University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks is a university that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
New radar analysis method can improve winter river safety
University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers have developed a way to use radar to detect open water zones and other changes in Alaska's frozen rivers in the early winter. The approach can be automated to provide current hazard maps and is applicable across the Arctic and sub-Arctic. Many Alaskans, especially in rural parts of the state, […]
Flooding that closed Dalton Highway also caused widespread ground sinking
The massive 2015 flooding of the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska had immediate impacts, including closure of the Dalton Highway for several days, but it also contributed to longer-term ground subsidence in the permafrost-rich region. That’s the finding by assistant professor Simon Zwieback at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute in a study published […]
Kelp farms could help reduce coastal marine pollution
The water-filtering abilities of farmed kelp could help reduce marine pollution in coastal areas, according to a new University of Alaska Fairbanks-led study. The paper, published in the January issue of Aquaculture Journal, analyzed carbon and nitrogen levels at two mixed-species kelp farms in southcentral and southeast Alaska during the 2020-21 growing season. Tissue and seawater samples showed that seaweed […]
Earth’s atmosphere may be source of some lunar water
Hydrogen and oxygen ions escaping from Earth’s upper atmosphere and combining on the moon could be one of the sources of the known lunar water and ice, according to new research by University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute scientists. The work led by UAF Geophysical Institute associate research professor Gunther Kletetschka adds to a growing body of research about […]
Research provides insight into world’s largest piedmont glacier
Understanding the surges and retreats of Alaska’s Malaspina Glacier is key if climate change models are to be applied to the glacier with confidence. Work by graduate student Victor Devaux-Chupin at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is providing some answers. The Malaspina consists of three lobes, each fed by its own glacier. The […]
Natural cycles in the Gulf of Alaska affect ocean acidification
New research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows that the fluctuations of major wind and ocean circulation systems can temporarily accelerate or reverse the rate of ocean acidification in the Gulf of Alaska. “We typically think of ocean acidification as this slow press onto the environment that gradually changes the carbon chemistry in the […]
New research shows an iceless Greenland may be in the future
New research shows an iceless Greenland may be in the future. If worldwide greenhouse gas emissions remain on their current trajectory, Greenland may be ice-free by the year 3000. Even by the end of the century, the island could lose 4.5% of its ice, contributing up to 13 inches of sea level rise. “How Greenland […]
Melting small glaciers could add 10 inches to sea levels
A new review of glacier research data paints a picture of a future planet with a lot less ice and a lot more water. Glaciers worldwide are projected to lose anywhere from 18% to 36% of their mass by 2100, resulting in almost 10 inches of sea level rise. The review is the most comprehensive […]