News

Floodwaters flow over and erode the Dalton Highway on May 21, 2015. The flooding contributed to a slow subsiding of ground in the permafrost-rich region. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

Flooding that closed Dalton Highway also caused widespread ground sinking

Geophysical Institute
October 11, 2023
The massive 2015 flooding of the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska had immediate impacts, including closure of the Dalton Highway for...
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The combined effects of climate change and infrastructure development on ice-rich permafrost in Point Lay have resulted in severe thaw subsidence and surface water ponding that is destabilizing homes. Photo by Jana Peirce.

Alaska coastal tribe leaders see hope in NSF-funded climate project

Geophysical Institute
October 11, 2023
The National Science Foundation’s decision to fund a $13.9 million program to help several Alaska coastal communities respond to the effects of...
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The community of Chignik Bay, one of the project partners, is located on the Alaska Peninsula. Photo by Chris Maio.

UAF-led group gets $13.9 million to aid coastal climate resilience

Geophysical Institute
October 11, 2023
The National Science Foundation is funding a $13.9 million program led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks to help multiple communities respond...
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This map, the first complete, cloud-free image of Antarctica, came from the Radarsat-1 Antarctic Mapping Project. Ohio State University/Canadian Space Agency photo.

NASA announces open availability of Radarsat-1 data at Alaska Satellite Facility

Geophysical Institute
October 3, 2023
NASA has announced that all Radarsat-1 data archived at the Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center are now open data and can...
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Syun-Ichi Akasofu in his office at the International Arctic Research Center. Photo by Ned Rozell

Aurora through the ages

Geophysical Institute
September 26, 2023
Syun-Ichi Akasofu, a well-known international authority on the aurora, will present a lecture, “Aurora Through the Ages,” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct...
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This conceptual image reveals what the Kasei Valles region on Mars may have looked like 3 billion years ago. White areas are glaciers and blue represents ocean. Image by F. Schmidt/NASA

New Mars gravity analysis improves understanding of possible ancient ocean

Geophysical Institute
September 19, 2023
The first use of a novel method of analyzing Mars’ gravitational force supports the idea that the planet once had an extensive northern ocean. In...
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U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Heidi Shyu, center, listens to Alaska Satellite Facility Director Wade Albright on top of the Elvey Building on Aug. 24. Shyu toured the Elvey Building and also the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration hangar. UAF/GI Photo by Courtney Holtzclaw.

Defense Department military, civilian leaders tour Geophysical Institute

Geophysical Institute
September 19, 2023
Top Department of Defense civilian and military leaders visited the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute in late August and...
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Permafrost stores large amounts of carbon that may be released to ecosystems and the atmosphere when permafrost thaws. These bluffs are on the bank of Alaska’s Canning River in 2019. USGS photo.

Study: Near-surface permafrost will be nearly gone by 2100

Geophysical Institute
September 15, 2023
Most of Earth’s near-surface permafrost could be gone by 2100, an international team of scientists has concluded after comparing current climate...
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UAF Geophysical Institute associate professor Ronni Grapenthin digs the seismometer hole at a new Alaska Volcano Observatory monitoring site on the northwest side of Mount Edgecumbe in late August 2023. Photo by Max Kaufman.

First seismic network installed on Mount Edgecumbe volcano

Geophysical Institute
September 15, 2023
Mount Edgecumbe volcano in Southeast Alaska has become the latest addition to the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s ground-based monitoring network...
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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.

Contact info

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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