For the last two months, salvage crews have been trying to get the salmon tender Lone Star out of the Igushik River near Dillingham. The recovery effort was put on hold while  Unalaska salvage expert Dan Magone revamped the plan, but operations should begin again late next  week.  

As KUCB’s Ben Matheson reports, the new plan incorporates lessons that crews learned the hard way.

6.2 aftershock south of Atka and Adak / Credit: Alaska Earthquake Information Center

Hundreds of aftershocks are rattling the Aleutian Chain following a 7.0 earthquake near Adak on Friday.

As KUCB’s Ben Matheson reports, residents are ready for life to go back to normal -- but it could be months before the quakes subside.

Courtesy of WCATWC

Residents of Adak, in the Western Aleutians, are used to frequent earthquakes. But this morning’s magnitude 7.0 quake left locals a little more rattled than usual.

Cynthia Galaktionoff was already at work at the local clinic when the earthquake hit around 7:25 a.m.

“I was talking to my Anchorage office and I felt the shaking,” says Galaktionoff. “I don’t normally feel it in this building, but I felt this one. It was really weird and it was really noisy. And he said he could hear it over the phone. And I looked at the clock and I timed it, it was like 40 seconds that we shook. It was pretty dramatic for us.”

Courtesy of USARC

A lot more scientific research is needed if the United States wants to beef up its presence in the Arctic. The U.S. Arctic Research Commission met in Unalaska this week to figure out what work takes priority.

But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, locals were mostly concerned with how the government plans to pay for it all.

Sea ice analysis for August 26, 2013. (Courtesy of NOAA)

With Arctic sea ice almost done melting for the summer, it’s unlikely that this year’s low will break any records.

“The retreat has been much closer to normal than the last few years were,” says Kathleen Cole, a forecaster for the National Weather Service’s Ice Desk. “The last few years, the ice went north quite quickly. Last year, I remember the eastern Beaufort Sea opened up amazingly fast. I mean, we were all really -- not necessarily concerned -- but it was a kind of a shocking thing to see.”

(USARC)

Legislators, scientists, and industry stakeholders are flocking to Unalaska this week to work out a plan for exploring the Arctic -- and they want input from locals.

The United States Arctic Research Commission convened at Unalaska’s Grand Aleutian Hotel today. The independent agency is made up of eight commissioners with diverse backgrounds in fisheries, science, and education.

Reid Brewer prepares a dead sea lion for dissection in 2012. (Courtesy of Reid Brewer)

Marine biologist Reid Brewer left town this month to take a teaching position in Sitka.

He spent almost ten years here, educating the community about ocean science through the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, which provides for scientists like Brewer to live and work in coastal Alaskan communities.

The Tiglax in port on July 25, 2013. (Stephanie Joyce/KUCB)

The research vessel Tiglax travels the Aleutians all summer, supporting research in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The ship was in port last week, and its crew invited the public aboard for a tour celebrating the 100th anniversary of the refuge.

Ocean current data was collected at two locations in Isanotski Strait. (Courtesy of Bruce Wright)

Fishermen and scientists have known for years about the extremely strong ocean currents that rush past the Aleutian town of False Pass. A recent study shows it might be viable as a power source for the town, but there's still plenty of work to be done.

On its way to the Arctic, frigid water from the Alaska Coastal Current cuts north through Isanotski Strait -- the pass that gives "False Pass" its name. Bruce Wright is a scientist with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, and led the team studying the power potential of the strait. They knew the currents would be strong there, but what they found was even better than expected.