Sockeye Fire Summer Solstice

June 21 2015 was this year’s Summer Solstice. But for much of Alaska the long hours of sunlight were obscured by smoke. The Sockeye Fire near Willow Alaska started Sunday and raged, burning over 7,000 acres, forcing evacuations, ravaging homes and other structures and interrupting traffic on the Parks Highway. An admirable firefighting effort involving […]

That dress! – interpreting colors like an Arctic ground squirrel

Two people are looking at a picture of the same dress on the same screen. When asked ‘What color is this dress?’ they might give entirely different answers. Some people see a white dress with gold trim. Others see a blue dress with black trim. Others see variations. The viral picture set people at odds […]

Science Storytelling Workshop at AGU14

“What does this look like?” “Zombies!” one of the scientists suggested. “Right,” the cinematographer agreed. He reinforced the idea of shifting the frame to give the person on camera space for their gaze to travel – ‘Lookroom’. He’d noted before that when there’s an empty space looming behind a person’s back it creates tension. Perhaps […]

agu science storytelling workshop poster

Tips and Tools for Science Storytellers at AGU Fall Meeting

Liz O’Connell for Frontier Scientists – “Story, Story, Story,”  said Nancy Linde, NOVA producer, when asked what were the three important elements in creating the perfect NOVA.  This is good advice for journalists, videographers, and scientists who want to write an article or create a video about science. But what is STORY? A Science Storytelling […]

Video submission invitation — Science Storytelling Workshop

Science Storytelling Workshop: Video-making Tips and Tools Sun., 8 Dec., 3:30 P.M. – 5:30 P.M. San Francisco Marriott Marquis – Salon 4 Video is the new tool for scientists needing to document research, explain a thesis, communicate scientific findings to the public, or just tell an interesting science story. This science storytelling workshop provides tips and tools from technology […]

Flying machines for the dirty, dull and dangerous

Some places in this world are just too dirty, dull or dangerous for human pilots to fly. An airspace in the latter category is anywhere near gas flares in Alask’s oil fields. With only a few seconds of warning, flames blast high in the air from a network of pipes, releasing the stress of sucking […]

Fly Scout Fly is a new video about Greg Walker’s work with unmanned vehicles in Alaska

Liz O’Connell for FrontierScientists – Fairbanks, Alaska, June , 2012– “So our job is to get it out there, get exposure to the technology, get people to understand it’s benefits and its limitations. And see how it can solve their problems.” said Greg Walker, Unmanned Aircraft Program Manager at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Impressively […]

New videos about archaeology findings in Northwestern Alaska area

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 […]

Eruptions and the human eye

At current (Aug 01, 2011), the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s website status report has an advisory listed for Mount Cleveland: “A weak thermal anomaly was observed in satellite images of Cleveland over the past day… Short-lived explosions with ash clouds that could exceed 20,000 ft above sea level can occur without warning