Permafrost

An aerial photo shows the Baldwin Peninsula in Northwest Alaska in 2010.

German scientists get bird's-eye view of permafrost thaw in Northwest Arctic

Desiree Hagen, KOTZ

Over roughly five years of flying out of Kotzebue to locations on the Baldwin and Seward Peninsulas to conduct research, the team has noticed dramatic changes in the landscape.

Volunteer firefighters battle a tundra blaze in Quinhagak on June 25, 2024.

Public Safety

Firefighters stop Quinhagak blaze from threatening town & archaeological dig

Evan Erickson

High winds caused a small fire at the landfill in Quinhagak to quickly spread to the nearby tundra earlier this week, threatening the community and coming within feet of an active archaeological dig.

The Atchuelinguk Fire, located roughly 33 miles north of the lower Yukon River community of Marshall is seen burning on May 28, 2024.

Public Safety

First Y-K Delta wildfire of 2024 burns itself out

Evan Erickson

The Bureau of Land Management says it hasn’t determined the cause of the roughly 800-acre surface blaze north of the lower Yukon River community of Marshall.

A screenshot from the Alaska Future Ecology Institute website.

Science and Environment

Could Alaska once again be home to woolly mammoths? This reporter had to find out

Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

Northern Journal reporter Nathaniel Herz went down a rabbit hole recently to understand how woolly mammoths might be "de-extincted" in Alaska.

Erosion has left some houses in Nunapitchuk on their own little hills. The houses provide shade and support for the soil left underneath.

Science and Environment

As the permafrost melts, houses in Nunapitchuk are breaking down

Sunni Bean

The tundra village of Nunapitchuk sits on top of a high concentration of permafrost, but it’s melting. In the first of a four part series, KYUK visited Nunapitchuk to see how the warming is affecting home lives.