Eric Keto, Alaska’s Energy Desk

Glacier dammed lakes are common throughout Alaska and the Arctic. Dr. Michael Loso, physical scientist at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, explains what happens when one of these lakes experiences a rapid drainage event.

Underneath the Museum of the North in Fairbanks are rows upon rows of artifacts from across the state. One group of items, unearthed during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, still have a role to play in Alaska’s modern development process. Scott Shirar, Archeology Collection Manager, offers a behind the scenes look at the artifacts, while Assistant Field Manager Bill Hedman (Bureau of Land Management) discusses the challenge of organizing data that is over 40 years old.

Video: Eric Keto
Music: Garrett Bevins
Additional Footage: Alaska Film Archives, USGS

Ancient microbes, unusual ice structures, mammoth bones — there’s a lot happening below the surface in the Fairbanks Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility. The underground laboratory, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, is kept at a constant 27 degrees Fahrenheit. Environmental science researcher Dr. Andrew Balser leads a tour of the facility and discusses the research taking place there.

Researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks were at Kincaid Beach in Anchorage to finish recovering the skeleton of the humpback whale that washed up there in July. The team, led by Mammals Collection Manager Aren Gunderson, removed half the whale by hand in September then came back the next month with a helicopter for the remaining large bones. The massive specimen will become part of the largest marine mammal collection in North America housed at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks.