environment

A Portal to Toolik Field Station

Posted 17 October 2012 by Liz O'Connell

Laura Nielsen for FrontierScientists We know that the Arctic holds unique climate conditions and a complex carbon balance. Tundra fires and thawing permafrost release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, while unique ocean currents and cold waters prompt higher levels of ocean acidification. Methane emerges from sea and soil. The Arctic sea ice cover shrinks to increasingly startling extents. Plant life changes in response to altered conditions, and wildlife struggles to adapt. Understanding Arctic systems is a vital piece of climate science that can provide policy makers the knowledge... Read more

Posted in Climate Change Watch, Computational Science, Modeling Arctic Waters, Permafrost |

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Fire is a natural part of the boreal forest ecosystem

Posted 28 August 2012 by Liz O'Connell

by Ned Rozell With their mushroom clouds topped with cauliflower crowns, plumes from wildfire smoke are again a common sight in Interior Alaska, which — with barely a sprinkle of rain — just experienced one of the driest Mays in the 100-year written record. Though it’s a normal human reaction to think of wildfire as a bad thing, fire’s occurrence on the landscape predates the arrival of people to the boreal forest by a long shot. The forest doesn’t function... Read more

Posted in Climate Change Watch, General |

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Frontier Scientists Releases Videos about Archaeology findings in Northwestern Alaska area.

Posted 28 February 2012 by Liz O'Connell

February 28, 2012. Bureau of Land Management archaeologist Bill Hedman cries out in amazement as he uncovers a prehistoric tool from a small hole he has dug in a treeless expanse of tundra. As the lone BLM archaeologist for 12 million acres of public land in northwestern Alaska, Hedman covers a gigantic area, nearly all of it roadless. He’s thrilled when his instincts for where to look are rewarded by a find like this. Wow, a Biface! is a real-time... Read more

Posted in AGU Fall Meeting 2011, Arctic Archaeology, General |

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