Frontier Scientists won two First Place awards at the annual Alaska Press Club Conference 2017. www.FrontierScientists.com won “Best Website,” and Frontier Scientists’ 30 minute TV program “Portraits by Clark James Mishler” broadcast on Alaska Public Media won in the “Best Culture Reporting” category. The Alaska Press Club‘s conference brought national judges for the contest competition […]
Category: General
Alaska forests in transition
In almost every patch of boreal forest in Interior Alaska that Glenn Juday has studied since the 1980s, at least one quarter (and as many as one-half) of the aspen, white spruce and birch trees are dead. “These are mature forest stands that were established 120 to 200 years ago,” said Juday, a professor of […]
Ten science conference tidbits
FrontierScientists @FrontierSi attended the annual American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting where Earth and Space scientists share their findings December 14-18, 2015. We were pleased to present about techniques for #sharingscience; science communication is a vital part of how science fits into and benefits society. During the presentation we were joined by Nagruk Harcharek, featured in […]
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 […]
What is (and imminently “was”) HAARP?
Googling HAARP used to be useless, which was astonishing for someone of my generation. Even now, most results outline the conspiracy theories behind the $300,000,0000 facility in rural Alaska. Occasionally my good friend and coworker, Dr. Chris Fallen, spoke about HAARP and his experiments there.
Predicting the effect of anomalous sea ice loss and increasing sea surface temperatures on global storm systems
Azara Mohammadi – To become a PhD candidate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Soumik Basu moved from his home in Kolkata, India to a region infamous for its “below zero” weather: Interior Alaska. Basu left warm weather and his family (not to mention his mother’s cooking) because “The climate is changing, so I wanted […]
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 […]
Be a part of Citizen Science Projects
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists – Today there are a myriad of ways you can get involved in the scientific field. Modern technology lets us coordinate, putting brainpower and computing power to good use. Volunteer as a citizen scientists, and let’s get science done together. Public participation in scientific research lends science new tools. The […]
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 […]
Alaska, updated — modern maps detail the 49th state
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists – The U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Mapping Initiative has released more than 400 new digital topographic maps for the state of Alaska. It doesn’t stop there – the initiative will give us a clear view of Alaska, creating a complete set of more than 11,000 maps over the next 6 […]
Assisted migration could help plants find a new home
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists – Plants, evolved to move with the natural rhythms of the world, cannot keep up with the rapid pace of climate change we are facing today. Their ideal habitats are sliding north as the world heats up. Do we get our hands dirty and help move the species most at […]
Safeguarding plants in an uncertain climate future
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists – On a remote island in Norway, deep within an old coal mine sealed behind blast doors, seeds sit in the cold and quiet and wait. They are an insurance against an uncertain future. Our uncertain climate future is altering habitats so swiftly that plants can’t keep up, and we’re […]
Earthshots puts visually stunning Landsat data to use
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists – Every eight days, a Landsat satellite carrying delicate sensing and scanning equipment passes high above wherever you might be on the planet. Data from Landsat mission images records changes on Earth’s surface since 1972, over the last four decades, and it’s freely available to scientists and the public. By visiting […]
Humble lemmings are an Arctic keystone species
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists – Arctic temperatures are warming at twice the rate of lower latitudes’, making the area one of the most rapidly changing regions on Earth. Arctic ecosystems are facing radical alteration. And, surprisingly, a tiny furry rodent may be a major player in those changes. Lemming populations have a powerful impact on […]
Plants march north
Laura Nielsen for FrontierScientists The face of the Arctic is changing as plant growth flourishes further north than before. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “Temperature and vegetation growth at northern latitudes now resemble those found 4 degrees to 6 degrees of latitude farther south as recently as 1982.” This change accompanies […]
Algae in the changing Arctic ecosystem
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists The Arctic hosts a complex ecosystem, sensitive to the alterations in our changing world. Algae is part of that biome, growing in strands which hang down from the edge of ice floes. New conditions have caused an explosion in the growth rate of the algae Melosira arctica, which will influence […]
A Walrus at the Edge of the Ice
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists Sea ice is the foundation of an entire Arctic ecosystem. Algae flourishes where the ice is active, providing sustenance for hordes of zooplankton. Birds feed on schools of small fish sustained by the zooplankton. There are species of seabirds which live here and nowhere else, and others whose natural rhythms […]
The oceans are our neighbors too
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists Deep sea oceans, once believed lifeless, teem with an astounding biodiversity. Where once we knew only speculation and fishermen’s tales, we now have a body of knowledge increasing with data from remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and human-occupied submersibles like James Cameron’s Vertical Torpedo. The deep ocean, the last unexplored terrestrial […]
Moviemaker James Cameron Speaks to Scientists
Liz O’Connell for Frontier Scientists – James Cameron seamlessly merged the movie-making world with the science world in his talk at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) December annual conference in San Francisco. While movie goers suspend disbelief as they immerse themselves into this director’s blockbuster worlds in The Abyss, Alien, Avatar, and Titanic, skeptical scientists […]
Alaska’s Ned Rozell reads in SF at Writers With Drinks
Liz O’Connell for Frontier Scientists – Who isn’t thirsty when it comes to good prose? Ongoing San Francisco’s Writers With Drinks mixes it up Saturday, December 8, 2012, at the Make-Out Room, 7:30pm. Ned Rozell, science writer from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will read from his book Finding Mars. Rozell joins SF luminaries Amy Tan […]
Science Kids at the Exploration Station
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists After snapping a few photos with the full-size inflatable model of the Curiosity rover, I went directly to the Discovery Dome, an inflatable planetarium. “We Choose Space!” was playing, a planetary show about human space exploration. A 360° panorama of the moon greeted me, an astronaut to one side, the […]
New UAF program draws young artists into science
Marie Thoms for UAF Cornerstone – Artists and scientists often share a common goal: making the invisible visible. Yet artistically talented students, especially girls, often shy away from scientific careers. A new four-year program led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks blends the art, biology and physics of color into a series of summer academies, […]
Scientists identify likely origins of vertebrate air breathing
Marie Thoms for UAF Cornerstone – University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists have identified what they think is the ancestral trait that allowed for the evolution of air breathing in vertebrates. They presented their research at the 42nd annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience Oct. 17 in New Orleans. “To breathe air with a lung, […]
Know your land: Alaska maps
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists – Over eight thousand historical maps of Alaska are now available to the public through the United States Geological Survey’s Historical Topographic Map Collection. The collection includes maps of Alaska crafted as long ago as 1899, maps created to commemorate Alaska’s induction into statehood in January 1959, and more. Records of […]
A Portal to Toolik Field Station
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 […]
International Polar Week and Climate Predictions in Ice
Laura Nielsen for FrontierScientists – This week is International Polar Week, September 16 – 22, 2012. The event coincides with the Fall Equinox, when 12 hours of daylight will light every location on the planet. Polar Week aims to involve the public with research going on in the Artic and Antarctic through educational activities and […]
Testing the Air You Breathe
Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists. Volunteers across the world are participating in a global air sampling network run by by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to monitor greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. This cooperative network, consisting of over 50 global locations, sends air samples weekly to a central lab in Boulder, Colorado. From […]
Sage Advice to Overwhelmed Students at AGU Conference
Liz O’Connell for Frontier Scientists – “Take a look around at the American Geophysical Union conference, there are a lot of old people there—potentially you can replace them,” was the advice relayed by a student attending the APECS Association of Polar Early Career Scientists meeting sponsored by ARCUS, Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. The […]
Earth Exploration, Space Exploration
By Laura Nielsen for FrontierScientists. “Earth really is our home.” Astronaut Drew Feustel was part of STS125’s mission repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. His flight team had trained three years and flown into space, where they witnessed 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. They’d made five spacewalks over five days, each walk lasting 6 […]
My Alaska Photo Contest Results
Here are some of the winning photos! Well done to all those who submitted such stunning work, and congratulations to the prize winners of the My Alaska Photo Contest. Winners, you are being contacted individually. Contributors whose photos got the most votes will pick their prizes according to number of votes received. Some notes on […]
May 9th ~ My Alaska Photo Contest – last chance!
May 9th is last day of our photo contest! Frontier Scientists encourages you to upload your Alaska photos. Show off your photography skills, and share some of your amazing Alaska experiences with all of us. Post your entries and get your votes in now. You can find rules and prize details here. Enter Photo Contest […]
New website brings Alaska Frontier Scientists to desktops in real time
Fairbanks, Alaska (April 26, 2011) — A University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist has launched a National Science Foundation-supported website, Frontier Scientists, to connect Alaska field scientists with those curious about Arctic discoveries. Frontier Scientists shares first-person accounts and real time insights from leading archeologists, grizzly bear biologists, volcanologists, climate change specialists and other scientists. The […]