News

Laguna Caliente, in one of Poás volcano’s three craters, is one of the world’s most acidic natural lakes. Photo courtesy of ACUASI

UAF drones enter the hot zone to make volcano research safer

Geophysical Institute
April 11, 2025
The four-propeller drone sitting briefly on a rocky and dusty surface in Central America in early March had an impressive diameter of nearly 7 ½...
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The image shows the ice extent — defined as the total area in which the ice concentration is at least 15% — at its 2025 maximum, which occurred on March 22. NASA illustration by Trent L. Schindler

Alaska climate report: Record low maximum Arctic sea ice

Geophysical Institute
April 9, 2025
Winter’s sea ice extent in the Arctic set a new record low as it peaked March 22, according to the Alaska Climate Research Center’s monthly...
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Recent retreat of McBride Glacier in Alaska has led to exposure of 5.25 miles of coastline, shown in green in this false color Sentinel-2 satellite image. Image courtesy of Jan Kavan

New assessment shows gain of coastline from receding glaciers

Geophysical Institute
April 8, 2025
New research gives a detailed look at the extent to which receding glaciers in Alaska and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere are creating new...
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The third of three sounding rockets launches from Poker Flat Research Range at 1:33 a.m. March 29, 2025. Two other rockets in the same science mission launched from Poker Flat on March 25. UAF photo by Eric Marshall

Launch of third NASA rocket completes complex aurora mission

Geophysical Institute
April 1, 2025
The third and final NASA sounding rocket in a mission to better understand how the aurora affects the upper atmosphere launched at 1:33 a.m...
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Graduate student researcher Austin Smith looks through one of three UAF cameras set up as part of the AWESOME mission. Orange enclosures on yellow tripods house cameras of Clemson University, which is a partner in the UAF-led AWESOME mission. Photo by Cameron Westerlund

UAF students play key role in the AWESOME rocket mission

Geophysical Institute
March 27, 2025
Participating in a NASA sounding rocket mission in their geographic backyard is an extraordinary opportunity for student researchers at the...
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The second NASA rocket, the four-stage Black Brant XII, launches early on March 25, 2025, from Poker Flat Research Range on the second night of the AWESOME sounding rocket mission. Photo by Bryan Whitten

Two NASA rockets launch from Poker Flat, third rocket expected

Geophysical Institute
March 25, 2025
Two NASA sounding rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks early this morning in a mission aimed at learning more about...
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A NASA technician works on the payloads of one of the AWESOME mission’s three rockets at the space agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The rocket and payload components were then shipped to Poker Flat Research Range. Photo by Berit Bland/NASA

Poker Flat to launch three NASA rockets in single aurora experiment

Geophysical Institute
March 21, 2025
Three NASA rockets are set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range in an experiment that seeks to reveal how auroral substorms affect the...
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Chief pilot Jason Williams of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, at right, controls a drone carrying the science instruments during a test flight Jan. 17, 2025. Research assistant professor Társilo Girona watches. Photo by Eric Marshall

UAF drones to sample active Costa Rica volcano

Geophysical Institute
March 10, 2025
A four-person University of Alaska Fairbanks team plans to land an unmanned aircraft in the crater of an active Costa Rica volcano this week to...
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From left, Coda Consulting CEO Mathieu Gibeault, Eyal Saiet of ACUASI, and Gislain Chevrette, also of Coda, stand atop the new icing tower at the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 5, 2025. Photo by JR Ancheta

UAF tower to help enable drones to fly in icing conditions

Geophysical Institute
March 4, 2025
A new icing tower at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute will help aerospace engineers figure out how to enable drones to...
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About

Since it was established by an Act of Congress in 1946, scientists at the Geophysical Institute have studied geophysical processes from the center of the Earth to the surface of the sun and beyond, turning data and observations into information useful for state, Arctic and national priorities.

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The GI is located on the West Ridge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

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University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775

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