The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is a premier center of Arctic science. Our collection of 18 facilities and laboratories is unique, allowing our scientists to pursue a wide range of research that is based on the ground, in the air through manned and unmanned aircraft, or in space. We study permafrost, ice and snow; sea ice and the depths of the Arctic Ocean; coastal erosion; the seismicity and volcanology of Alaska; tectonic plates; the Arctic atmosphere; the aurora and other facets of near-Earth space. The list goes on. Our work helps the nation better understand climate change. It benefits public safety through research into warnings about earthquakes and volcano eruptions. It provides information about Arctic air pollution. It assists in national defense. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, we know the heightened importance of helping answer the many questions that arise from a changing Arctic.
External link for UAF Geophysical Institute
Great work, Martin Stuefer and Lea Hartl!
Research Professor, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), Alaska State Climatologist, Director Alaska Climate Research Center and HyLab
Exciting news: - our work at HyLab on the sediment plumes across Kachemak Bay has been highlighted by NASA: https://lnkd.in/gAEt2tCW
Alaskans are quite familiar with the challenges of flying in an Arctic winter. Icing poses a particular problem for aircraft of all types — and that now includes drones. The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, ACUASI, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has a new icing tower for research into enabling drones to fly in icing conditions. It's an important next step in incorporating drones safely into the airspace so they can continue to serve Alaskans. University of Alaska
Congratulations to our James Campbell, graduate student researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute! James was named one of 20 recipients nationally of the American Chemical Society's 2025 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry. He has focused his research on Fairbanks wintertime air quality, which is among the nation’s worst due in part to the weak dispersion by wind of particulates from residential heating and vehicle use. UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics University of Alaska Jingqiu Mao UAF photo by Eric Marshall
There's lots of human-made junk orbiting our planet, and it can damage satellites that are vital to modern-day living. Even the small pieces, some less than one-half inch, can severely damage a satellite. We have no way of detecting those small pieces from the ground, however, so a University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute researcher and colleagues at the University of Calgary in Canada have found a space-based method. Their work, if successful in testing, will allow a satellite to find those small bits of debris so the satellite can be steered out of the way.
A new radar-based volcano monitoring system developed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will expand across the U.S. and beyond. The expansion, funded by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, could lead to earlier detection of volcanic unrest. Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (AK DGGS) University of Alaska
Two NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration rockets successfully launched from Poker Flat Research Range this month in search of answers about forms of rapid auroral behavior. The second of those launched Saturday, Feb. 8, the final day of the two-week launch period when acceptable conditions developed. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute owns Poker Flat and operates it under a contract with NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, which is part of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. A third rocket, with a mission of researching another type of auroral activity, was not launched because the correct science conditions, known as a “dark aurora” did not materialize. More information is at https://lnkd.in/gAChjSYD Video produced by Bryan Whitten and Eric Marshall https://lnkd.in/g6d56J5m
Emily’s talk will be super fascinating. Come to the talk at the University of Alaska Fairbanks or watch and listen on Zoom and Facebook. See the info below. See you Tuesday!
Join me Feb 11 at 7 pm AKD to hear all about how we're using remote sensing to research Alaska's rapidly changing landscapes.
It's a beautiful day in Fairbanks, Alaska, after last night's snowfall. And it's a great day, as always, for some science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Here are a few pix of our home, the Elvey Building. The seven-story C. T. Elvey Building was built in 1970 and contains office and lab spaces. Christian T. Elvey was managing director of the Geophysical Institute from 1952-1963 and was the university's first vice president for research and advanced study from 1961-1963. Upon his retirement in 1967, he was granted professor emeritus status. In 1970, Elvey joined the elite names in the history of world science when a crater near the north pole of the moon was named in his honor. #arcticresearch #spacephysics #ClimateChange #geoscience #topuniversity
Come work with the great team at the Alaska Earthquake Center, part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. The Earthquake Center is a vital part of the public safety system in Alaska.
The Alaska Earthquake Center is hiring a Director of Operations (see link below). This person will work in the realm of seismic monitoring, with researchers, state and federal agencies, and private entities. It's a dynamic workplace, housed at the UAF Geophysical Institute on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Please reach out to me or Michael West if you have questions about the scope of work, the workplace environment, living in Fairbanks, or anything else related to the job! https://lnkd.in/g6GAj4PH
Scientists have produced the first remote sensing analysis of how water clouded by sediment in glacier meltwater moves on the surface of Kachemak Bay. The bay on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula is home to a rich variety of marine life that can be affected by the sediment. Work led by Lea Hartl of the Alaska Climate Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute helps explain how surface turbidity, or cloudiness, from glacial meltwater spreads in the bay throughout the year. The research was funded through the Fire and Ice project of Alaska EPSCoR, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. EPSCoR is a National Science Foundation (NSF) program. The state of Alaska also provided funding. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) University of Alaska