The Power of Scientific Collaboration is Perennial
for it.The importance of the work is that it suggests that as deserts release dust into the air and as that dust settles on the ocean's surface, it could help phytoplankton growth, potentially increasing the amount of CO2 the ocean absorbs from the atmosphere.On CO2, researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have developed a sensor that measures CO2 in the ocean, and they have made their design, published in the journal Ocean Science, available to the scientific community. Installed on an unmanned underwater vehicle, the sensor can provide high spatial and temporal resolution data for weeks
New CO2 Sensor Added to Seaglider
Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and their industry partners have advanced the technology available to measure carbon dioxide in the ocean.Their design, published in the journal Ocean Science, is now available to the scientific community.During the past six years, a team from the UAF International Arctic Research Center and private companies developed a way to equip an unmanned, underwater vehicle called a Seaglider with a sensor that monitors carbon dioxide. The sensor communicates with a satellite to provide high spatial and temporal resolution data for weeks at a time.IARC&rsqu
Teledyne Integrating the Kongsberg EK80 WBT Mini Into Its Slocum Gliders
;s ecology, especially when combined with other available sensing options on the glider that collect biogeochemical and physical ocean data.Teledyne said it has previously installed the EK80 onto its Slocum glider on a project basis for multiple customers with great early success. The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ glider, Gretel, has been deployed several times with the EK80 gathering valuable data for fisheries research. This collaborative effort provides a formal and streamlined integration. Sales of this new echo sounder package have already commenced with scientists at Akvaplan-niva
US Invests Nearly $16 Million to Advance Marine Energy
economic development in Yukon River and Alaska Native communities. Many communities on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers are powered by local microgrids where the river current potential resource is an order of magnitude greater than average electrical loads.The selected project is led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Alaska Center for Energy and Power, which plans to develop a replicable, community-led current energy research and development project in the Yukon River at Galena, Alaska. The primary goal is to identify and develop a technology appropriate for the community. This project will
The Arctic: Scientists Aim to Improve Sea Ice Predictions' Accuracy, Access
Sea ice predictions have improved markedly since the founding of an international forecasting and monitoring network 14 years ago.“These forecasts are quite encouraging in their increasing accuracy,” said Uma Bhatt, an atmospheric sciences professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Bhatt spoke about the Sea Ice Prediction Network at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting last month.As the amount of sea ice in the Arctic declines, thins and becomes more mobile, accurate forecasts are becoming even more vital for things like fisheries and resource
UAF’s GINA Provides a Guiding Hand in Arctic Ocean Research
operated by UAF, pauses in the Arctic Ocean in June 2021 during its fifth year of operation. A few months later, it traveled farther north than ever before — almost 500 miles beyond Point Barrow.Satellite imagery produced at the Geographic Information Network of Alaska, or GINA, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute helps the Sikuliaq weave its way through the ice.The satellite images, along with satellite data from other sources, show up on the Sikuliaq’s bridge in an easy-to-use web-based map server. The map server has been on the Sikuliaq since 2013, when the ship was
Call for Nominations: UNOLS Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee
Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs and to U.S. research icebreaker operators, for the purpose of enhancing scientific facilities and capabilities aboard U.S. research icebreakers, primarily the USCGC HEALY (operator: United States Coast Guard) and the RV SIKULIAQ (operator: University of Alaska Fairbanks). The AICC solicits, synthesizes, and presents the needs of the Arctic science community to the icebreaker operators and to the NSF, fulfilling an ombudsman role when necessary and facilitating the efficient and effective execution of scientific research by U.S. icebreakers. The AICC
Winter Sea Ice in Bering Sea Reached Lowest Levels in Millennia
would have affected rainfall and sea ice over some 5,500 years, according to the study published in the journal Science Advances."The island in itself has acted as its own weather station," said study co-author Matthew Wooller, director of the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The sediment layers in the peat cores serve as a "book going back in time."With the Arctic warming rapidly in recent decades, the extent of sea ice over the northern polar region has steadily waned. This year saw the summertime Arctic sea ice hit its lowest level for July in
R/V Nanuq Joins U. of Alaska Fleet
The College of Fisheries and Marine Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks added a new Armstrong Marine-built research vessel to its fleet, Nanuq, which arrived in Seward, Alaska, ealiers this summer.The Port Angeles, Wash.-based boatbuilder designed the 40-foot aluminum hulled boat and Pacific Power Group, working closely with Armstrong, fit the vessel with a pair of Volvo Penta D6 engines that each deliver 330hp. The engines are paired with Aquamatic outdrives and Volvo hydraulic power steering.“Research vessels have very specific performance requirements and Volvo Penta propulsion
February 2025
