hours ahead of when the vernal equinox occurred in 2019. Moreover, the ...
Tags: Europe, Utah, Science, US, Earth, United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Pacific, Accuweather, Slooh, Chester, Vilnius, Berman, Julian, UTC

The Climate Crisis Is Causing 'Dramatic' Changes in the Pacific Arctic

Nowhere is safe from the climate crisis, but some regions are suffering more than others. The Pacific edge of the Arctic Ocean is one of those regions, and it’s changing in big, scary ways. The region has gotten warmer and lost ice over the past century, but in a paper published in Nature Climate Change on Monday,…Read more...
Tags: Science, Russia, Alaska, Sea Ice, Arctic, Pacific, Arctic Ocean, Ice Ice Maybe, Pacific Arctic

Weekly Roundup, Friday 21 February 2020

By all accounts, the Airbus A220 is a lovely plane, well liked by airlines and passengers alike. How ironic that this great airplane almost completely destroyed its developer – Bombardier. See story below. Good morningThe Covid-19 virus (it now has a name) has been enormously on my mind the last several weeks, and for very direct and personally impactful reasons.  To help clarify my thinking, I wrote a detailed and careful analysis of the present situation and the possible unfolding future, an...
Tags: Travel, Amazon, South Korea, Europe, Japan, Florida, UK, New York, Science, France, Scotland, Hotels, China, Ipo, Singapore, Miscellaneous

The clock is running for DARPA Launch Challenge, with stealthy Astra Space racing to win $10M prize

The DARPA Launch Challenge has begun, with a once-stealthy startup called Astra Space aiming to launch two rockets from an Alaska spaceport within the next month and a half to win a $10 million grand prize. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency set up the challenge in 2018 to serve as an added incentive for private-sector development of a highly mobile launch system that the military could use. At first, DARPA specified that two orbital launches would have to be executed over the course ...
Tags: Science, Alaska, Darpa, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Astra Space

The clock is running for the DARPA Launch Challenge, with Astra chasing $10M prize

The DARPA Launch Challenge has begun, with a once-stealthy space startup called Astra aiming to launch two rockets from an Alaska spaceport within the next month and a half to win a $10 million grand prize. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency set up the challenge in 2018 to serve as an added incentive for private-sector development of a highly mobile launch system that the military could use. At first, DARPA specified that two orbital launches would have to be executed over the course ...
Tags: Science, Alaska, Darpa, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Astra

The clock is running for DARPA Launch Challenge, with stealthy Astra racing to win $10M prize

The DARPA Launch Challenge has begun, with a once-stealthy space startup called Astra aiming to launch two rockets from an Alaska spaceport within the next month and a half to win a $10 million grand prize. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency set up the challenge in 2018 to serve as an added incentive for private-sector development of a highly mobile launch system that the military could use. At first, DARPA specified that two orbital launches would have to be executed over the course ...
Tags: Science, Alaska, Darpa, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Astra

4 children found alive in remote part of Alaska after being stranded by blizzard for 27 hours

The remote village of Nunam Iqua is located about 160 miles northwest of Bethel. (AccuWeather) Four children between the ages of 2 and 14 were found alive, but suffering from severe hypothermia, on Monday after becoming lost in a blizzard for 27 hours near Nunam Iqua, Alaska, a remote community with a population of less than 200, according to the 2010 census.Alaska State Troopers have identified the children as 14-year-old Christopher Johnson, 8-year-old Frank Johnson, 7-year-old Ethan Camill...
Tags: Science, Washington Post, Alaska, Associated Press, Accuweather, Paul Walker, Camille, Anchorage, Walker, Bethel, Trey, Nome Alaska, Alaska Public Media, Alphonso Thomas, Christopher Johnson, KTUU TV

Alaska's national forests contribute 48 million salmon a year to state's fishing industry

Alaska's Tongass and Chugach National Forests, which contain some of the world's largest remaining tracts of intact temperate rainforest, contribute an average of 48 million salmon a year to the state's commercial fishing industry, a new USDA Forest Service-led study has found. The average value of these "forest fish" when they are brought back to the dock is estimated at $88 million per year.
Tags: Science, Alaska, USDA Forest Service, Tongass, Chugach National Forests

Peeking at the plumbing of one of the Aleutian's most-active volcanoes

A new approach to analyzing seismic data reveals deep vertical zones of low seismic velocity in the plumbing system underlying Alaska's Cleveland volcano, one of the most-active of the more than 70 Aleutian volcanoes. Unlike typical seismic imaging experiments that deploy dozens of seismometers, this study used only eight.
Tags: Science, Alaska, Cleveland

These Maps Paint a Dark Future for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge If Trump Has His Way

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last pristine landscapes in America. Tucked along the northern border of Alaska and Canada, the nearly 20 million acres of wilderness is home to a variety of wildlife species, including the Porcupine caribou herd, which visits the refuge’s coastal plain every summer…Read more...
Tags: Science, America, Canada, Alaska, Oil And Gas, Caribou, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Gwichin, Earther Exclusive, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge If Trump

5,974 coronavirus cases in China top SARS as evacuations begin

By KEN MORITSUGU BEIJING  — Countries began evacuating their citizens Wednesday from the Chinese city hardest-hit by a new virus that has now infected more people in China than were sickened in the country by SARS. The number of confirmed cases jumped to 5,974, surpassing the 5,327 in mainland China during the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003. The death toll rose to 132, which is still lower than the 348 people who were killed in China by SARS. Scientists say there are still many critical questions to...
Tags: Health, Hong Kong, Japan, Science, London, News, Australia, Washington, China, Sport, World news, Beijing, Britain, Soccer, United States, Alaska

Virus cases in China top SARS as evacuations begin

By KEN MORITSUGU BEIJING  — Countries began evacuating their citizens Wednesday from the Chinese city hardest-hit by a new virus that has now infected more people in China than were sickened in the country by SARS. The number of confirmed cases jumped to 5,974, surpassing the 5,327 in mainland China during the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003. The death toll rose to 132, which is still lower than the 348 people who were killed in China by SARS. Scientists say there are still many critical questions to...
Tags: Health, Hong Kong, Japan, Science, London, News, Australia, Washington, China, Uncategorized, Sport, World news, Beijing, Britain, Soccer, United States

Climate change could make giving birth riskier for polar bears in northern Alaska

A new study suggests that before the end of the century, mother polar bears in this region may no longer be able to find the deep snowbanks they need to dig dens. Megan Liu, a high school student and research intern working with Glen Liston at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, presented the preliminary findings at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco this week. Scientists have long known that climate change is hurting polar bears, but most research has focused o...
Tags: Science, San Francisco, Alaska, U S Geological Survey, American Geophysical Union, Steven Amstrup, Megan Liu, Glen Liston, Colorado State University in Ft Collins

Easy prey: The largest bears in the world use small streams to fatten up on salmon

A new study reveals a different picture of how and when brown bears in southwestern Alaska eat salmon. Most of these bears, also known as grizzlies, are dipping into small streams to capture their iconic prey.
Tags: Science, Alaska

Thawing permafrost affecting northern Alaska's land-to-ocean river flows

A new analysis of the changing character of runoff, river discharge and other hydrological cycle elements across the North Slope of Alaska reveals significant increases in the proportion of subsurface runoff and cold season discharge, changes the authors say are 'consistent with warming and thawing permafrost.' First author and lead climate modeler Michael Rawlins at UMass Amherst says warming is expected to shift the Arctic from a surface water-dominated system to a groundwater-dominated system...
Tags: Science, Alaska, UMass Amherst, North Slope of Alaska, Michael Rawlins

As climate change melts Alaska’s permafrost, roads sink, bridges tilt and greenhouse gases release

The accelerating melt is a global concern: Permafrost, which mostly lies in the northern reaches of the planet, is a vast carbon storehouse of frozen plants and animals that release greenhouse gases as they warm and decompose.
Tags: Science, News, Environment, Alaska, Local News, Northwest, Special Reports

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

A 3D-printed neighborhood, at-home insemination tools, alternative education and more innovation from around the globe Hawaii Moves to Ban Single-Use Takeout Containers Part of a comprehensive plan to drastically reduce single-use plastic reliance within the state, Hawaii passed a ban on plastic takeout containers—plates, bowls, cups, utensils, straws, foam containers, and more. The plan (formally named Bill 40) will roll out over two years, allowing …
Tags: Google, Space, Science, Design, News, Mexico, Tech, History, Alaska, Hawaii, 3d Printing, Archaeology, Bill, Paintings, Cave Art, Art History