Unalaska's mercury monitoring center. / Courtesy of ADEC
For five years, a group of scientists from all across the country has been quietly monitoring Unalaska to find out how much mercury travels here from Asia across the Pacific Ocean.
But now that program has stalled for lack of a local volunteer.
Anna Breuninger is an air quality specialist with the state of Alaska, and part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. Breuninger says their goal is to protect seafood from mercury contamination.
The United States is gathering support for an international moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean.
The Globe and Mail reports that Denmark and Canada are prepared to back the ban at a meeting of Arctic states in Greenland this week. The other nations -- Russia and Norway -- are not currently on board.
Two Bering Sea organizations were honored by the Alaska SeaLife Center this year for their marine stewardship.
The Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center, based out of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, received a Stewardship and Sustainability award. The research center is funded by an offshoot of the At-Sea Processors Association -- a fishing industry group. They’ve donated over $13 million to date to pay for research and education projects in the Bering Sea.
An AVO webcam shows Shishaldin Volcano steaming on Jan. 28, 2014. /Credit: Janet Schaefer, AVO/USGS
Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory are going to be keeping a close eye on Shishaldin Volcano over the weekend.
The volcano emitted a small ash cloud that was identified early Friday morning. AVO geologist Chris Waythomas says the cloud drifted south of the volcano and dissipated.
"However, Shishaldin is a very frequently active volcano, and this could mean that we’re heading into an eruptive period," he says. "It may not necessarily, but it wouldn’t surprise us if the volcano started getting more active."
Southwest Alaska residents will have a few extra weeks to weigh in on invasive cattle near Kodiak and Sand Point.
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge was supposed to stop taking suggestions on how to handle wild cow herds on Wosnesenski and Chirikof islands last week.
Refuge manager Steve Delehanty says they've already gotten about 100 comments. But they decided to keep the door open for a few reasons.
Shishaldin Volcano with a typical steam plume, pictured on Sept. 14, 2013. /Credit: Joseph Korpiewski, U.S. Coast Guard
The Alaska Volcano Observatory upgraded the alert level at Shishaldin Volcano in the Aleutian Islands Thursday after seeing some unrest at the summit.
AVO scientist Kristi Wallace says the unusual activity at Shishaldin began Wednesday.
"AVO changed the color code at Shishaldin from green to yellow based on increased temperatures at the summit crater of Shishaldin Volcano as well as increased steaming yesterday," she says.
Wild cattle are roaming two islands in the Alaska Maritime Refuge. / Credit: Steve Ebbert, USWFW
On January 15, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held an open house in Sand Point as part of a public process to address unauthorized wild cattle herds. The animals are on two islands owned by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
Refuge manager Steve Delehanty said the biologists were visiting Sand Point "just to learn, really."
"To learn what the perspectives are of the people who live right here in Sand Point and are closer to the issue and know a lot about it," Delehanty said. "We haven't made any decision about what we're doing [with] these two islands. They're called Chirikof and Wosnesenski."
The central cone in Akutan Caldera. /Courtesy: Cyrus Read, USGS
A new study says Akutan Volcano could be an even more promising source of geothermal energy than previously thought.
It’s been three decades since the U.S. Geological Survey last studied Akutan’s volcano-powered hot springs. Since then, head researcher Deborah Bergfeld says the springs have gotten stronger.
