sea ice
Cause of seabird die-offs still unknown
For the fifth year in a row, Gay Sheffield has been investigating unusual seabird deaths in Western Alaska in collaboration with Bering Strait residents, Kawerak Inc., the U.S. Fish and…
Read MoreImproving 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,…
Read MoreLack of sea ice sends seal pups and walrus calves to beach
It’s been a busy couple of months for members of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network, including Alaska Sea Grant’s Gay Sheffield, as they respond to multiple reports of dead…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Read MoreNome Nugget: “Nature follows its own break-up calendar.”
Interview with Gay Sheffield and others.
Read MoreTo list or not to list. The battle continues over the Pacific walrus.
Our Nome-based Marine Advisory agent Gay Sheffield stopped by the studios of KNOM-FM recently to discuss the federal government’s decision not to grant protections to the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act. “Listing the walrus isn’t going to bring the sea ice back,” she said. Listen to the full interview here.
Read MoreBeaufort and Chukchi Seas have near record open water
Temperatures are dropping and the days are getting darker as Alaska moves into autumn. But despite the approaching winter chill, there’s lots of open water north of Alaska—a near record, in fact. That has potential implications for fall storms and coastal erosion in northwestern Alaska.
Read More