Nearly a year ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan suffered a catastrophic meltdown after being damaged by a tsunami. In the wake of that disaster, the federal government put their radiation monitoring into gear and tracked fallout levels at 167 sites across the country. Now, the United States Geological Survey has issued a report releasing their final data, and as expected, some of the highest levels of radiation were detected at Alaska sites.
Kanaga Volcano is back to normal, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Scientists at the observatory lowered the alert level for the Aleutian volcano on Friday morning, saying in a release that, “the level of unrest has declined to background levels.”
On February 18 the Observatory issued an advisory after detecting tremors and a small ash cloud in the vicinity of Kanaga. The volcano lies on a major international flight path and its last eruption in 1994 produced ash clouds that affected air travel to the nearby community of Adak.
Climate change and a lack of genetic diversity could threaten the survival of some Alaska red king crab populations, according to a new study. Researchers say populations in Southeast Alaska are particularly susceptible while Bering Sea crab may be more resilient.
Equipment to monitor magnetic storms will be installed on Adak Island in the Aleutians this summer. The 40-antenna radar array will help scientists understand the interaction between the Earth’s upper atmosphere and space. Here’s University of Alaska Fairbanks electrical engineering professor Bill Bristow.
“The weather radars you’re used to seeing look at the troposphere, the lower portion of the atmosphere, and map out the large scale patterns, like when you see a hurricane it has that large vortex pattern you see on the screen. We’re looking at similar patterns in the upper atmosphere, although they’re due to a very different source.”
Three and half years ago a massive volcanic eruption buried the Aleutian island of Kasatochi under thick layers of sediment and ash. That destroyed the nesting sites of millions of seabirds and completely reshaped the island’s topography. As UAF's Ned Rozell reported last week, new research shows that unusually fast erosion is revitalizing Kasatochi’s ecosystem and giving scientists a glimpse into how damaged environments heal themselves.
A new lava dome is forming in the crater of Cleveland Volcano. In response, scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory bumped the aviation alert level from yellow to orange on Tuesday.
It’s the fourth time since July that the Observatory has raised the alert. Back in December, Cleveland had a minor eruption that sent up a 15,000 foot ash cloud and removed a lava dome that had been forming for months.
Bering Sea ice came in quickly this year and is at its largest extent since the 1970s.
It has effectively shut down the snow crab fishery, causing problems for boats as far south as the Aleutians. But some scientists say that while it’s a pain in the short term, the ice is good for the Bering Sea’s valuable fisheries in the long run.
When this winter started, the ice extent in the Bering Sea was looking pretty average, but in the past couple of weeks, that’s changed – the ice is now covering an area roughly the size of Texas. Andy Mahoney, a sea ice researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says the thirty-year average is about a third less than that – covering an area more like California. Part of the reason for the increase is a persistent low-pressure system in the Arctic.
For the past two years, western Pacific gray whales have been tracked making an unusual journey across the Aleutian Chain. The endangered marine mammals have started their journey from Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, traveled across the Bering Sea during the summertime, and then moved down to the California coast to breed. Now, scientists are saying that it’s possible that the tagged creatures might not be western Pacific gray whales after all.
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess upheld the National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision to restrict fishing in the western Aleutians to protect the endangered marine mammals.
That’s been broadly characterized as a victory for NFMS and the conservation groups that intervened in the lawsuit. But the fishing industry is rallying around the part of the court’s ruling that requires NFMS prepare an environmental impact statement.
