arctic
Improving sea ice forecasts for safer subsistence harvests
Alaska Native people have lived along the coasts of the Chukchi and Bering seas in northwest Alaska for thousands of years. The rich bounty of the ocean, including marine mammals, fish and birds, has sustained these communities, not only feeding them, but also shaping their traditions, culture, identity and health. The Pacific walrus is an…
Read MoreKNOM: Little known about algal toxins’ effects on subsistence in Arctic waters
Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield says two different samples of clams from that voyage were found to have high levels of an algal toxin called saxitoxin
Read MoreNew York Times publishes op-ed, co-authored by Gay Sheffield, on how sea ice loss imperils life in Alaska
The New York Times published a column by Vera Trainer, Rick Thoman and Gay Sheffield today about the dramatic extent of sea ice loss in Alaska and how it is affecting everything from plankton to whales and the residents who rely on marine resources for their wellbeing. Read the New York Times op-ed here. It…
Read MoreSheffield, Ahmasuk honored for seabird mortality response
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has honored Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield and Brandon Ahmasuk of Kawerak, Inc. for leading a coordinated response to seabird mortality events across the Bering and Chukchi region. Since 2013, Sheffield, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and Ahmasuk have…
Read MoreCarbon dioxide sample from Utqiaġvik provides wake-up call on climate
How does the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured at Hawai‘i’s Mauna Loa volcano over the last six decades compare with the air above Alaska? During a recent spring trip to Utqiaġvik, I had a chance to find out by visiting the farthest-north atmospheric observatory operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…
Read MoreNome Nugget: Slight uptick in Cesium-137 heralds arrival Of Fukushima plume in Northern Bering Sea
After the 2011 tsunami that caused the destruction of a nuclear powerplant at Fukushima, Japan, Bering Sea coastal residents anticipated that some radiation would show up in the region. Now it has, but at levels that are well below concern.
Read More“We have never been here before” — Gay Sheffield, on ecosystem-wide changes in the Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is undergoing massive changes that include the dramatic loss of sea ice last winter. As Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent Gay Sheffield notes in the interview below, “we have never been here before.” Sheffield spoke to the Associated Press at the American Geophysical Union conference this week in Washington, D.C., saying…
Read MoreMourning the loss of Mary Pete
Alaska Sea Grant is mourning the loss our dear friend and colleague Mary Ciuniq Pete, who passed away on Nov. 17, 2018, after a battle with cancer. We send our deepest condolences to Mary’s family, friends and the entire Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. Mary was a longtime member of our advisory committee and a fierce advocate…
Read MoreArctic Today: With erosion threatening its shoreline, Utqiagvik’s residents are stepping up as citizen scientists
A project in Utqiagvik funded by Alaska Sea Grant is focusing on key areas where infrastructure is vulnerable, and will help local people plan ways to mitigate climate change effects and adapt to new realities.
Read MoreStudy aims to help Alaska’s North Slope officials adapt to climate change hazards
(UTQIAĠVIK, Alaska)—Stacy Bowen’s family has owned The Fur Shop for some 40 years. The cream-colored store in Utqiaġvik sits on the edge of the Arctic Ocean. Crammed floor to ceiling with animal skins, costume jewelry, fabric bolts, souvenir sweatshirts and fresh flowers flown in from the tropics, the eclectic shop is a commercial hub for…
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